Setup Guide — Windows & macOS

Install VS Code

1. Go to https://code.visualstudio.com in your browser.
2. Click the big blue Download for Windows button.
3. Open the downloaded file (VSCodeUserSetup-*.exe) and click through the installer.
   • Accept the licence agreement.
   • On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, tick "Add to PATH" (important).
4. Click Finish. VS Code opens.

Install Node.js (required for Claude Code)

1. Go to https://nodejs.org.
2. Download the LTS version (the left button — "LTS", not "Current").
3. Open the installer and click Next through all defaults.
4. When done, open a new terminal and check it worked:
   • Press Win + R, type powershell, press Enter.
   • Type node --version and press Enter.

node --version

You should see something like v20.18.0. If you see an error, restart your laptop and try again (PATH needs a restart to take effect).

Install Claude Code

In the same PowerShell window, type:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Wait for it to finish (1–3 minutes). Then check:

claude --version

You should see a version number. If it says "claude is not recognized", see Troubleshooting at the end of this guide.

Connect DeepSeek (3 environment settings)

Claude Code needs three settings so it talks to DeepSeek instead of the default service. The fastest way — in the same PowerShell window, run these three commands one by one (replace PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE with your actual API key from the next step):

setx ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL "https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic"
setx ANTHROPIC_MODEL "deepseek-v4-flash"
setx ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN "PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE"

First run

1. Open VS Code.
2. Open the folder where you want to work (menu: File → Open Folder — e.g. create C:\Finance\2026-08 consolidated FS\).
3. Open the built-in terminal: menu Terminal → New Terminal.
4. Type claude and press Enter.
5. First time, Claude Code asks a couple of setup questions — accept the defaults (choose the "default" permission mode when asked).
6. Test it with:

Which files are in this folder?

You should get a list of files. You're done — your AI assistant is live.

Install VS Code

1. Go to https://code.visualstudio.com → Download for macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel, whichever your Mac is).
2. Open the downloaded .zip; drag Visual Studio Code.app into the Applications folder.
3. Open VS Code once. Then enable the code command:
   • Press Cmd + Shift + P → type shell command → select "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH".
4. (First time you open it, macOS may ask about the developer tool — follow the prompt to install Command Line Developer Tools if requested.)

Install Node.js

Option A (recommended for non-developers):

1. Go to https://nodejs.org → download the LTS version (.pkg for macOS).
2. Open the .pkg and click through the installer.

Option B (if you use Homebrew): open Terminal and run brew install node.

Check it worked — open Terminal (press Cmd + Space, type Terminal):

node --version

You should see something like v20.18.0.

Install Claude Code

In Terminal:

sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Then check:

claude --version

Connect DeepSeek (3 environment settings)

Open your shell profile so the settings survive restarts:

nano ~/.zshrc

(If nano shows an empty file, that's fine.) Add these three lines at the end — replace PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE with your API key (see the key instructions in the Windows section — same DeepSeek platform, same process):

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="deepseek-v4-flash"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE"

Save and exit: press Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter.

Apply the changes to the current window:

source ~/.zshrc

First run

1. Open VS Code → File → Open Folder (e.g. ~/Finance/2026-08 consolidated FS/).
2. Terminal → New Terminal → type claude → Enter.
3. Accept the default settings on first launch.
4. Test with:

Which files are in this folder?