If you run a business, you probably spend hours every week on repetitive tasks: writing emails, organizing files, following up with clients, preparing documents. What if an AI could do that work for you, right on your computer, just by talking to it in plain English? That's exactly what Claude Code does.
This guide starts from zero: what Claude Code is, how to install it and, most importantly, how to use it to automate your day-to-day work. You don't need a technical background to follow along.
What is Claude Code
Claude Code is an AI assistant built by Anthropic that lives on your computer and acts instead of just answering. You describe a task in everyday language, and it gets it done: it reads your files, creates new ones, edits documents, runs programs, writes code, checks its own work and fixes its own mistakes.
Where a regular assistant gives you advice, Claude Code does the work. It's the difference between someone explaining how to change a tire and someone changing it while you watch.
Claude Code is not just for developers. It was built for code first, but it handles any kind of file: text, spreadsheets, images, documents. For a business owner, it's a digital employee that never sleeps.
Chatbot or agent: the real difference
You probably know chatbots like ChatGPT: you ask a question, they answer with text. Handy, but then it's on you to copy, paste, adapt and apply. You're still doing most of the work.
Claude Code is an agent. It doesn't just talk. It acts, start to finish, on your machine.
You ask a question, it answers with text. You still have to apply it, test it and fix it. You do 80% of the work.
You describe the result you want. It opens your files, makes the changes, checks them, fixes its mistakes and shows you the finished result.
How it works: the agentic loop
Claude Code's secret is that it works in a loop. For every request, it runs through several steps until the task is actually done, without you prompting it again.
You stay in the driver's seat: you set the direction, approve sensitive actions and correct course. It handles the execution.
Where to use Claude Code
Many people think Claude Code only lives in the terminal (that slightly intimidating black screen). Not true. It's the same tool, available in several places, and you pick the one you're most comfortable with.
The terminal
The command line, on Mac, Windows and Linux. The original version, and the most direct.
The desktop app
The Claude app on Mac and Windows. The same Claude Code, in a friendlier window.
The web version
At claude.ai/code, nothing to install. Handy for trying it out or working from anywhere.
In your editor
Built into VS Code, Cursor or JetBrains. More on that below.
It's the same Claude Code everywhere, with the same settings and the same automations. Switch between them and nothing changes.
Install Claude Code in 2 minutes
The most common route is the terminal. You need Node.js (a small free program) first, then a single command.
# Node.js required: nodejs.org # 1. install Claude Code (once) npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code # 2. go to your working folder cd mon-projet # 3. launch claude > hi, show me this folder
In your code editor (VS Code or Cursor)
This is the most comfortable setup. Plugged into VS Code or Cursor, Claude sees your project, knows which file you're working on, and shows you its changes in color before you accept them. To install it, open the editor's built-in terminal and type claude. The extension sets itself up.
Cursor is built on VS Code, so the Claude Code extension works exactly the same way there. If you're just starting out and the command line puts you off, start with the desktop app or the web version.
Basic commands
Once it's running, you just talk to it. A few special commands, each starting with a slash, make life easier.
Start a project
Claude scans your folder and writes a first settings file for you.
Start fresh
Wipes the conversation memory. Use it between unrelated tasks.
Switch models
Switches to a faster or a more powerful model, depending on the job.
Two shortcuts worth knowing: @ to point to a specific file, and ! to run a command directly on your computer.
The CLAUDE.md file: your project's memory
This is the most underrated piece, and the one that changes everything. CLAUDE.md is a plain text file you drop in your folder. Claude reads it automatically at the start of every session. It's where you write down, once, everything it should always know.
# CLAUDE.md ## Rules - Always answer in English - Direct tone, no jargon - Never make up numbers ## My business - Services agency for small businesses - Clients: busy owners
The more precise your CLAUDE.md, the more often Claude gets it right on the first try. Your tone, your rules, your business context, the words to avoid: it all goes in there. It's the difference between a generic assistant and one that sounds like you.
Permissions: you stay in control
Fair question: if Claude acts on its own, what stops it from doing something dumb? Permissions. By default, it asks for your approval before changing a file or running a command. Nothing happens behind your back.
