There's no doubt that Claude Code is the most powerful AI coding tool right now, but it can be tricky to get started if you're not a developer. So in this video I break down my steps to getting started with Claude Code, from how to plan your app, to how to connect everything you need and set up your local environment to test your app.
This is the beginners course to getting started with Claude Code to build your app idea.
Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction: What is Claude Code and why use it? 5:46 – Installing Cursor and Claude Code 8:27 – Project Setup: Creating claude.md and project plan.md
11:29 – Choosing Your Tech Stack (Next.js, React, Node.js, Convex, Clerk, Polar)
14:49 – Planning Your App: Defining Features and Pages
17:32 – Claude Code Generates the Project Plan 21:24 – Reviewing Project Setup and Next Steps 22:50 – Adding API Keys and Environment Variables
24:32 – Configuring Webhooks (Clerk & Polar) 28:58 – Starting Your Local Environment 31:01 – Testing Database, Authentication, and Payments 32:19 – Using Claude Code’s Thinking Modes
33:07 – Final Thoughts and Getting Help
Key points:
- I walk through what you need to set up your app in Claude Code
- I talk through the basic web app structure, and the steps you'll need to take with Claude Code
- I walk through installing Claude Code on your machine and downloading Cursor to create your app project
- I take you step by step through using Claude Code to plan your app and start building it
- I explain how to use Cursor to provide guidance and support as you build your app
- I take you through setting up all your tools and running a local environment to preview your app
