Learn Claude Code

Every way to use Claude Code

Terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, desktop, web, phone, GitHub, Slack, scripts and the Agent SDK: every place Claude Code runs and when to use each one.

Lesson 1.2⏱ 7 min read🌱 Curious❓ 3-question quiz
The short answer

Claude Code is one agent with many front doors. The terminal is the original and most flexible; the VS Code and JetBrains extensions put it beside your editor; the desktop and web apps add cloud sessions you can follow from your phone; GitHub, Slack and headless mode bring it into team workflows; and the Agent SDK lets you build your own agents on the same engine.

One agent, many front doors

Whichever way you open it, the engine underneath is the same: Claude reads your project, uses tools to make changes and checks its work. What changes is where it runs (your laptop or the cloud) and how you talk to it (typing, an editor panel, a GitHub comment).

Analogy: it is like a bank. Branch, app, website or phone call, it is the same account; you pick the door that suits what you are doing.

On your own computer

  • Terminal (command line): type claude in a project folder. Every feature lands here first: slash commands, hooks, subagents, MCP and settings.
  • VS Code extension: a Claude panel inside the editor, with proposed changes shown as side-by-side diffs you can accept or reject. It also works in VS Code-based editors such as Cursor.
  • JetBrains plugin: the same idea for IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm and friends.
  • Claude desktop app (Mac and Windows, plus a Linux beta on Ubuntu and Debian): Claude Code sessions in a regular app window, no terminal needed.

Local sessions can use everything on your machine: your files, your installed tools and your logins. That makes them the most capable, and the place where permissions matter most.

In the cloud

  • Claude Code on the web (claude.ai/code): start a session on a GitHub repository and it runs in a fresh cloud container, so your laptop can be closed. Good for parallel tasks: kick off three fixes and review each one when it is ready.
  • The Claude mobile app: start or follow cloud sessions from your phone, answer Claude's questions and review results on the move.
When to choose cloud: long-running or parallel jobs on a repository that lives on GitHub. Choose local when the work needs files, tools or credentials that only exist on your computer.

Inside team tools

  • GitHub: with the Claude GitHub app and the Claude Code GitHub Action, you can mention @claude in an issue or pull request and have it propose a fix, answer questions or review the change.
  • Slack: hand a coding request to Claude from a Slack thread and get a link to the session it starts.
  • Headless mode: claude -p "your task" runs once with no chat window, so scripts and CI pipelines can call it. Level 5 covers this in depth.

Build your own: the Claude Agent SDK

The Claude Agent SDK (TypeScript and Python) gives developers the same agent loop that powers Claude Code, so you can build your own agents: a support agent, a research assistant, an internal ops bot. Level 5 has a full lesson on it.

Which one should you start with?

  • Brand new and nervous of the terminal? Start with the desktop app or the VS Code extension.
  • Comfortable with a terminal? Use the CLI. It is where you learn the most, and every other surface makes more sense afterwards.
  • Running a team? Add GitHub so reviews and small fixes happen where your team already works.

Settings, CLAUDE.md files, skills and hooks carry across surfaces, so nothing you set up is wasted when you switch.

Check yourself

Three quick questions to check it stuck.

Ask the tutor

Stuck on something in this lesson? Ask the AI tutor. It answers from this lesson and points you to others that help. Answers are written by AI and can be wrong. Do not include personal details, passwords or company secrets.

Frequently asked

Is Claude Code only for the terminal?

No. The terminal is the original and most complete version, but Claude Code also runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, the Claude desktop app, on the web at claude.ai/code, from the Claude mobile app, in GitHub and Slack, and in scripts through headless mode.

What is the difference between local and cloud sessions?

A local session runs on your computer and can use your files, tools and logins. A cloud session runs in a fresh container on Anthropic's infrastructure, works on a GitHub repository and keeps going while your laptop is closed.

Do my CLAUDE.md and settings work everywhere?

Project files committed to your repository, such as CLAUDE.md, .claude/settings.json, skills and hooks, travel with the code, so they apply in the terminal, IDE extensions and cloud sessions alike.