Claude Code is a command line tool that runs locally on your machine and enables Claude, the AI model on Anthropic's servers, to access your specific files and context and execute tasks on your behalf. Claude Code does all the execution: reading files, writing files, running commands. Claude does all the thinking. The two communicate via API calls in a continuous loop until your request is fulfilled. Anthropic describes it as a "very pure agent" because its job is strictly to fetch, carry, and communicate outcomes.

How does Claude Code work?

When you make a request, Claude Code packages it alongside your instruction files, available tools, skills, and any MCP connections, then sends it to Claude via an API call. Claude reasons across all of that, identifies which tools to use, and sends back a structured command. Claude Code executes the command, reports the result back to Claude, and the loop continues until the task is complete. From your perspective it feels seamless. Under the hood it's a series of API calls passing instructions and results back and forth between your machine and Claude's servers.

How do you use Claude Code?

You use Claude Code by launching it inside a terminal or IDE while in a project folder, which defines the files it can access. From there you can give it one-off instructions in plain English, trigger reusable slash commands you've saved as markdown files, or set up hooks that fire automatically when specific events occur. The quality of what Claude Code produces depends heavily on the instruction files you give it: a claude.md file defines how it should behave, a goals.md file defines what you're trying to achieve, and skills files give it repeatable step-by-step processes for tasks you want done the same way every time.

What are some common use cases for Claude Code for PMs?

The clearest applications are automating repetitive document tasks like summarizing meeting notes and surfacing action items, updating epics and stories, building long-running background tasks that process large volumes of files without breaking context windows (particularly key when vibe coding), and creating slash commands for work you repeat regularly, such as drafting PRDs, summarizing user research, updating stakeholders on roadmap plans and so on.

What does Claude Code cost?

You need a paid Claude subscription to use Claude Code. If you're working inside an IDE like Cursor or VS Code, that may require a separate paid subscription on top of your Claude subscription.

Claude Code 101: How to get started with Claude Code

Claude Code is a piece of software that you can run on your machine to enable an LLM to access your files and context and execute commands on your computer. But how to get started with Claude Code is something that can seem daunting.

However, this is easier than you think. There’s multiple different softwares that you can install on your machine (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Claude Cowork, Warp, IDEs like Cursor, VSCode, Windsurf) that can read files and execute in your local environment while communicating with an LLM.

It was initially developed for developers, which is why it lives in terminal, but when it was released into the wild Anthropic quickly saw that it was being used for all sorts of applications, and took it from there. The fast follow nature of AI means alternatives are available. Claude Code is often used as an umbrella term, but it is a specific software from Anthropic.

The benefits of installing software on your machine that can read files, pass information and execute LLM commands are:

Bespoke: Context & instructions are tailored by default
Powerful: You can build multi step automations
Efficiency: You can build ‘personal operating systems’ that help you work more effectively

Not only does Claude have access to your specific context but the agentic features of Claude Code allow multi-step task execution, or automated task loops.

How to get started with Claude Code: document review in terminal

Claude Code critiquing a PRD in Terminal

In this article we’re going walk through how to get started with Claude Code by:

Explain the core concepts behind Claude Code: so that you understand the fundamentals of how it works
Include a Claude Code Cheat Sheet: tool comparisons, core concepts, use cases, commands and plug ins
Direct you to 3 hands on projects: these will help you install Claude Code, create your first simple project (a meeting summarizer), and get comfortable with more advanced concepts by building a PRD reviewer

Let’s get into it now.

Claude Code Cheat Sheet: tooling, concepts, types of files, types of tools, common slash commands, short cuts and plug ins

The Hustle Badger Claude Code Cheat Sheet

This topic is also available as a workshop. Learn more about Hustle Badger for Business

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Claude Code 101: How to get started with Claude Code

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