Your first project: open a folder, ask for a change

The whole job here is to get comfortable with one cycle: open a folder, ask for something small, look at the result. Keep it tiny on purpose.

Open a folder

Pick a folder with a few files in it. A small writing project or a simple website folder is perfect. In your terminal, move into that folder, then run:

claude

Claude Code now treats that folder as its workspace, the same way Cowork did.

Ask for one small change

Resist the urge to ask for everything. Ask for one concrete thing you can check by eye:

In notes.txt, fix the spelling mistakes and leave everything else alone.

Small and specific means you can tell instantly whether it worked.

Read what it did

Claude Code shows you what it changed before the change is final. This is the part beginners skip and should not. Read it. If it did what you asked, accept it. If it went further than you wanted, say so and it will pull back.

That is a first project: one folder, one change, one review. The next page names the rhythm underneath it so it stops feeling like luck.