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Claude Code Tutorial

A comprehensive, step-by-step tutorial for absolute beginners to learn Claude Code.

About This Tutorial​

This tutorial is designed to take you from zero to proficient with Claude Code, regardless of your prior experience with AI coding assistants. Each lesson builds on the previous ones, with hands-on exercises and real-world examples.

How to Use This Tutorial​

Recommended Path: Start with Lesson 1 and work through sequentially. Each lesson assumes knowledge from previous lessons.

Time Commitment: Each lesson takes approximately 15-30 minutes. The complete tutorial is about 4-6 hours.

Prerequisites:

  • Basic familiarity with using a terminal/command line
  • A code editor installed (VS Code, JetBrains, etc.)
  • An Anthropic API account (for authentication)

Tutorial Structure​

Phase 1: Getting Started (Absolute Beginner)​

Lesson 1: Getting Started - 20 minutes

  • What is Claude Code?
  • Installation methods
  • First time setup
  • Basic navigation

Phase 2: Foundation Skills​

Lesson 2: Basic Operations - 25 minutes

  • Chat mode fundamentals
  • Reading files
  • Making edits
  • Basic CLI flags

Lesson 3: Working with Your Codebase - 30 minutes

  • Project context
  • Searching files
  • Asking questions about code
  • Simple refactoring

Lesson 4: Permissions and Safety - 25 minutes

  • Understanding permission modes
  • Plan mode
  • Switching modes
  • Setting permissions

Phase 3: Expanding Your Toolkit​

Lesson 5: Skills System - 25 minutes

  • Using built-in skills
  • Creating custom skills
  • Skill structure and locations

Lesson 6: Configuration and Settings - 20 minutes

  • Settings scopes
  • Creating configuration files
  • CLAUDE.md for context
  • Environment variables

Lesson 7: MCP Integrations - 25 minutes

  • What is MCP?
  • Adding MCP servers
  • Common integrations
  • Using MCP tools

Phase 4: Advanced Features​

Lesson 8: Advanced Features - 30 minutes

  • Subagents (Explore, Plan, Bash)
  • Background tasks
  • Hooks and automation
  • Session management

Lesson 9: Git Integration - 25 minutes

  • Git operations with Claude
  • The /commit skill
  • Creating pull requests
  • Git history search

Lesson 10: IDE Integration - 20 minutes

  • VS Code extension
  • JetBrains plugins
  • Desktop app features
  • Cross-interface workflows

Phase 5: Mastery​

Lesson 11: Common Workflows - 35 minutes

  • Feature development
  • Bug fixing
  • Code review
  • Refactoring
  • Learning new codebases

Lesson 12: Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices - 20 minutes

  • Communication tips
  • Common mistakes
  • Performance optimization
  • Team collaboration

Lesson 13: Reference Materials - Reference

  • Complete command reference
  • CLI flags
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Settings reference

Phase 6: Expert Level (NEW!)​

Lesson 14: Multi-Agent Automation - 45 minutes

  • Multi-agent architecture design
  • Communication protocols (file-based, MCP, HTTP)
  • Automatic agent orchestration
  • Conflict resolution
  • Real-world multi-agent workflows

Lesson 15: Git Worktree Integration - 20 minutes

  • Creating and managing worktrees
  • Parallel feature development
  • Hotfix without context switching
  • Multi-agent worktree workflows

Lesson 16: Multi-AI Orchestration - 30 minutes

  • Spawning other AI tools (Aider, Cursor, Gemini)
  • Multi-AI coordination patterns
  • Script-based orchestration
  • Building AI swarms

Lesson 17: Ecosystem & Marketplace - 30 minutes

  • Discover community skills and plugins
  • MCP server registry and discovery
  • Sharing your own skills
  • Contributing to the ecosystem

Phase 7: Cutting Edge (NEW for 2.1.33!) ⭐​

Lesson 18: Agent Teams & Teammates - 40 minutes

  • What are agent teams and when to use them
  • Split-pane collaboration (tmux, WezTerm, iTerm2)
  • Creating and managing agent teams
  • Teammate communication patterns
  • spawnTeam functionality
  • Real-time collaboration workflows

Lesson 19: Forked Context & Advanced Skills - 35 minutes

  • Understanding forked sub-agent context
  • Skill hot-reload (automatic in 2.1.x!)
  • Context forking in skill frontmatter
  • Language settings for responses
  • Advanced skill configuration
  • Agent specification in skills

Lesson 20: 2.1.x Advanced Features - 40 minutes

  • Wildcard permission patterns (Bash(*), Bash(npm *))
  • Enhanced hooks (skills, agents, slash commands)
  • Session forking and rewind
  • External editor support (Ctrl+G)
  • Enhanced vim motions
  • Task dependencies and tracking
  • WezTerm support for agent teammates

⭐ Complete systems for multi-agent and agent teams!

  • Multi-agent orchestration scripts
  • Git worktree management
  • Multi-AI tool integration
  • Agent team collaboration
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Production-ready patterns

Quick Start​

If you're ready to dive in, start with Lesson 1.

Examples Directory​

The examples/ folder contains sample projects used throughout the tutorial:

  • hello-world/ - A simple starter project for your first Claude Code session
  • sample-project/ - A more complex project for practicing navigation and refactoring
  • multi-agent/ - ⭐ NEW: Complete multi-agent automation system with working scripts!

Learning Path Overview​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Phase 1: Start                            │
│  Lesson 1: Installation & First Steps                        │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Phase 2: Foundation                         │
│  Lessons 2-4: Basic Operations, Codebase, Permissions        │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Phase 3: Expansion                          │
│  Lessons 5-7: Skills, Config, MCP                            │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Phase 4: Advanced                          │
│  Lessons 8-10: Subagents, Git, IDE                           │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Phase 5: Mastery                          │
│  Lessons 11-13: Workflows, Best Practices, Reference         │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                 Phase 6: Expert (v2.1+)                      │
│  Lessons 14-17: Multi-Agent, Worktree, Multi-AI, Marketplace │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│              Phase 7: Cutting Edge (2.1.33!)                 │
│  Lessons 18-20: Agent Teams, Forked Context, Advanced Topics │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Support & Feedback​

Tips for Success​

  1. Follow the sequence - Each lesson builds on previous knowledge
  2. Do the exercises - Hands-on practice is essential
  3. Experiment freely - Try variations on the examples
  4. Ask questions - Use Claude Code itself to explore features
  5. Reference often - Use Lesson 13 as a lookup guide

Contributing​

Found a typo, confusing explanation, or missing topic? Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to open issues or pull requests to improve this tutorial.

Ready to begin? Start Lesson 1: Getting Started →

🆕 Expert Level: Already mastered the basics? Jump to Lesson 14: Multi-Agent Automation to learn how to run multiple Claude Code instances that work together autonomously!