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Requirements

  • Node.js 18 or higher — Claude Code checks the Node.js version at startup and exits with an error if it is below 18.
  • npm — included with Node.js.
Check your current version: 
node --version
npm --version

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Install Claude Code

Install globally with npm: 
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
After installation, verify it works: 
claude --version

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Platform-specific notes

npm global installs work out of the box on macOS. If you get a permissions error when running npm install -g, you have two options:Option A: Fix npm permissions (recommended)Configure npm to use a directory in your home folder:
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
Add the following to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile):
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
Then reload your profile and install:
source ~/.zshrc
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Option B: Use a Node version managerTools like nvm or fnm install Node.js in your home directory, which avoids global permission issues entirely:
# Using nvm
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

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Updating

Update Claude Code to the latest version with: 
npm update -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Or use Claude Code’s built-in update command: 
claude update
To check what version you’re running: 
claude --version

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Uninstalling

Remove Claude Code with: 
npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
This removes the claude binary. Your configuration files in ~/.claude/ are not removed automatically. To delete them: 
rm -rf ~/.claude

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Troubleshooting

This usually means the npm global bin directory is not on your PATH.Find where npm installs global binaries:
npm config get prefix
The bin subdirectory of that path needs to be on your PATH. For example, if the output is /home/you/.npm-global, add this to your shell profile:
export PATH=/home/you/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
Reload your shell (source ~/.zshrc or open a new terminal) and try again.
Claude Code requires Node.js 18 or higher. If you see this error at startup:
Error: Claude Code requires Node.js version 18 or higher.
Upgrade Node.js using your version manager:
# nvm
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

# fnm
fnm install --lts
fnm use --lts
Or download the latest LTS release from nodejs.org.
Do not use sudo npm install -g — it can leave files owned by root and cause further issues. Instead, fix your npm prefix to point to a user-writable directory:
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Add the export PATH line to your shell profile so it persists across sessions.
If the browser-based OAuth flow fails or you cannot use a browser, set your API key directly as an environment variable instead:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
claude
You can add this to your shell profile to make it permanent. API keys are available in the Anthropic Console.
In non-interactive environments, authenticate with an API key via the environment variable:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
Use the -p flag to run non-interactively:
claude -p "run the test suite and report any failures"
If you need Claude Code to operate without permission prompts in a sandboxed container, use the --dangerously-skip-permissions flag. This flag only works in environments that pass Claude Code’s sandbox safety checks (no internet access and not running as root outside a container).