Setup (Mac)

Install the Claude desktop app and let Claude do the rest of the preparation. You do this once.

Using Windows? See Setup (Windows).

What you need from an administrator

Before you start, you need two things:

  • A Claude account — on a plan that includes Claude Code
  • A GitHub account — invited to this platform's repository, the place where the apps' code is kept
If you do not have them yet

Ask an administrator for "an account that can use Claude Code" and "an invitation to the GitHub repository". If you already have a GitHub account, tell the administrator your username.

Step 1: Install the Claude desktop app

  1. Open claude.com/download and download the app for Mac.
  2. Open the downloaded file and move Claude into the Applications folder.
  3. Start Claude and log in with the account you were given.

Step 2: Choose a working folder in the Code tab

  1. Open the Code tab at the top of the app. This is Claude Code.
  2. Choose Local. Claude can now work with the files on your Mac.
  3. With Select folder, choose your home folder. It is the folder with the house icon, named after you. In the folder picker, press Command + Shift + H to open it.
Do not choose Documents or Desktop

Documents and Desktop are often synced with iCloud. A project stored inside them can behave unreliably.

Step 3: Set the model to Opus and Effort to High

Before you send the request, press the model name near the message box and choose Opus, then set Effort (how deeply Claude thinks) to High or above. Setup is work where Claude inspects your computer and makes one judgement after another, so it gets the most careful setting.

Check it whenever you start a new conversation

The model and Effort are chosen per conversation. When you start a new conversation in Step 5, check that they are still the same.

Step 4: Ask Claude to do the first half of the preparation

One request covers logging in to GitHub and getting the project. The rest, such as Node.js, is asked for in Step 5, after you open the project folder: that folder contains the instructions Claude follows to prepare this platform correctly. Copy the request below, paste it into Claude Code, and send it. It is fine to paste it as it is, even if some words are unfamiliar.

Ask for the first half of the preparation
Claude prompt
I want to do the first half of preparing this Mac for development. I have no programming experience. Please work in this order. 1. Check whether the following are installed, and install only what is missing: Git, Git LFS, and the GitHub CLI (gh). Do not install Node.js or pnpm in this conversation (they come later, in another conversation with the project folder open). Make Git LFS ready with git lfs install before cloning 2. Check whether the GitHub CLI is logged in to GitHub. If it is not, I will log in myself in the Terminal app. Give me the one line to paste (the method that logs in through the browser) and the steps in the browser, then wait until I send "done". Once I am logged in, run gh auth setup-git so that Git uses the same login, and show me the username that is logged in 3. Check whether Git has a name and an email address set for commits. For anything that is not set, set it from the account that is logged in to GitHub now, without asking me. Use the name on the GitHub profile, or the username if there is none. For the email address, use the private address GitHub provides ([email protected]). Apply the setting to this whole computer. Do not change anything that is already set 4. Create a folder named AlgoritmiAI directly inside my home folder. If it already exists, use it as it is. Whatever folder is open now, this is where the project goes. Do not create it anywhere that may be synced with iCloud, such as Desktop, Documents or Downloads 5. Clone https://github.com/algoritmi-tech/algoritmi-test-vibe-coding-platform into that folder. The result should be at ~/AlgoritmiAI/algoritmi-test-vibe-coding-platform. Run commands that take long in the background and wait for them to finish, so that they are not cut off 6. Finally, open the resulting folder in Finder to show me, tell me where it is, and tell me whether this half of the preparation is complete. Do not install the project's dependencies or start an app in this conversation Before installing anything, explain in one sentence what it is and why it is needed. For anything that needs a password or actions on screen, such as Homebrew or the Xcode command line tools, walk me through the steps I take one at a time. Never ask me for a password.

While Claude works, it may ask you to do things like these:

What you are askedWhat to do
A confirmation such as "May I run this?"Read it and allow it if it is part of the preparation. If unsure, ask "What does this do?"
Permission to write outside the working folderAllow it if it is for installing something or creating the folder as part of the preparation
A window offering to install the "command line developer tools"Press Install and wait until it finishes. It takes several minutes. Then send "done" to Claude
Logging in to GitHub in the TerminalOpen the Terminal app, paste the one line Claude gave you, and press Enter. Note the code of letters and digits it shows, enter it in the browser that opens, and press the button that grants access. Then send "done" to Claude
Typing your Mac passwordType it yourself on the screen Claude points you to. Never type a password into your conversation with Claude
Restarting ClaudeQuit Claude, start it again, go back to the same conversation, and send "Please continue"

Installing can take a while. When Claude shows you the folder in Finder and answers that this half is complete, go to the next step.

Step 5: Reopen with the project folder and ask for the rest

The folder named algoritmi-test-vibe-coding-platform that Claude showed you is the project folder. It is inside AlgoritmiAI in your home folder.

  1. Start a new conversation in the Code tab.
  2. With Select folder, choose the algoritmi-test-vibe-coding-platform folder inside AlgoritmiAI.
  3. Check that the model is Opus and Effort is High or above.
  4. Paste the request below and send it.
Ask for the second half of the preparation
Claude prompt
/check-environment This is the second half of first-time setup. I have no programming experience. Install what is missing so that this repository's apps can be opened on my computer. 1. For Node.js, install the newest release of the line written in .node-version at the root of this repository 2. Install pnpm, and check that pnpm --version in this folder matches packageManager in package.json 3. Install the project's dependencies from the root of this folder. Run commands that take long in the background and wait for them to finish 4. There is no need to start an app. Finally, tell me whether everything is ready Before installing anything, explain in one sentence what it is and why it is needed. For anything that needs a password or actions on screen, walk me through the steps I take one at a time. If a command is not found after installing, ask me to restart Claude, and continue after the restart.
What you are askedWhat to do
The Node.js installer windowPress Continue through it, and type your Mac password yourself when asked. Then send "done" to Claude
Restarting ClaudeQuit Claude, start it again, go back to the same conversation, and send "Please continue"
From now on, always choose this folder

This folder contains the instructions Claude follows to work by this platform's rules. If you ask while another folder is selected, Claude works without knowing those rules. Once you have chosen the folder, it appears in the list of recent folders.

When Claude answers that everything is ready, setup is complete.

If something goes wrong

What happenedWhat to do
You cannot find or use the Code tabAsk an administrator whether your plan includes Claude Code
You cannot find the model or Effort controlLook below the message box and near the send button. If it is not there, go ahead without it
Claude stopped partwaySend "Please continue"
You cannot log in to GitHub, or the repository is "not found"Ask an administrator whether you have been invited. If you received an invitation email, accept it
The folder location Claude showed contains tmp or TempThat is a temporary place. Send "Move the cloned folder into AlgoritmiAI in my home folder"
Something you installed is "not found"Restart Claude, go back to the same conversation, and send "Please continue"
You do not understand what is happeningSend "Explain what you are doing right now, without technical terms"

Quiz

Quiz

After setup, which folder should be selected when you ask Claude to do something?

Next step

Go to The Basic Flow.