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Node, Git and the one-time setup
Two quick installs, and it’s worth knowing what each one is actually for. By the end of this lesson both will be on your computer and you’ll have checked they work. Node is the engine your website runs on. Git is your undo button and your backup: every snapshot in this course, and the private backup in Module 7, depends on it.
Node.js — the engine
Runs your website on your own computer so you can look at it, click through it, and fix it before anyone else sees it.
Git — the undo button
Saves a snapshot of every version, so anything can be rolled back, and backed up off your laptop later.
Not anymore. On Windows, versions of the Claude app from 1.49585.0 onward start without Git. This course installs it anyway, for one reason: the snapshots that let you undo a change, and the backup you make in Module 7, both use it.
Install Node.js
- Go to
nodejs.org/en/download. - Near the top you’ll see a heading that starts Get Node.js and ends in LTS, with a version number in between that changes over time. Make sure LTS is the option selected, not Current. LTS means “long-term support”: the stable one.
- Choose your computer (macOS or Windows), download the installer, and click Next or Continue through the defaults. You’ll never open Node yourself; your website uses it in the background.
Install Git
- Windows: go to
git-scm.com/download/win, run the installer, and click Next through every screen, accepting all the defaults. - Mac: open the Terminal app, type
git --versionand press Return. If it offers to install “command line developer tools,” click Install. Most Macs already have Git.
On Windows, once Git has finished installing, fully close and reopen the Claude app. Programs only notice newly installed tools when they restart, so this is what lets Claude find Git for your first snapshot. On a Mac you can skip this.
Check both landed
The easy way is to let Claude check. In the Claude app’s Code tab, type this and press Enter:
Claude's message box
Run node -v and git --version and tell me what each prints.
Claude runs both and reads the answers back. If it asks permission to run them, allow it.
If the app wants a folder before it shows a message box, use the terminal instead: open Terminal on a Mac, or PowerShell on Windows, and type these one at a time, pressing Enter after each:
Type or paste this
node -v
Type or paste this
git --version
Node lets your website run privately on your own computer before it exists anywhere public. Git lets Claude save snapshots of your work, which is what makes it safe to experiment: anything can be undone. Both sit quietly in the background. There’s nothing to open, learn or maintain.
Claude, or your terminal, shows a version number for each one instead of an error. The exact numbers don’t matter. A number is the whole test.
“Command not found” right after installing. The window you typed in was open before the install, so it doesn’t know about the new program yet. Close it completely, open a fresh one, and try again. If it was Claude that couldn’t find them, close and reopen the Claude app for the same reason. On Windows, if a security pop-up appeared during either install, clicking Yes or Allow is expected for these official installers.
Mac asks to install developer tools. Accept it. That’s how a Mac installs Git, and it can take a few minutes.
The Code tab won’t start a session, or tells you Git is required. Update the app first: on Windows click Help, then Check for Updates (on a Mac, Claude, then Check for Updates), and restart it. Older versions of the app insisted on Git before they would start; current ones don’t.
- Node runs your website on your own computer; Claude Code itself doesn’t need it.
- Git is optional for the current Windows app, but this course uses it for snapshots and the Module 7 backup.
- After installing Git on Windows, close and reopen the Claude app once.
- If the app misbehaves, check for updates before reinstalling anything.
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