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Your First Conversation

Module: Getting Started | Lesson: 5 of 6 | Time: ~10 minutes

In this lesson, you will have your very first conversation with Claude Code. You will ask it to create a file, read that file, edit it, and then exit cleanly. By the end, you will understand the basic back-and-forth of working with Claude Code.

What You Will Learn​

  • How to create a practice folder and start Claude Code inside it
  • How to give Claude instructions and watch it work
  • How to read Claude's responses and understand what it did
  • How to have a multi-turn conversation
  • How to exit Claude Code

Prerequisites​

Creating a Practice Folder​

Before we start, let's create a dedicated folder for practicing. This keeps your experiments organized and separate from your other files.

Open PowerShell and type:

mkdir $env:USERPROFILE\claude-practice

Press Enter. This creates a new folder called claude-practice inside your user folder (for example, C:\Users\Sarah\claude-practice).

info

$env:USERPROFILE is a shortcut that PowerShell understands. It automatically expands to your user folder, like C:\Users\Sarah. This way, the command works no matter what your Windows username is.

Now move into that folder:

cd $env:USERPROFILE\claude-practice

You can confirm where you are by typing:

pwd

This should show something like C:\Users\Sarah\claude-practice. You are now inside your practice folder.

Starting Claude Code​

With your PowerShell sitting inside the practice folder, type:

claude

Press Enter.

Claude Code starts up. Since you already authenticated in the previous lesson, it should log you in automatically this time. You will see a welcome message and a text input area at the bottom of the screen.

This input area is where you type everything. Think of it like a chat window, but instead of chatting with a friend, you are chatting with an AI that can actually do things on your computer.

Your First Prompt​

Let's start with something simple. Type this message and press Enter:

Hello! Can you create a file called hello.txt with a friendly greeting inside?

Now watch what happens:

  1. Claude thinks for a moment. You might see a brief pause or a small animation while it figures out what to do.

  2. Claude asks for permission. You will see something like this:

    Claude wants to use the Write tool to create hello.txt

    Allow? (y/n)

    This is the permission system. Claude Code never makes changes to your computer without asking you first. This is a safety feature, and it is one of the most important things to understand about Claude Code.

  3. Press y and then Enter (or just press Enter if "Yes" is already highlighted) to allow it.

  4. Claude creates the file and tells you what it did. You will see a message explaining that it created hello.txt with a greeting inside.

That's it! You just gave Claude an instruction, it asked for permission, and then it carried out the task. This is the core loop of working with Claude Code.

Check the File in File Explorer​

The file Claude created is a real file on your computer. To see it:

  1. Open File Explorer (the yellow folder icon on your taskbar, or press Windows key + E).
  2. Navigate to your user folder, then open the claude-practice folder.
  3. You should see a file called hello.txt.
  4. Double-click it to open it. You will see the greeting Claude wrote.

This is real. Claude Code made an actual file on your actual computer.

Reading the Response​

Let's look more closely at what Claude showed you after creating the file. Claude's response typically includes:

  • The tool it used -- in this case, the Write tool, because it was creating a new file.
  • What it wrote -- usually a preview of the file contents.
  • A summary -- a sentence or two explaining what it did.

You don't need to memorize all of this. Just know that Claude always explains what it did, so you can verify it did the right thing.

Having a Conversation​

Claude Code is not a one-question tool. You can keep talking to it, and it remembers everything you said earlier in the conversation. Let's try a few more messages.

Ask Claude to read the file​

Type this and press Enter:

What's in the hello.txt file?

Claude will use the Read tool to look at the file and then tell you what it contains. It might ask for permission to read the file, or it might already have permission from earlier -- this depends on your settings.

Ask Claude to edit the file​

Type this and press Enter:

Can you add a second line that says "This was written by Claude Code"?

Claude will use the Edit tool this time (not Write, because the file already exists). It will ask for permission, and when you approve, it will modify the file. Claude will show you what changed.

If you go back to File Explorer and open hello.txt again, you will see both lines now.

Ask Claude about the folder​

Type this and press Enter:

What files are in this folder?

Claude will use the Bash tool or the Glob tool to list the contents of your folder. It will report back that there is one file: hello.txt.

Notice how natural this is. You are just typing normal sentences, and Claude figures out what tool to use and what to do. You don't need to know any special commands or programming syntax.

Exiting Claude Code​

When you are done chatting, you need to close Claude Code. There are two ways:

Option 1: The /exit command (recommended)

Type this and press Enter:

/exit

Claude Code shuts down and you are back at the normal PowerShell prompt.

Option 2: Keyboard shortcut

Press Ctrl+C on your keyboard. This cancels whatever Claude is doing and exits.

info

Everything Claude did during the conversation is permanent. The files it created and edited are still there after you exit. Claude Code makes real changes to real files on your computer -- it does not undo them when you leave. Always review what Claude wants to do before approving.

After exiting, you can verify your files are still there:

dir $env:USERPROFILE\claude-practice

You should see hello.txt listed.

Multi-Turn Conversations​

An important concept: Claude Code remembers everything you have said during a conversation. This is called context.

For example, if you said "Create a file called hello.txt," you can later say "Change that greeting to be more formal." Claude knows you are talking about hello.txt because it remembers the earlier part of the conversation.

However, each conversation starts fresh when you restart claude. If you exit and start claude again, Claude will not remember what you did in the previous session. It can still see the files on your computer (so it can read hello.txt if you ask), but it will not remember the conversation you had about creating it.

Think of it like this: the files are permanent, but the conversation is temporary.

Try It Yourself​

Practice what you learned by doing this exercise from scratch:

  1. Open PowerShell and navigate to your practice folder:

    cd $env:USERPROFILE\claude-practice

  2. Start Claude Code:

    claude

  3. Ask Claude to create a file:

    Please create a file called about-me.txt with 3 fun facts about penguins

    (Feel free to pick any topic you like instead of penguins!)

  4. Approve the permission prompt when it appears.

  5. Ask Claude to read the file back:

    Can you read about-me.txt and tell me what's in it?

  6. Ask Claude to add more content:

    Add 2 more fun facts to the file

  7. Exit Claude Code:

    /exit

  8. Open File Explorer and navigate to your claude-practice folder. Open about-me.txt and confirm that all 5 fun facts are there.

tip

If something goes wrong during the exercise, that is completely fine. Just exit with /exit or Ctrl+C, start claude again, and try once more. Claude Code is very forgiving -- you can always start over.

What You Learned​

  • How to create a folder and start Claude Code inside it
  • How to give Claude instructions in plain English
  • How the permission system works (Claude asks before making changes)
  • How to have a back-and-forth conversation with Claude
  • That Claude remembers context within a session, but not between sessions
  • How to exit Claude Code with /exit or Ctrl+C
  • That changes Claude makes are real and persist after you exit
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Next Up​

Now that you can have a conversation, let's take a closer look at all the parts of the Claude Code screen so you know exactly what you are looking at.

Next: Understanding the Interface