Everything you need to get your AI tutor running on Windows.
About 15–20 minutes, and most of that is just waiting for things to download.
You'll need a Claude account ready. Becky will set this up for you and send you the login details before you start, so you don't need to do anything for this bit.
Mac guide coming soon
Important
You don't need to understand the commands; just follow along. If you get
stuck at any point, message Becky or the WhatsApp group. Tell us which step
you're on and copy in anything you see on screen. There are no silly questions here.
A few steps ask you to type a command into a window. Step 1 installs that window
(it's called Git Bash), and from then on everything happens in that
one window. Don't worry if it looks intimidating: you'll only ever copy, paste, and
press Enter.
1Install Git — this also gives you the window you'll type into
Click the 64-bit Git for Windows Setup (x64) link to download the installer. (If you happen to know your laptop has an ARM processor, which is rare, pick ARM64 instead. Almost everyone wants x64.)
Open the downloaded file. The installer asks a lot of questions, but you can safely click Next on every screen, then Install. The standard choices are exactly what we want.
When it finishes, untick "View Release Notes" if it's ticked, and click Finish.
Check it worked
Click the Windows Start menu, type Git Bash, and click it. A small
dark window should open. That's your terminal; leave it open, you'll
use it for everything from here.
Optional: make the text bigger
Git Bash's default font is small. To bump it up: right-click on the
title bar at the top of the Git Bash window, click Options,
then Text, then Select… next to "Font".
Size 12 is a comfortable starting point, but pick whatever
feels right. Click Apply then OK.
60 seconds with your terminal — before you type your first command
The terminal doesn't quite behave like the rest of your computer. A few quick
things will save you some "why isn't this working?!" moments:
Your mouse can't move the cursor. Once you've typed something,
you can't click in the middle of a line to edit it. Use ← and →
to move along the line; ↑ and ↓ scroll through commands
you typed before.
Press Enter to actually run a command. Nothing
happens until you do. If it looks stuck, you may not have pressed it.
Commands are case-sensitive.cd and
CD are different.
Press Tab to autocomplete. Start typing a folder
or filename, hit Tab, and it finishes the name for you. Saves typos.
Copying and pasting use different shortcuts here.To copy: highlight text with your mouse, then press
Ctrl+Insert (or right-click → Copy). To
paste: press Shift+Insert (or right-click
→ Paste). Heads up: the usual Ctrl+C and
Ctrl+V don't work the way you'd expect at the
Git Bash prompt. Ctrl+C interrupts a running
command instead.
~ means your home folder. When you see
~/Documents, that's your Documents folder, the same one you see
in File Explorer.
Ctrl+Z doesn't mean "undo" here.
It pauses whatever's running, including your tutor. If your tutor seems
to vanish, type fg and press Enter to bring it
back.
That's it. Your tutor explains the rest as it comes up. (And if a key-press
catches you out later, the Troubleshooting page
has the common ones.)
Pick the LTS version (it'll show a number like 20.x.x LTS or higher; anything 20 or above is fine). If it asks how you want to download it, choose Windows Installer (.msi) — not the standalone binary. (If it asks about architecture, same answer as before: x64.)
Open the downloaded file and click Next / Install through it, accepting the standard choices.
Important: close your Git Bash window and open it again (Start menu → Git Bash). This lets it notice that Node is now installed.
In Git Bash, type this and press Enter:
node --version
Check it worked
You should see a number like v20.x.x or higher. If it says
"command not found", close and reopen Git Bash and try again. If it still won't work,
message Becky or the group.
3Install the tutor's engine — Claude Code
In Git Bash, type this exactly and press Enter:
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
It'll print several lines and take a minute or two. Wait until the typing cursor comes back and sits there ready.
Then check it's there:
claude --version
Check it worked
You should see a version number.
4Sign in to Claude
In Git Bash, type this and press Enter:
claude
Your web browser should open on its own to a Claude sign-in page. (If it doesn't open, look in Git Bash for a long web address starting with https:// and copy that into your browser by hand.)
Sign in using the email and password Becky sent you. This is the account that powers your tutor.
Once you've signed in, the browser will show a "you can close this window" message. Close that tab and come back to Git Bash.
Git Bash should show a "signed in" message and drop you into Claude. You'll see a prompt waiting for you to type.
Type exit and press Enter to leave Claude and get back to the Git Bash prompt, ready for the next step.
Good to know
You're using a Claude account Becky set up and pays for, so you don't need to
worry about cost or running out of messages while you're learning.
It'll print a few lines as it works. When you see "All set." your
tutor is on your computer and ready.
What that command does, in plain words
Downloads a small setup script from this tutor's repository.
Creates a visible project folder for your work at
~/Documents/my-claude-project, plus a hidden
.claude-tutor in your home folder where the tutor keeps
its teaching material.
Downloads the tutor files: the tutor's brain (a file called
CLAUDE.md, inside your project folder) and its teaching
material (the curriculum, diagnostic, and playbook).
Adds a single-word command, tutor, that takes you into
the project folder and starts Claude in tutor mode, so you don't have
to remember a long command each day.
If you've installed before, anything already in those folders is
quietly backed up before being replaced. Nothing is lost.
6Say hello to your tutor
One last thing before you meet the tutor: close this Git Bash
window and open a fresh one (Start menu → Git Bash). That's so the
new tutor command becomes available.
In the fresh window, type this and press Enter:
tutor
That one word takes you into your project folder and starts your tutor.
It'll introduce itself and take it from there.
Starting and stopping — two phrases to save
Once you're set up, two simple phrases run everything. Worth saving them somewhere
(a sticky note or Notepad); your tutor also reminds you at the end of every session.
(Also lives on the Helpful notes page for ongoing
reference.)
To stop for the day, type this and press Enter:
End lesson
Your tutor saves where you got to and tells you it's safe to close the window.
(A full stop on the end is fine; End lesson. works too.)
To come back next time, open Git Bash and type:
tutor
Then, once your tutor is running, type Continue learning and press Enter.