Getting Oriented and Installing Your Tools
Goal — Understand the role you are growing into, then install the toolchain on macOS or Windows.
By the end — The four tools installed and confirmed working, plus your own note on what each one is for.
Map first — What is each tool for, and which one will you actually talk to?
1Know what a design engineer is
A design engineer is a designer who can build and ship the thing, not just describe it. You already think in flows, hierarchy, and structure. What you are adding is the ability to turn that thinking into working software — with an AI coding partner doing the typing while you hold the intent.
You will not be memorizing code. You will direct an agent called Claude Code to write it, read what it produces, and understand enough of the architecture to steer. That is the whole game: judgment over syntax.
2Meet the four tools
Four tools make up your workbench, each with one job. You do not need to understand them deeply yet — you need them installed and confirmed working. Understanding arrives as you use them.
The editor (VS Code or Cursor) is where you see and organize files. Node is a JavaScript runtime that runs the websites and tools you build. Claude Code is an AI coding agent in your terminal that writes and edits code on your direction. Git is a version-control system that tracks every change and backs your work up.
3Get a code editor
4Install Git
The order matters on Windows: install Git before Claude Code, so Claude Code can find it.
Open the Terminal app and check whether Git is already there. If it is missing, macOS offers to install it — accept.
git --version5Install Node.js
Go to nodejs.org and download the LTS (long-term support) version. Run the installer with default options on either platform. This gives you both node and npm (Node's package installer).
6Install Claude Code
On macOS, open Terminal and run the install command. On Windows, open PowerShell (not Command Prompt) and run the PowerShell command. See the setup docs if you get stuck.
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bashClaude Code requires a Claude Pro or Max subscription (or API access). The first time you run `claude`, it opens your browser to log in. If `claude --version` works but login fails, check your plan at claude.com.
7Confirm everything works
Close and reopen your terminal first, so it picks up the new tools. Then run each command below — each should print a version number, not an error.
node --version
git --version
claude --versionWindows: no WSL, and why Git matters. Older guides told you to install WSL (a Linux system inside Windows). You no longer need it — Claude Code runs natively on Windows. Installing Git for Windows also gives you Git Bash, a terminal that behaves like the Mac one, so the commands in this course match on both systems. On Windows, prefer Git Bash.
8Map before you make
Before you close this session, do one small thing that sets the tone. Open a plain text note and answer, in your own words: what is each of these four tools for, and which one will you actually be talking to? You just read the answers — writing them yourself is the point.
This is the map-before-you-make habit in miniature. At every step from here, you pause to understand the layout before building on it — where files live, how the AI is called, what is running where. You never blind-prompt "just build it." Holding the system in your head is what makes you an engineer rather than a passenger.
Recap — You learned what a design engineer is and installed the four tools — editor, Node, Claude Code, and Git — confirming each prints a version, so your machine is ready to build.