- Allow: for safe actions that come up often, so you don't have to approve them every time.
- Ask: the default. It checks with you before acting.
- Deny: to block anything that could be dangerous.
A good habit when you're starting out: stay cautious, then widen your trusted list as you gain confidence.
Skills: your reusable know-how
This is where Claude Code turns into a real machine. A Skill is a set of instructions you write once for a specific task. Claude loads it on its own when the situation calls for it. You say "prepare my weekly summary" and it already knows the whole recipe: where to find the information, how to lay it out, what tone to use.
The big idea: you never explain the same thing twice. Every piece of know-how gets banked. Here are real Skills we build for clients at RelaisIA:
Hours check
Compares scheduled hours with hours actually worked and flags the gaps.
Candidate search
Turns a job description into a list of scored candidates, with the reasoning.
Social posts
Turns an idea into ready-to-publish posts for LinkedIn and Facebook.
Your own commands
Beyond Skills, you can create your own commands. A small text file becomes a shortcut you trigger with a single word. A prompt you keep retyping, a sequence of steps you always follow: save it once, then just type /myshortcut.
A /recap command that summarizes what was done today, lists the files changed and suggests the next three steps. One word, and the recap writes itself.
Hooks: invisible automation
A Hook is an action that fires automatically at a specific moment, without you thinking about it. Set it up once and it runs quietly in the background, every time.
Everything logs itself
Every action Claude takes goes into a daily note. By evening you have a full log of the day's work, with zero effort.
Automatic cleanup
Every time Claude writes a text, a Hook strips out the phrasing that sounds like AI. Your voice stays human, automatically.
MCP: plug in your tools
By default, Claude only sees your files. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the universal plug that connects it to the apps you actually use: your inbox, your database, your CRM, your website, your calendar.
Read, sort and draft your emails.
Databases
Query and update your data.
CRM and spreadsheets
Read and write in your business tools.
Websites and deployment
Put your site online with one sentence.
In practice, you can say "sort my inbox and draft replies to the partnership requests" and watch it happen.
Subagents: delegating at scale
For big jobs, Claude can launch several assistants in parallel, each handling one part of the work, then pull it all together. A wide search, a full audit, a batch job: what would take hours gets done in a fraction of the time, and each agent keeps its own context clean.
The method for good results
Good results don't come from luck. They come from a method, and the order matters.
Frame it first
Clarify the need and approve the plan before Claude touches anything.
Give context
Explain the goal, not just the task. "For busy clients" changes the whole result.
Review and correct
Claude shows you what it's doing. You approve or you adjust. You stay in charge.
Bank it
What works becomes a rule, a Skill or a command. You're building your machine.
Where to start
You don't have to do everything at once. Here's a simple way to start, tonight.
- Install Claude Code or open the app, and just say hi.
- Write your CLAUDE.md: your tone, your language, your business. Fifteen lines is plenty to start.
- Give it a real task you do often. You'll see the value right away.
- Turn it into a Skill once it works. Next time, it's a single word.
We set up AI in your business, for you
See the potential but have no time to set it up? At RelaisIA, we pinpoint your most time-consuming tasks, build custom automations and deploy them in your tools. You get your hours back.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to know how to code to use Claude Code?
No. You talk to it in plain English and Claude does the work. Coding skills help on technical projects, but most business uses (writing, organizing, automating repetitive tasks) need no programming at all.
Is Claude Code free?
Installing it is free. Using it requires a Claude subscription or the Anthropic API, with plans for individuals and for businesses.
How is it different from ChatGPT?
A chatbot gives you text you then have to apply yourself. Claude Code acts directly on your computer: it reads and writes files, runs commands and completes the task from start to finish.
Can you use it without a terminal?
Yes. Beyond the terminal, Claude Code is available as a desktop app (Mac and Windows), as a web version, and inside editors like VS Code and Cursor.
Is my data safe?
Claude works on your machine and asks permission before any sensitive action. You decide which tools and files it can access. For business use, we set up strict permission rules.