A Beginner's Guide to Claude Code for Non-Technical Founders

Most Claude Code guides are written for developers. This Claude Code tutorial for beginners isn't. It's for founders building a SaaS, a site or a tool who want to work with Claude Code through the Claude desktop app or a web browser, by describing what they want in plain English.

By the end, you'll have Claude Code set up, a first project running, a way of briefing it that gets good results, and an idea of how connectors let it work with the other tools your project needs.

If you're still deciding whether Claude Code suits you at all, start with our overview of Claude Code for non-developers, then come back here.

How do you get started with Claude Code in the desktop app or browser?

You can use Claude Code in two places, using on-screen settings and plain English: the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, or claude.ai/code in your web browser. Both need a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise). Claude Code isn't part of the free plan.

Claude Code is a version of Claude that works on the files in your project. Instead of answering a question and waiting, it reads what's there, makes changes, checks them and reports back, while you watch and steer.

Which should you start with: the desktop app or the browser?

For a first project, the desktop app is the gentler start. Your files stay on your computer, you can see your project working as Claude Code builds it, and you can approve each change.

Set up the desktop app

1. Download the Claude desktop app for Mac or Windows from Anthropic's website and install it. (A Linux version is in beta.)
2. Open it and sign in with your Claude account.
3. Click the Code tab at the top of the window. If you're asked to upgrade, your account needs a paid plan first.

The desktop app already includes Claude Code, so there's nothing else to install. The desktop app has three tabs: Chat for ordinary conversations, Cowork for longer background tasks, and Code, which is the one this guide covers.

Set up Claude Code in your browser

1. Go to claude.ai/code and sign in.
2. When asked, connect GitHub. GitHub is a website where code projects are stored. Each project there is called a repository, which is a project folder kept online with a full history of every change.
3. Pick the repository you want Claude Code to work in. For a new project, create an empty repository on GitHub first.

Each task you start in the browser runs as a cloud session on Anthropic's computers, so it carries on after you close the tab. When Claude Code reaches a stopping point, it saves its work as a branch, which is a separate copy of your changes. You can review them, ask for more, and then select Create PR. A pull request (PR) is a request to merge those changes into the main version of your project.

Claude Code tutorial for beginners: your first project

Your first project should be small and quick to judge by eye, such as a one-page site for your product, a waitlist page or a simple pricing calculator. You'll learn more from finishing something small than from starting something big.

Here's how a first session works in the desktop app.

1. Choose where Claude Code works

In the Code tab, look at the area around the message box before you type anything:

• Environment: choose Local so Claude Code works on files on your computer. (Cloud runs the session on Anthropic's computers instead, and it keeps going if you close the desktop app.)
• Project folder: click Select folder and choose your project. For a new project, create an empty folder first in Finder or File Explorer, then select it.
• Model: pick a Claude model from the menu next to the send button. You can change it at any time.
• Permission mode: choose how much Claude Code does before checking with you (see the table below).

2. Pick a permission mode

Permission modes control how often Claude Code asks before it acts. You can switch between them during a session.

Anthropic's own advice is to start bigger tasks in Plan mode, agree the approach, then switch to Accept edits or Manual to build it.

3. Send your first message

Type what you want, the way you'd brief a person, and press Enter.

I'd like a one-page website for my product, a tool that helps small bakeries manage orders. It needs a headline, three short benefit sections, a simple pricing section with one plan, and a sign-up form for early access. Keep the design clean, with plenty of white space and a warm orange accent color. Before you build anything, tell me your plan.

Claude Code replies with a plan: the pages and files it will create, the layout, and any questions it has. Answer its questions, ask for changes, then tell it to go ahead.

4. Watch it build, and look at the result

As Claude Code works, you'll see it describe each step. In Manual mode, it shows each change and waits for you to accept or reject it. When it changes files, a small counter shows how many lines it added and removed. Click it to see exactly what changed, file by file.

The desktop app can also show your project running in a built-in browser pane. Claude Code uses it to check its own work: it opens the page, takes screenshots, clicks through it and fixes problems it finds. You can click around in the same pane.

Show me the site in the preview. Then check it at phone width and fix anything that looks cramped or overlaps.

5. Steer as you go

You don't have to wait for Claude Code to finish to change direction. Click the stop button to halt it straight away, or type a correction and press Enter, and it adjusts before its next step. If a change isn't what you wanted, say so plainly, or ask it to undo its last change.

Your sessions are listed in the sidebar, so you can come back to this project later and carry on where you left off. When you're ready to grow this into a full product, our guide to building a SaaS with Claude Code covers the rest of the journey.

How do you brief Claude Code so you get what you want?

Brief Claude Code the way you'd brief a developer, designer or copywriter you've hired: say what you want, who it's for, and what good looks like. The clearer the brief, the fewer rounds of corrections you'll need.

Anthropic's guidance for Claude Code comes down to a few habits, and they all apply when you don't write code yourself.

Say what "done" looks like

Claude Code stops when the work looks finished. If you tell it how to check its own work, it can keep going until the check passes, instead of you spotting every mistake.

Add a contact form to the homepage with name, email and message fields. When it's done, fill it in yourself in the preview, submit it, and show me a screenshot of the confirmation message.

