> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/VineeTagarwaL-code/claude-code/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Claude Code

> An AI-powered coding agent that runs in your terminal — giving Claude direct access to your codebase and tools.

Claude Code is a terminal-based AI coding agent that understands your entire codebase. It reads, edits, and runs code directly — no copy-pasting, no context switching. Just describe what you want and Claude gets to work.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Get Claude Code running in under 5 minutes
  </Card>

  <Card title="Installation" icon="download" href="/installation">
    Install on macOS, Linux, or Windows
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core Concepts" icon="lightbulb" href="/concepts/how-it-works">
    Understand how Claude Code thinks and acts
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI Reference" icon="terminal" href="/reference/commands/cli-flags">
    Full reference for all commands and flags
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What Claude Code can do

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Read & edit files" icon="file-code" href="/reference/tools/file-operations">
    Claude reads your source files, makes targeted edits, and previews diffs before applying changes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Run shell commands" icon="square-terminal" href="/reference/tools/bash">
    Execute tests, build scripts, git commands, and any shell tool — with configurable permission controls.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Search your codebase" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/reference/tools/search">
    Find files by pattern, search content with regex, and navigate large codebases quickly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fetch from the web" icon="globe" href="/reference/tools/web">
    Read documentation pages, fetch APIs, and search the web without leaving your terminal.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Spawn sub-agents" icon="sitemap" href="/guides/multi-agent">
    Break complex tasks into parallel workstreams with the built-in multi-agent system.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect MCP servers" icon="plug" href="/guides/mcp-servers">
    Extend Claude's capabilities with Model Context Protocol servers for databases, APIs, and more.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Get started in 3 steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Claude Code">
    Install globally using npm:

    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authenticate">
    Run `claude` in your terminal and sign in with your Anthropic account or API key:

    ```bash theme={null}
    claude
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start coding">
    Navigate to your project and describe what you want to build or fix:

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd my-project
    claude "add error handling to the API client"
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Claude Code works best when you initialize a `CLAUDE.md` file in your project. Run `/init` inside a session to generate one automatically.
</Note>