Start it where the work is
The CLI works in the folder you start it in. So the first move is to stand in the right folder, using exactly the terminal skills from the last chapter.
Make a fresh folder to practice in, step into it, then start the CLI:
mkdir claude-practice
cd claude-practice
claude
mkdir and cd you know. The third line, claude on its own, starts
a session right here in claude-practice. That folder is now the CLI's
world for this session: empty, safe, and yours.
What you're looking at
The CLI starts and shows you a prompt of its own, waiting for an instruction. It looks a little different from the terminal prompt, but the idea is identical: it's ready, and nothing happens until you type something and press enter.
You're now in a session. The plain terminal and the CLI session are
two modes of the same window. In plain terminal mode you type commands
like ls. In a CLI session you type instructions in normal English.
When you want to leave the session and go back to the plain terminal,
you type /exit or press Ctrl and C.
Why the empty folder matters
Starting in an empty practice folder is a deliberate choice for your first time. The CLI can only see and change things in the folder it started in. An empty folder means there's nothing to damage and nothing to get confused by. You get to watch the tool work with zero risk.
Later you'll start the CLI inside real project folders, because that's
the point of it. But the first session should be somewhere that makes a
mistake cost nothing. claude-practice is that somewhere.
Start it where the work is
The CLI works in the folder you start it in. So the first move is to stand in the right folder, using exactly the terminal skills from the last chapter.
Make a fresh folder to practice in, step into it, then start the CLI:
mkdir claude-practice
cd claude-practice
claude
mkdir and cd you know. The third line, claude on its own, starts
a session right here in claude-practice. That folder is now the CLI's
world for this session: empty, safe, and yours.
What you're looking at
The CLI starts and shows you a prompt of its own, waiting for an instruction. It looks a little different from the terminal prompt, but the idea is identical: it's ready, and nothing happens until you type something and press enter.
You're now in a session. The plain terminal and the CLI session are
two modes of the same window. In plain terminal mode you type commands
like ls. In a CLI session you type instructions in normal English.
When you want to leave the session and go back to the plain terminal,
you type /exit or press Ctrl and C.
Why the empty folder matters
Starting in an empty practice folder is a deliberate choice for your first time. The CLI can only see and change things in the folder it started in. An empty folder means there's nothing to damage and nothing to get confused by. You get to watch the tool work with zero risk.
Later you'll start the CLI inside real project folders, because that's
the point of it. But the first session should be somewhere that makes a
mistake cost nothing. claude-practice is that somewhere.