Claude Code

Overview

Claude Code is an agentic coding tool made by Anthropic. It understands an entire codebase and handles running repetitive tasks, explaining complex code and doing git operations through natural-language commands. You can hand it feature development, bug fixes, test writing and even migrations that take several days.

It runs in many environments, including the terminal CLI, IDE extensions such as VS Code and JetBrains, a desktop app, the web, iOS and Android, Slack and GitHub (by tagging @claude). It moves across multiple files and tools to edit files and run commands, while the user watches the progress, steers the direction and reviews the results. Its capabilities can be extended with plugins that add custom commands and agents.

It suits developers who work in a terminal or IDE and want to hand off repetitive tasks. Most environments require a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account. During use, feedback is collected that includes usage data such as code acceptances and rejections, as well as conversation data, so it is a good idea to check the data usage policy.

What it is used for

• Reproduce a bug, find the cause and fix the code.
• Write tests for a specific module.
• Get an explanation of what an unfamiliar repository does.
• Hand off repetitive tasks such as git operations and dependency checks in natural language.
• Develop features that span multiple files, such as adding a new feature to a settings screen.

Pricing and license

Included in Claude plans: Pro $17/month (billed annually; $20 billed monthly), Max 5x $100/month, Max 20x $200/month. Usage limits apply

Getting started

1. On macOS, Linux and WSL, install with curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash (with Homebrew: brew install --cask claude-code).
2. In Windows PowerShell, install with irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex (with WinGet: winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode).
3. Open a new terminal and confirm the installation with claude --version.
4. Go to your project folder (cd your-project) and run claude.
5. Log in by following the prompts shown on first run.

Links

Official site ↗Repository ↗Docs ↗

Related terms and companies

Coding agent AI agent Agentic workflow Vibe coding LLM Anthropic

Recent mentions in briefings

• Linus Torvalds works on a patch series using Claude Code to fix a Linux kernel page cache bottleneck (community reports) 2026-10-13
• HCLTech signs global premier partnership with Anthropic, plans dedicated unit and CoE, and embeds Claude in HCLSoftware products (press release) 2026-10-13
• Linus Torvalds uses an LLM to clean up kernel assoc_array code, finding three more bugs dating to the first commit (community report) 2026-10-12
• CrowdStrike says Korean financial-sector hack may be one person's work using open-source AI tool 'ARTEX' and several LLMs (community report) 2026-10-08
• AWS brings Claude Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5 to Bedrock in GovCloud (US), with Claude Code guidance for regulated workloads 2026-10-06

Sources

• anthropics/claude-code README
• Claude Code by Anthropic | AI Coding Agent, Terminal, IDE
• Overview - Claude Code Docs

Compiled from public sources (official pages, READMEs). Pricing and features change, so check the official site.