A step-by-step guide to installing Claude Desktop and Git for Windows, then running your first Claude Code session.
What you'll need
- A Windows 11 PC (administrator rights are not required — both apps install to your user profile)
- An Anthropic account (claude.com)
- About 15 minutes
Overview
You'll install two pieces of software using winget, Windows' built-in package manager:
- Claude Desktop — the Claude application, which includes Claude Code
- Git for Windows — required by Claude Code for version tracking inside your working folder
Then you'll create a sandbox folder, launch Claude, switch to the Code tab, and submit your first prompt.
Step 1 — Open Command Prompt
Click the Start button, type cmd, and click Command Prompt in the search results. Both installers will run under your user account and don't require admin rights.
Step 2 — Install Claude Desktop
At the prompt, type the following and press Enter:
winget install Anthropic.Claude
Important: You will type winget command inside the the command prompt as shown below because you need to give it arguments (what package to install etc.), you aren't running winget by searching for it and clicking on it.
The first time you use winget to install from the Microsoft Store source, you'll be asked to accept the source agreements. Type Y and press Enter to continue.
Wait for the download to finish (about 216 MB). When you see Successfully installed, Claude Desktop is ready.
Step 3 — Install Git for Windows
In the same Command Prompt window, type:
winget install Git.Git
winget will detect that you're a standard user and install Git's user-scope build, which lives entirely inside your profile and does not require admin rights or a UAC prompt.
Wait for Successfully installed to appear before continuing.
Step 4 — Sign out and back in
Sign out of Windows and sign back in. (A full restart works too, but isn't necessary.)
This step is not optional — Claude Code checks for Git on startup, and Git's installer adds entries to your user PATH that aren't picked up until your session is refreshed. Skipping this step will cause Claude Code to refuse to load.
Step 5 — Create a sandbox folder
After signing back in, open File Explorer and navigate to your user profile folder:
C:\Users\<your username>
Right-click in an empty area of the folder window and choose New > Folder. Name the folder something descriptive — claude works fine for a general-purpose sandbox, or you can name it after a specific project (for example, condor-cv or bren-kb).
This folder is where Claude Code will read, write, and execute files during your session. Keeping each project in its own folder makes it easier to keep work separated and to grant Claude scoped permissions.
Step 6 — Launch Claude and sign in
Click Start, type claude, and click the Claude application in the search results.
The first time Claude opens, you'll see a Get started screen. When prompted to sign in, enter the email address your invitation was sent to — typically your @ucsb.edu address. You won't be asked for a password. Instead, Claude will email you a sign-in link; open that email, click the link, and you'll be returned to Claude already signed in.
If Claude prompts you to enable extensions or connectors — for example Google Drive, Google Calendar, or Gmail — skip these steps. Claude is not currently approved at UCSB for access to those services, and connecting them may put institutional data outside approved boundaries. You can dismiss or close any connector prompts and continue without them.
On subsequent launches, Claude will open directly to its main window without asking you to sign in again.
Make sure you have selected the Team plan account, this can be accessed in the lower left hand corner of the Claude app. If you have the personal / free plan selected you might not see Code / or other features.
Step 7 — Switch to the Code tab
Claude Desktop opens to the Chat tab by default. At the top of the left sidebar, you'll see three tabs: Chat, Cowork, and Code.
Click Code.
You may notice the Cowork tab is greyed out and unavailable — this is expected. Cowork is not currently enabled on Bren Windows Desktop Computers, but nearly all tasks you'd want to use it for can be accomplished in Claude Code instead.
The main area will now show the Claude Code home screen — typically with a greeting like "What's up next, \<your name>?" and a usage dashboard showing sessions, messages, and active days.
Step 8 — Set the working folder
Look at the bottom of the Claude Code window, just above the prompt input box. You'll see two pill-shaped buttons:
- Local — indicates Claude Code will work on files on your computer
- Select folder… — opens a folder picker
Click Select folder…, navigate to C:\Users\<your username>\, choose the sandbox folder you created in Step 5, and click Select Folder.
The folder pill will update to show the folder name (for example, claude), confirming it's now the active working directory.
Step 9 — Trust the workspace
The first time you point Claude Code at a new folder, a dialog will appear titled Trust this workspace?. The body reads: "Claude Code may read, write, or execute files in this directory. Only proceed if you trust this workspace." The full path is shown below.
Verify the path matches the folder you just created, then click Trust Workspace.
This is a one-time prompt per folder. Claude Code will remember the trust setting for future sessions in the same workspace.
Step 10 — Submit your first prompt
In the prompt input box at the bottom of the window, type a description of what you want Claude to do. Be specific about the task, the inputs available, and the deliverable you want.
Press Enter or click the send arrow to submit.
Claude will respond with a plan, often including a numbered list of steps it intends to take. It will then begin executing — searching the web, reading files, writing code, running commands — depending on what your task requires.
Step 11 — Approve tool-use prompts
Before Claude Code uses an external tool for the first time, it asks for your permission. A panel will appear at the bottom of the conversation reading something like: "Allow Claude to search the web for \<query>?"
You'll see three buttons:
- Deny — block this tool call. Claude will adapt and try a different approach.
- Always allow in this project (local) — whitelist this tool for the current workspace. Claude won't ask again for similar calls in this folder.
- Allow once — approve only this specific call. Claude will ask again next time.
While you're getting comfortable with Claude Code, Allow once is the safest default. Once you've seen what a particular tool does and you trust its behavior, switch to Always allow in this project to reduce interruptions.
Troubleshooting
winget is not recognized. You're running an older Windows build. Update Windows via Settings > Windows Update, or install App Installer from the Microsoft Store.
The msstore source agreement prompt fails or your organization has Microsoft Store disabled. Download Claude Desktop directly from https://claude.com/download and run the installer. The same applies to Git — https://git-scm.com/download/win provides a standalone installer.
Code tab shows an error about Git. You skipped the sign-out in Step 4. Sign out of Windows, sign back in, and reopen Claude.
winget install fails with a policy or access error. Your organization may have restricted winget for standard users via Group Policy. Contact your IT support for an alternative install path — Anthropic and Git both publish standalone user-scope installers that don't require admin rights.
Permission prompts feel excessive. This is by design for first-time use. Use Always allow in this project (local) for tools you've vetted to cut down on prompts within a trusted workspace.
Last updated: May 2026