Plan first for anything bigger

For anything that touches several parts of your project, or anything you're unsure about, ask for a plan before any changes. Switch to Plan mode, or ask in words.

I want customers to be able to create an account and log in. Don't change anything yet. Ask me any questions you need answered, then write up a plan in plain English, including anything I'll need to decide or set up myself.

For small, clear changes like fixing a typo or swapping a color, skip the plan and ask directly.

Let it interview you

When you know roughly what you want but not the details, ask Claude Code to question you first. It will raise things you hadn't thought about, such as what happens when a form is submitted twice or what a new user sees first.

I want to add a dashboard where customers see their recent orders. Interview me about it first. Ask about what matters most, what could go wrong and what's out of scope, then summarize what we agreed before you build anything.

Show, don't only tell

You can attach images, PDFs and other files to a message, or drag them into the message box. A screenshot of a design you like, a sketch on paper or a competitor's layout often says more than a paragraph of description.

I've attached a screenshot of a pricing section I like. Rebuild our pricing section in a similar layout, using our colors and fonts. Then compare your version with the screenshot and tell me what's different.

Correct early, and start fresh when it's going in circles

Correct Claude Code as soon as you see it heading the wrong way. If you've corrected the same thing more than twice and it's still wrong, the conversation is cluttered with failed attempts. Start a new session from the sidebar with a clearer brief that includes what you've learned. Start a new session, too, when you move on to an unrelated task.

Give it standing notes about your project

Claude Code reads a file called CLAUDE.md at the start of every session. It's a short set of notes about your project. Ask Claude Code to create one, and to add anything you find yourself repeating.

Create a CLAUDE.md file for this project. Note that I don't write code, so explanations should be in plain English. Add that our brand color is warm orange, our tone is friendly and direct, and you should always show me a preview before calling a change finished.

Good briefs at a glance

For more on what trips people up in their first weeks, see common Claude Code mistakes.

How do you connect tools to Claude Code with connectors?

Connectors let Claude Code work with other services, such as your calendar, your project management tool or an email service, directly from the chat. You add one through on-screen settings, sign in to the service when asked, and then talk to Claude Code about it like anything else.

Under the hood, a connector is an MCP server. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI tools like Claude talk to outside services. You don't need to know how it works to use one.

Add a connector from the directory

1. In a session on your computer (Local), click the + button next to the message box.
2. Choose Connectors and pick the service you want, such as Google Calendar, Slack, GitHub, Linear or Notion.
3. Sign in to that service when asked, and approve the access Claude is requesting.

To see, manage or disconnect your connectors later, click Customize in the sidebar. The + button isn't available inside cloud sessions, so add connectors from a session on your computer.

Add a custom connector

Some services aren't in the directory but offer a custom connector: a web address (called a server URL) you add yourself. Custom connectors are in beta and available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner of your organization adds them first, and then you connect.

Anthropic's advice is to add custom connectors only from companies you trust, and to read what access a connector asks for when you sign in. Our step-by-step guide to connecting an MCP server to Claude Code covers this in more detail.

Example: connecting SimpleSends for your project's emails

Most SaaS products need to send transactional emails: the messages your project sends automatically when someone does something, like a welcome email after sign-up or a password reset link. SimpleSends is a transactional email service built for people who build with Claude Code but don't write code. Here's how connecting it works:

1. Sign up on the SimpleSends website and follow the steps there to set up the email address you'll send from. To send from your own domain (yourcompany.com, say), this includes adding a few DNS records where your domain is registered. DNS records are short settings that tell the internet which services can send email for your domain.
2. In Claude Code, open Customize, then Connectors, choose Add, then Add custom connector, and fill in:

3. When Claude prompts you to connect, log in to SimpleSends.
4. Back in the Claude Code chat, send this message:

I've connected SimpleSends for all transactional email.

Claude Code takes it from there, including adding what your project needs to send email. While you build, it can send test emails, check the send logs and work on your emails with you in the chat. Once your project is live, real emails go out from the project itself.

If your project is ready to send emails, connect SimpleSends to Claude Code and ask it to set up your first one.

What should you do next with Claude Code?

Once your first project works, build on the same habits: small tasks, clear briefs, a plan before anything big, and a check at the end of each piece of work.

Good next steps:

• Grow your first project one feature at a time. Add a sign-up form, then accounts, then payments, planning each one with Claude Code before it builds.
• Try Accept edits mode once you're comfortable with how Claude Code works, so it moves faster and you review the changes afterwards.
• Ask Claude Code to review its own work. In the desktop app, when you open the list of changes, you can ask it to look for mistakes before you move on.
• Run more than one session. Start a new session from the sidebar for a separate task, such as copy changes in one and a new page in another.
• Use a cloud session for longer jobs. Choose Cloud in the desktop app, or start from claude.ai/code, so the work continues after you close the window.
• Set up email before launch. Sign-ups, password resets and receipts all depend on it. Our guide to sending emails from Claude Code walks through it.

The more you work with Claude Code, the better you'll get at briefing it. Pay attention to what worked when it gets something right first time: how specific you were, what you attached, and whether you planned first. Then do more of that.