What you need to get started

This is general information, not legal advice.

You can do careful legal research with an AI tool, but only if the setup around it is sound. A good setup keeps your files in one place, keeps your secrets out of reach, and makes the tool ask before it acts. This chapter gets you there with a modest amount of typing.

What Claude Code is

Claude Code is an agentic tool. It reads files, edits them, and runs commands for you. It runs in a terminal, in IDE extensions, in a desktop app, and in a browser at claude.ai/code. The desktop app needs a paid subscription. This guide uses the terminal version, because the setup steps are the same on every computer.

Product details in this chapter are accurate as of October 2026. Plans, install steps, and settings change, so check the linked official pages before you rely on them.

We use it in this guide because it works on a folder of files on your computer. That fits legal work well. Your facts, your drafts, and your saved court opinions all live in one place, and the tool can read all of them.

Pick a plan

As of October 2026, Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or Console account. The free claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code access. Plans and prices change, so check the current options on Anthropic's site before you buy.

You can start with the lowest-cost plan that includes Claude Code and move up later if you run into usage limits.

Install it

The steps below come from the official setup page. Check that page if anything looks different on your screen.

A terminal is a window where you type commands instead of clicking. You only need a few commands for this guide.

Windows

1. Open PowerShell. Click Start, type PowerShell, and open it.
2. Run irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex.
3. Or, if you prefer WinGet, run winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode.

Git for Windows is recommended. Install it first if you do not have it.

Mac

1. Open Terminal. It is in Applications, inside the Utilities folder.
2. Run curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash.
3. Or, if you use Homebrew, run brew install --cask claude-code.

Check that it works

1. Run claude --version. You should see a version number. If the command is not found, close the terminal, open a new one, and try again.
2. Make a folder for your case in your usual file manager (the next section explains why). Then move into it with cd followed by the folder path. For example, cd Documents/my-case. If the path has spaces, put it in quotes.
3. Run claude.
4. Log in when asked.

To end a session, close the window. Each time you come back, open a terminal, cd into the case folder, and run claude again.

Native installs update themselves. Homebrew and WinGet installs do not, so update those by hand from time to time.

One folder per case

Make one folder for each dispute. Put everything for that dispute inside it. Start Claude Code from inside that folder.

This matters for three reasons.

• Claude Code reads the project instruction file in the folder you start it from. One case, one set of instructions.
• It keeps one case from bleeding into another. Facts from a different dispute should never appear in your draft.
• It makes backup, deletion, and sharing simple. You know where everything is.

A plain name works fine, such as my-case. Chapter 3 shows what goes inside.

Optional: local git with no remote

Git keeps a history of your files. If you delete a draft by mistake, you can get it back. If you want this, open a terminal in your case folder and run these commands.

1. git init
2. git add .
3. git commit -m "Start of case folder"

Do not add a remote. A remote is a copy of your folder on someone else's server. Without one, the history stays on your computer and nothing is uploaded. For case files that hold private records, that is the safer choice.

Git is optional. Skip it if it feels like too much for now. You can add it later.

Switch to manual approval while you learn

Claude Code has several permission modes. The main ones are listed here.

• Manual, which asks you before most actions. In settings files its value is default.
• acceptEdits
• plan, which explores and proposes a plan without editing your files
• auto, where a classifier reviews actions
• dontAsk
• bypassPermissions, which is only for isolated containers

As of October 2026, the docs say that since version 2.1.283, auto is the default starting mode for interactive terminal and VS Code sessions. That means a new install may not ask you before every action.

While you are learning, have the tool ask first. Two ways to do that follow.

1. For the current session, press Shift+Tab to cycle through the modes until the status bar shows manual mode on.
2. To make it stick, set defaultMode to default under permissions in your settings. The simplest way is to ask Claude Code itself, in plain words, to set permissions.defaultMode to default in this project's settings, then read and approve the change it proposes.

Type /permissions at any time to see the rules now in effect.

Read each request before you approve it. You will learn quickly what the tool does when it searches, saves a file, or runs a command. Once you trust the pattern, you can loosen the mode. Never use bypassPermissions on your own computer.

In Manual mode, web access also asks for your approval. WebSearch and WebFetch both ask by default, though WebFetch skips the prompt for a built-in set of documentation sites. In auto mode, they run without asking. WebFetch takes a URL and a prompt and returns an answer to that prompt, not the raw page. A "not mentioned" result can just mean the prompt did not ask the right question. Chapter 5 covers how to deal with that.

Basic safety

Use permission rules

Settings accept allow, ask, and deny rules. A deny rule keeps a file from being read. For example, a deny rule for Read(./.env) blocks reads of a file named .env.

Do not rely on a .claudeignore file. It has no effect.

Keep secrets out of the folder

Passwords, API tokens, and account numbers do not belong in your case folder. If a tool needs a token, keep it in an environment variable or in a file outside the folder. The docs do not have a dedicated page on keeping secrets out of files, so treat this as a habit and not a setting.

Also leave out sensitive records you do not need. A document showing a full Social Security number is a risk if it sits in a folder an AI tool can read. Black out or leave out what the task does not need.

Check your data setting

On consumer plans, you choose whether your conversations can be used to train models. Check that setting at https://claude.ai/settings/data-privacy-controls before you add any case material. Chapter 10 explains what the setting controls, how long data is kept, and where session transcripts are stored on your computer.

Connect only tools you trust

You do not need any outside tool connections (MCP servers) for this guide. If you add one later, add only servers you trust. Chapter 10 explains why.

Your starting checklist

1. A paid plan that includes Claude Code.
2. Claude Code installed, with claude --version working.
3. One folder for your case.
4. Optional local git, with no remote.
5. Manual approval mode while you learn.
6. A deny rule for any secrets file, and no secrets in the folder.
7. Your data setting checked.

Next: Chapter 2 introduces the free sources of law you will search. Then Chapter 3 shows how to set up the case folder itself.

Sources

• Claude Code setup
• Claude Code overview
• Claude Code permission modes
• Claude Code permissions
• Claude Code security
• Claude Code data usage
• Claude Code tools reference (WebFetch and WebSearch)