I'd really like to get Claude Code working in VS Code on Mac. I'm not very familiar with this kind of stuff.

I've now tried installing it on 3 different Macs, and haven't gotten it working until this afternoon -

I was finally able to get it to install properly (I think) using

"curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash"

Claude Code launched ONCE from Terminal, so then I tried following Anthropic's steps to get it going in VS Code,

(Run claude - the extension will auto-install)|
but ... "bash: claude: command not found".

I just wanted to try launching it again from Terminal, and now I get:

"The default interactive shell is now zsh.
To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050."

huh?

If I try running Code from Terminal again...

"-bash: claude: command not found"

???

So - absolutely no clue what's going on. Thought the third time might be a charm, and at least I was able to launch it once... :)

Any help appreciated.

Hey everyone, I'm new to Claude Code and just spent an hour in installation hell. I'm on a Mac

So apparently, there are THREE ways to install this:

1. npm install: npm install -g u/anthropic-ai/claude-code

   • Docs say this is "standard installation"

   • Gets a permission denied error

   • Docs then warn "DO NOT use sudo"

2. curl installer: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

   • Called "beta" but actually works

   • Buried in a random troubleshooting article

   • Installs to ~/.local/bin (need to fix PATH)

3. sudo npm: sudo npm install -g u/anthropic-ai/claude-code

   • What actually makes npm work

   • But docs specifically say DON'T do this

   • "Security risks" apparently

How did you all install this?
Also, why do they recommend npm when they literally have a note saying "Claude Code has a native installation that doesn't depend on npm" - THEN MAKE THAT THE DEFAULT??

I'm not even mad, this is hilarious. Just want to know if I'm missing something obvious here