Installing Claude Code in VS Code

Step 1 — Install VS Code

Download and install Visual Studio Code from the website https://code.visualstudio.com/.

Step 2 — Find the Claude Code extension

Click on the extension icon and search for Claude Code. You will get the official Anthropic icon.

Step 3 — Trust the publisher

A pop-up will appear for confirmation of trust. Select Trust Publisher and Install.

Step 4 — Open Claude Code and start a session

Verify the Claude Code extension icon and click on ‘+ New Session’ to start the chat.

Step 5 — Sign in

The next part is to authenticate your Claude subscription account. Start a new session and click on the ‘Claude.ai’ subscription button. This will take you to a browser where you will log in with your Claude account and authorize the Claude Code extension in VS Code.

Step 6 — Check which model you're on

Create a new session and ask for the model in the chat. You will get the details about which model is currently active in your session.

Step 7 — Switch models and settings

Click on the icon to switch the model and other settings in Claude Code.