claude-code-for-beginners

You installed Claude Code. You typed a few prompts. It wrote some code, broke something else, asked for permissions you didn't understand, and now you're not sure if you're using it right.

You're not. Almost nobody is at first. I wasn't either.

The problem

Claude Code is the most powerful coding tool I've used, and most people use maybe a tenth of it. They chat with it like a chatbot and never touch the parts that actually change how fast you ship.

• The docs tell you what each feature does, not how to use them together. You know plan mode, CLAUDE.md, subagents and hooks exist. Nobody tells you which one to learn first, or how to combine them into a workflow that saves you hours every day.
• It changes every week. New commands, new permission modes, new agent features. Half the tutorials you find are already out of date, and you can't tell which half.
• Learning by trial and error is expensive. Every wrong habit costs you tokens, broken code and evenings you don't get back. Some of those habits (letting it write before it reads, skipping the plan, never reviewing the diff) quietly cost you more than you'd guess.

Meanwhile the people who did figure it out are shipping in an afternoon what used to take them a week.

That gap doesn't stay the same size. It compounds. Someone who started six months ago isn't six months ahead of you - they're building things you haven't learned to ask for yet.

Why I made this

I use Claude Code every day to build and ship my own products - gitscroll.dev, aicofounders.co, moltplace.net, a Rust MCP framework 🦀 and a few more. I do it around a 9-5 and a kid, so I don't have time to waste on bad habits, and neither do you.

I learned all of it the slow way. This is the course I wish someone had handed me on day one: the right things, in the right order, kept up to date.

How this course fixes it

	Figuring it out alone	This course
Where to start	Docs, random videos, X threads	Module 1, 20 minutes, you're running
What order	Whatever you stumble on	15 modules, each one building on the last
Practice	Hope you remember it	Hands-on challenges at four levels in every module, with worked solutions
Staying current	Tutorials that broke two releases ago	Updated when Claude Code changes - last update October 2026
Cost	Your evenings and your tokens	Free, no signup, plain Markdown right here on GitHub

You don't need to be early to the whole AI wave. You just can't afford to be late to this one. Start Module 1 now →

What's new

Late September 2026

• Plugins & marketplaces (Module 12) - install someone else's whole setup in one command, and how to vet a plugin before you trust it.
• Dynamic workflows (Module 6) - fan a big job out to dozens of agents with /deep-research, "use a workflow", and ultracode.
• Artifacts (Module 15) - publish a live page from your session, no deploy needed.
• Auto mode is now the default - permission modes updated across the course, plus the new commands (/plan, /export, /skills, /doctor prompt-audit, /workflows).
• Claude + other models (Module 14) - and a full Advanced Module 28 on deterministic gates, routers, and decision models like Jev.

Older updates are in the changelog.

What is Claude Code?

A command-line tool from Anthropic. You describe what you want, and it reads your files, writes and edits code, runs commands, and tells you what it's doing along the way.

Official repo and docs: github.com/anthropics/claude-code

Quick start

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Then:

mkdir my-project && cd my-project
claude

You'll need a Claude Pro/Max subscription or an Anthropic API key. On first launch it opens a browser to log in, or you can set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. If anything goes wrong, Module 1 walks through installation on every platform.

Who it's for

Complete beginners - you don't need to know how to code, just a computer and a Claude account. Students who want to build portfolio projects with an AI tutor alongside. And experienced developers who want to get faster: skip straight to Module 6 (agents) or Module 12 (skills, hooks, plugins).

It doesn't care what language you write:

Course map

15 modules, about 9 hours in total. Go at your own pace - skip what you know.

Foundation - modules 1-5

Install it, find your way around, and learn to talk to it.

Core skills - modules 6-10

Agents, Git, debugging, testing, and a full real-world project.

Going deeper - modules 11-15

MCP servers, skills, hooks and plugins, other languages, APIs, and deployment.

Every module has hands-on challenges at four levels - beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert. Try them yourself first; my solutions are in challenge solutions.

Free resource pack

The course condensed into three PDFs you'll actually keep open while you work: a 2-page cheat sheet, 5 CLAUDE.md templates, and the 10 prompts I use every day.

Get all three at thedevfounder.com/claude-code - one email, three PDFs, unsubscribe whenever you like.

Going further

The free course teaches you the skills. If you want to go further, I've made two paid packs. They're what I use to build the products above.

Get both as a bundle ($59.99) - saves you $10, and it's what most people pick. Instant download, updates included. Or buy one on its own:

Advanced Modules ($29.99) - 13 modules, 39+ hours. Production deployment at scale, multi-agent systems, custom MCP servers, enterprise SSO/RBAC, performance, custom agents, sandboxing and plugins, professional workflows, a three-part deep dive into how Claude Code works internally, what's new in 2026, and using Claude alongside other models.

Real Projects Pack ($39.99) - 14 guided builds you can ship, each with CLAUDE.md templates, rules files, and copy-paste prompts. From an AI todo app and a code-review tool up to a full-stack SaaS boilerplate, an AI agent coordinator, and a multi-agent background pipeline.

What's free and what's paid

	Free course	+ Projects	+ Advanced
Claude Code basics, prompting, tools	✓	✓	✓
Git, debugging, testing	✓	✓	✓
MCP servers, skills, hooks, plugins	✓	✓	✓
Deploy one app to production	✓	✓	✓
14 guided real-world builds		✓
Full-stack SaaS boilerplate (Stripe, auth, multi-tenant)		✓
Build your own agent coordinator and hook engine		✓
Multi-agent orchestration			✓
Kubernetes, auto-scaling, multi-region deploys			✓
Enterprise SSO, RBAC, GDPR, audit logging			✓
Production MCP servers and npm publishing			✓
Claude Code internals: query loop, tools, permissions, prompt assembly			✓
Multi-model systems: deterministic gates and routers			✓

Help

Troubleshooting · Quick reference · Challenge solutions · Official docs · Report a Claude Code bug

Found something wrong or outdated in the course? Open an issue - I read them.

Built with Claude Code

A few things I've built with it:

Star history

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