Setup
Essentials
The bare minimum needed to follow the workshop hands-on, in the order to get them. Positron is the window everything else runs inside, so start there.
Note: Claude Code requires a paid subscription, so sign up for at least a Claude Pro account before the workshop. Netlify is free and needs nothing installed: just create the account ahead of time so you can publish your site during the workshop.
Don’t want to pay? Gemini CLI is free with a Google account and works the same way: a coding agent you run from Positron’s terminal. Everything we demonstrate is Claude Code, so the commands and menus will not match exactly, but the ideas transfer. See Alternatives below.
Installing Claude Code
Positron and Netlify are ordinary sign-up-and-download affairs. Claude Code is the one piece you install by typing a line, and you do it from inside Positron. Work through these five steps before the workshop so you arrive ready to build.
Open a terminal inside Positron
From the menu bar, choose Terminal › New Terminal. A panel opens along the bottom of the window. Everything below happens in that panel, so you never need to leave Positron.
Paste the line for your computer, then press Enter
macOS
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bashWindows
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iexClose that terminal, then open a new one
Use the trash icon on the terminal panel, then Terminal › New Terminal again. This step matters: the installer teaches your computer where claude lives, and only a freshly opened terminal knows about it.
Check that it worked
Type claude --version and press Enter. You should see a version number such as 2.1.211 (Claude Code). If you instead see command not found, the new terminal from step 3 is what fixes it nine times out of ten.
Log in
Type claude and press Enter. A browser window opens: sign in with the Claude account you paid for above. You only do this once.
Never used a terminal before? Anthropic has a step-by-step terminal guide written for exactly that. You will need macOS 13 or newer, or Windows 10 or newer. If you get stuck, come a few minutes early and we will sort it out with you.
Alternatives
Claude Code is not the only agent that works this way. Both of these run in Positron’s terminal exactly like Claude Code does, and Gemini CLI is free with an ordinary Google account. Use one of these if you already have an account with that provider, or if you would rather not pay for anything. The trade-off is that the workshop is taught in Claude Code, so slash commands, menus, and the way skills are installed will not line up exactly with what you see on screen.
Note: See GW IT’s list of approved AI tools for more information.