Ship a real feature with Claude Code
Take Claude Code from curiosity to production: plan a feature, let it write the code across your actual codebase, review like a senior dev, and ship it.
What this looks like
One step on screen at a time. Read it, do it, tap Next.
Ship a real feature with Claude Code
Step 1 of 8
Install Claude Code and orient it
In your terminal: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code, then cd into your project and run claude. Sign in with your paid account.
Checkpoint
Claude Code accurately describes your project's structure — proof it's reading the real code.
Before you begin
Tick these off as you sort them. Stopping halfway to create an account is how a fifteen-minute build becomes an hour.
0 of 7 ready
Ticks are saved on this device, so you can come back to them.
- Account
Claude Code runs on Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise. Serious feature work wants the headroom of Max or a Team seat.
- Have ready
A project you own with git version control. Clean working tree, on a branch — Claude Code edits files directly, and git is your safety net.
- Know-how
You don't need to be an engineer, but you should be able to open a terminal, cd into a project, and run your app's tests or dev server.
- Know-how
Pick something bounded: a new settings page, an export button, a validation rule. First rung on the ladder, not the whole ladder.
The basics — ticked once, remembered everywhere
- Account
Either the hosted version or a self-hosted install. Everything here works the same on both — the only visible difference is the shape of your webhook URLs.
Create a workspace - Know-how
Adding a node, connecting two of them, and pressing Execute. If any of that is new, the free primer covers it in about ten minutes.
- Credential
You will paste at least one secret during setup. A password manager beats a notes app, and it stops you pasting a live key into a chat window by accident.
The shape of the setup
The Claude features you will touch, left to right, in the order you use them.
What you will build
Jump straight to any step, or print the list and tick it off beside your Claude tab.
If something goes wrong
Everything ready?
Start walkthrough