Installation
The Claude desktop app is the only thing you install by hand. Everything else—Git, your project repository, and whatever tools your app needs—you set up by asking Claude, inside the app.
Before your project starts you need four things: a laptop, a GitHub account linked to CS 124, a Claude Pro subscription, and the Claude desktop app. This page walks through each one.
LaptopLaptop
You will need a laptop or other personal computer to work on the MP, and you need to bring it, charged, to discussion section along with its charger. The Claude desktop app runs on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later, with Linux support in beta. A phone, a tablet, or a campus lab machine will not work: you need to be able to install software.
If you don’t have access to a personal computer, please see our laptop loaner program information for details about university programs that provide free laptop loans for the semester. Both the Engineering IT and ATLAS programs provide laptops with full administrative access.
GitHubGitHub
If you don’t already have a GitHub account, start here to create one.
It’s quick, free, and painless.
Note that if you sign up with your @illinois.edu email address there are usually some freebies thrown in…
If you already have a GitHub account, just keep using it for CS 124. There is no requirement that you identify yourself as a CS 124 or Illinois student with GitHub.
Once you’re done, link your GitHub account with your CS 124 identity using the button below. You need this link before you can create your project repository on the MP page.
Claude ProClaude Pro
You should already have a Claude account from earlier in the semester. The project needs at least the Claude Pro plan, which costs $20 per month, as described in the syllabus required materials section. You build your project in the Claude desktop app’s Code tab, which is not available on the free plan.
The Claude Desktop AppThe Claude Desktop App
- Download and install the Claude desktop app from claude.ai/download.
- Sign in with the same Claude account you have used all semester.
- Switch to the Code tab. If the app asks you to upgrade, your account is not on a paid plan yet; see above.
That’s it. On the first day of the project you will use the Code tab to clone your repository and start your first session; the Git guide walks through it.
GitGit
You do not need to install Git yourself. When you ask Claude to clone your repository, it checks whether Git is installed and installs it if it is missing.
If you would rather install it by hand, or Claude cannot, here is the one-line version for each platform:
- Windows: in PowerShell, run
winget install --id Git.Git -e - macOS: in Terminal, run
xcode-select --install - Linux: see git-scm.com for your distribution’s command
If You Build an Android or iOS AppIf You Build an Android or iOS App
A web app needs nothing beyond the Claude app, and it is the right choice for most students. Android and iOS apps need more: an Android app needs an Android phone and Android’s development tools, and an iOS app needs a Mac with Xcode and an iPhone. The Project Platforms section of the syllabus lists the requirements and limits for each. When you get there, ask Claude to walk you through installing what your platform needs.
Alternative: Claude Code in the TerminalAlternative: Claude Code in the Terminal
The Code tab and Claude Code in a terminal are the same agent, and your project works the same way in either. If the desktop app does not work on your machine, install the terminal version instead.
On macOS or Linux, in a terminal:
On Windows, in PowerShell:
Then run claude in your project folder and sign in with your Claude account when it asks.
If you get stuck installing anything, ask on the forum.