What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is Anthropic’s official command-line interface for Claude. It’s a Node.js CLI you install with npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code and run from your terminal inside any repo. Unlike the chat-window claude.ai, Claude Code reads your real source tree, edits files in place, runs your tests, executes shell commands you authorise, and ships PRs end-to-end. It’s designed to be an AI pair-programmer — you steer, Claude does the keystrokes. Built and maintained by Anthropic, the same company that makes Claude itself.