Claude Code on Mac

Quick answer. The easiest way to set up Claude Code on a Mac is the free app Set Up Your Mac for Claude Code, which installs Claude Code and the developer tools it needs and verifies it works. To install just the CLI yourself, you'll need to set up a development environment, then run one Homebrew command:

brew install --cask claude-code@latest

Then run claude inside a project to start it. ✓ Every command verified on macOS 26.5, 2026-06-26, arm64.

Download the app "Set Up Your Mac for Claude Code"

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool — it reads your codebase, edits files with your approval, and runs commands. It is not a single app: the same engine runs in the terminal CLI, in editors (VS Code, JetBrains, and Zed via its Agent Client Protocol), in the Claude Desktop app's Code tab, and on the web at claude.ai/code, sharing your CLAUDE.md, settings, and MCP servers across all of them.

Guides in this topic cluster

• Install Claude Code on Mac — install the CLI and sign in.
• Brew Install Claude Code — Homebrew channels, upgrading, and uninstall.
• Claude Code vs Claude Desktop — the routinely-confused CLI-vs-GUI pair, and which to use.
• Update Claude Code — force an update and fix a wrong version.
• command not found: claude — fix the PATH error after install.
• Prerequisites for Claude Code — the developer environment Claude Code needs.

Before you install: Claude Code needs a developer environment — a terminal, Homebrew, the Xcode Command Line Tools, git, and a paid Claude plan. See Prerequisites for Claude Code, or let the app above set it all up.

Plan: Claude Code requires a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or an Anthropic Console / API account; the free Claude.ai plan does not include it. Current tiers are at claude.com/pricing.

Download the app "Set Up Your Mac for Claude Code"

Sources

• Claude Code overview — https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview
• Homebrew — https://brew.sh