Claude Code Setup Guide

Follow the steps below to install and configure Claude Code

Install Node.js LTS

Open the Node.js download page and confirm the version is LTS (for example v24.14.1 (LTS)). This Windows guide provides an x64 installer by default, which works for most devices.

This guide only provides an x64 installer link.
If you are sure you use a Windows ARM device, go to the Node.js website and choose ARM64.

Download Windows x64 (.msi)

After installation, verify the version:

node --version

After installation, you must close and reopen PowerShell, then run the command above again.

Install Claude Code CLI Globally

Install the official Claude Code CLI with npm. If you hit permission issues, run PowerShell as administrator.

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Configure Environment Variables

Persistent setup is required!
Recent Claude CLI versions verify identity at startup. If environment variables are not set in system environment variables, the CLI may redirect you to the official Claude login.
Use the persistent setup command below to write the variables into the system. Temporary setup only works in the current PowerShell window and expires after closing it.

Clean old config
If you used Claude CLI before, remove the old config first so the environment variables take effect:

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $env:USERPROFILE\.claude

After deletion, Claude will regenerate a fresh config and use the environment variables you set.

Persistent setup (write to system environment variables)

Run the following commands in PowerShell to write the environment variables permanently. You need to reopen PowerShell afterward.

Shortcut to PowerShell: press Win + X and choose "Windows PowerShell", or press Win and search for "PowerShell".

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "https://aicoding.0011.ai", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN", "YOUR_API_KEY", "User")

Other option: temporary setup (current session only, not recommended)

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://aicoding.0011.ai"
$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "YOUR_API_KEY"

Start Claude Code

Go to any project folder and run the command below to start Claude Code CLI:

claude