on Windows · get Linux first · then the same steps as everyone

On Windows? Get Linux first (WSL)

Welcome. The guide runs on Linux, and Windows has Linux built in. That part of Windows is called WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux): a real Linux, called Ubuntu, running in a window on your PC. You turn it on once. Then you follow the same steps as everyone on Linux.

Free.

Paste it and Larry does the rest. Stuck? Ask Larry on the right.

You need Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer. One action per step.

1. Open PowerShell as administrator. PowerShell is the Windows window where you type commands. Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin), or Windows PowerShell (Admin) on older Windows. Click Yes when Windows asks if the app may make changes.

   a window with a blinking cursor after a line that ends in >. Its title bar says Administrator.

2. Install WSL. Type this line and press Enter. It turns on WSL and installs Ubuntu, the Linux this guide uses on Windows.

   wsl --install

   lines about downloading and installing, then a note that you need to restart your computer.

3. Restart when asked. Save your work, then restart Windows the normal way: Start, Power, Restart.

   Windows starts up again as usual. If an Ubuntu window opens on its own, let it finish and jump to the username step.

4. Open Ubuntu from the Start menu. Click Start, type Ubuntu, and press Enter. The first time, it finishes installing itself.

   a window that says it is installing, then asks you for a new UNIX username (UNIX here just means Linux).

5. Create your Linux username and password. Type a short username (lowercase letters, no spaces) and press Enter. Then type a password, press Enter, and type it again. The password does not show as you type, not even dots. That is normal. Remember it: Linux asks for it when you install things. It is separate from your Windows password.

   a line ending in $, like yourname@yourpc:~$. That is Linux, ready for commands.

Stuck?

• Error 0x80370102, or a message about virtualization. Virtualization (the setting that lets your PC run Linux in a window) is switched off. Restart and open your PC's BIOS or UEFI settings (the key shows on the first screen, often F2, F10, Del or Esc). Turn on Virtualization; it may be called SVM, AMD-V, Intel VT-x or Intel Virtualization Technology. Save and restart. Then, in Windows, click Start, type Turn Windows features on or off, tick Virtual Machine Platform, click OK, and restart. Run wsl --install again.
• Ubuntu did not open after the restart. Open it from the Start menu. If it is not there, open PowerShell as administrator again and run wsl --install again.
• wsl --install only printed a help text. WSL is already on. Add Ubuntu with wsl --install -d Ubuntu, then open Ubuntu from Start.
• Anything else. Paste the exact error into Ask Larry on the right. Microsoft's own page: learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install.

You're in Linux now. Continue →

From here on, every command goes in your Ubuntu window. The button takes you to the normal Linux Step 1 on the home page, and you carry on like everyone else: install Claude Code, sign in, paste the one prompt.