You already use the Claude app. Claude Code is the same Claude, but it lives on your computer, where it can make real things: business cards, flyers, client lists, quotes, even web pages like this one. This page gets you from nothing to working in about 20 minutes.
The app answers questions in a chat. Claude Code does work on your computer. You type what you want in plain English, and it creates the files: a card design, a price sheet, a one page website. You never write code. It writes the code. You just describe what you want and look at what comes out.
Claude Code runs inside a program called a terminal. A terminal is just a text window: you type a line, press Enter, and the computer runs it. No mouse, no buttons. It looks intimidating and it is not. You only ever need to do two things in it: open it, and type claude. After that you are talking to Claude in plain English, same as the app.
Claude Code is included with Claude Pro, $20 a month. The free plan does not include it. Upgrade in the app or at claude.ai with the same account you already use.
Press the Windows key, type powershell, press Enter. A blue or black text window opens. That is your terminal. Pin it to your taskbar; you will use it every day.
Copy the line below, right click inside the PowerShell window to paste it, press Enter, and wait for it to finish.
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Close PowerShell, open it again (same as step 2), type claude and press Enter. Your browser opens and asks you to sign in. Sign in with your Claude account, the same one as the app. You only do this once.
That is the whole setup. Now just type what you want. It will ask permission before it changes anything, so say yes when it asks. When you are done, close the window. Next time: open PowerShell, type claude.
An API key is a password that lets Claude act on your account at some other service, so it can do things for you there instead of just telling you how. You paste the key in once, then ask in plain English.
The one worth setting up first is Cloudflare, because it gets you a real website. A domain is a name on the internet, like sideman.com. Own one and Claude Code can put pages on it in one sentence, the same way I made this page and put it at this address.
How: make a free account at cloudflare.com and buy a domain there, about $10 a year. Then tell Claude Code: "I bought a domain at Cloudflare. Walk me through making an API token, step by step, then save it so you can put pages on my site whenever I ask." It will walk you through every click. From then on, "make me a page about my services and put it at cards.yourname.com" just works.
This is the real unlock. You can hand a customer a link with a clean writeup, a price sheet, or a photo gallery of your work. People who cannot make these things themselves assume whoever sent it runs a serious operation.
Do the setup, then use it a little every day. Ask it anything, including questions about itself: "what can you do for someone like me?" It knows.
Business cards, flyer, quote template, and a one page website that says who you are, what you do, and your number. Print the cards at Staples or vistaprint.com from the file Claude makes.
This is where it pays. Have Claude build lists of likely customers near you, draft the outreach texts and emails, and keep a simple file tracking who you contacted and who answered. Ten minutes a day of sending beats any ad you could buy.