Claude Code

5:43 Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool: it reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and makes commits and pull requests, in the terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains, in the Claude desktop app and on the web at claude.ai/code. As of Nov 6, 2026 it is included in Claude Pro ($20 a month), Max ($100), Ultra ($200), Team and Enterprise, but not in the free plan, or it can be paid per token through an API key. Install it with one command: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash on macOS, Linux and WSL.

Claude Code suits developers who want an agent that works for a long time on its own, in any editor, with a deep kit for customizing it (hooks, skills, subagents, plugins, MCP). Pick Codex if you want OpenAI's models or a free plan, GitHub Copilot for several companies' models inside GitHub, or Cursor for a full editor designed around agents. See Best AI Coding Agent.

Learn more: Claude Code on claude.vi.ki

Quick facts

How to install Claude Code

The official instructions, read Nov 6, 2026:

1:15 Then open a new terminal, run claude --version to check it, cd into a project and run claude; it asks you to log in the first time. The native install updates itself; Homebrew and WinGet installs do not. On Windows, Anthropic recommends Git for Windows so Claude Code can use Bash; without it, Claude Code uses PowerShell. The desktop app includes Claude Code, so it needs no separate install, but it requires a paid plan.

Plans and prices

Source: Claude pricing, read Nov 6, 2026. Subscription usage resets on a five-hour window and a weekly one, shared with Claude chat; usage credits let you keep going past a limit.

Through the API. With an Anthropic Console key or Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry, you pay per token: Sonnet 5.5 costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output, Opus 5.5 $4 and $20. Anthropic says enterprise deployments average about $13 per developer per active day and $150 to $250 a month, with 90% of users under $30 a day.

Features

3:11 Agentic edits across a codebase. Describe a feature or paste an error and Claude Code plans, edits several files, runs tests and fixes failures; plan mode (Shift+Tab) shows its approach before it changes anything. In Kevin Stratvert's Dec 22, 2025 video, Claude Code in plan mode asked him questions about the stack and storage, then wrote a plan for his review before writing any code.

8:27 CLAUDE.md, skills and hooks. A CLAUDE.md file holds project rules Claude reads every session (it can read an existing AGENTS.md instead). Skills package repeatable workflows, and hooks run your own shell commands before or after its actions, such as formatting after every edit.

Subagents and background agents. Claude Code can spawn several agents that work on parts of a task at once and report back, and run full sessions in the background you watch from one screen.

MCP. The Model Context Protocol connects it to tools such as Google Drive, Jira or Slack, or your own.

Plugins. Bundles of skills, hooks, agents and MCP servers that a team installs together.

Scheduled tasks and automation. Cloud scheduled tasks run on Anthropic's machines on a schedule or on GitHub events; claude -p runs it from scripts; GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD automate reviews and triage.

Everywhere. Start a task on the web or your phone and pull it into the terminal with claude --teleport, continue a terminal session from your phone with Remote Control, or mention @Claude in Slack to get a pull request back.

Agent SDK. The Agent SDK lets you build your own agents on Claude Code's tools and permissions.

History

• Feb 24, 2025: research preview in the terminal, with Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Anthropic).
• May 22, 2025: generally available with Claude 4, adding VS Code and JetBrains integrations and GitHub Actions (Anthropic).
• Dec 2025: Anthropic said Claude Code had reached $1 billion in run-rate revenue as it bought the Bun JavaScript runtime (Anthropic).
• Feb 4, 2026: Anthropic's Claude agent became available on GitHub through Agent HQ.

Claude Code vs the alternatives

• Codex: OpenAI's equivalent, on the same kinds of surfaces and included even in ChatGPT Free. Pick it for GPT models or a zero-cost start.
• Cursor: an editor built around agents that also offers Claude models; pick it if you want a graphical IDE first.
• GitHub Copilot: cheaper entry ($10 a month) and models from several companies, including Claude, inside GitHub.
• Gemini CLI: Google's open-source terminal agent.
• Cline: an open-source VS Code agent that uses your own API key.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Code free? No. As of Nov 6, 2026 Claude Code is not part of the free Claude plan; it needs Pro ($20 a month) or a higher plan, or an API key billed per token.

How do I install Claude Code? On macOS, Linux or WSL run curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash; on Windows PowerShell run irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex. Then run claude in a project folder and log in.

How much does Claude Code cost? It comes with Claude Pro at $20 a month, Max at $100 or Ultra at $200, or costs what its tokens cost on the API. Anthropic puts enterprise use at about $150 to $250 per developer a month.

Does Claude Code work in VS Code? Yes. Claude Code has a VS Code extension (it also installs in Cursor) with inline diffs and plan review, and a plugin for JetBrains IDEs.

Claude Code or Codex? Both are agents for the terminal, IDE, desktop and web. Claude Code runs Anthropic's Claude models and starts at $20 a month; Codex runs OpenAI's GPT models and is included in ChatGPT Free.

Sources

• Claude Code overview, Anthropic, read Nov 6, 2026
• Manage costs effectively, Anthropic, read Nov 6, 2026
• Pricing, Anthropic, read Nov 6, 2026
• Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code, Anthropic, Feb 24, 2025
• Introducing Claude 4, Anthropic, May 22, 2025
• Anthropic acquires Bun as Claude Code hits $1B, Anthropic, Dec 2025
• Claude Code Tutorial for Beginners, Kevin Stratvert, Dec 22, 2025 (video)
• Claude and Codex are now available in public preview on GitHub, GitHub Changelog, Feb 4, 2026