Clocking In

00 · Shift memo

Welcome to the payroll

By the end of this module you will

• Have Claude Code installed, signed in and passing its own health check.
• Understand the agent loop well enough to predict what it will do next.
• Ask for the approach before the code, and push back when it's wrong.
• Have a playable Goblin Express prototype open in your browser.

Before you start: you need a paid Claude plan (Pro or higher) or an Anthropic Console account with billing set up. A Mac on macOS 13 or later, or a 64-bit PC on Windows 10 version 1809 or later. No Node.js required.

01 · How the agent works · 10 min

It's a courier, not autocomplete

Chat assistants hand you code to paste. Claude Code works inside your project folder: it reads files, runs commands, edits code and checks the result, in a loop, until the job is done or it needs you.

Three things follow from this that will save you hours this course:

• Outcomes beat instructions. "Parcels should feel heavy when carried" gives Claude room to read your code and find the right place. "Change line 40" makes it a typist.
• It only knows what's in the folder and the conversation. Your design intent, your engine conventions and your taste are invisible until you write them down. (Week 2 is about exactly this.)
• It checks its work only as well as it can observe it. Today you'll be the eyes. Week 3 teaches Claude to playtest for itself.

02 · Install Claude Code · 20 min

Get your uniform

Pick your platform. Claude Code's native installer handles everything, including updates, and needs no Node.js.

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "$currentPath;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", 'User')

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Sign in

Make a folder for the course and start Claude in it. These commands work in both Terminal and PowerShell:

mkdir goblin-express
cd goblin-express
claude

The first time you run claude, it walks you through a few one-time setup screens. You can't click in the terminal: use the ↑ ↓ arrow keys to move and Enter to choose. When in doubt, the highlighted default is fine.

1. Pick a text style

   You'll see the Claude Code welcome art and a list of themes, with a sample code change below it. Pick the one that's easiest to read in your terminal; Dark mode suits most Windows and Mac terminals. You can change it later with /theme.

2. Log in

   Choose to log in with your Claude account (the one with your Pro or higher plan). If you're using an Anthropic Console account with API billing instead, choose that. A browser window opens; sign in, approve access, then come back to the terminal and press Enter if it asks.

3. Accept the remaining defaults

   Claude Code may show a short safety note and offer recommended terminal settings. Read them, then press Enter to continue.

4. Trust the folder

   It asks whether you trust the files in this folder. Say yes: it's yours, and it's empty. If the folder named here isn't goblin-express, press Esc, then cd into the right folder and run claude again.

You're ready when you see a prompt box waiting for you to type. You only do this setup once per computer.

03 · Your first shift · 30 min

Snag's first delivery

You're in the Claude Code prompt inside an empty goblin-express folder. Time to build the smallest version of the game that's still a game.

Four controls to know

• Shift + Tab cycles permission modes, such as auto-accepting edits. Leave it on the default today so you see each change before it lands.
• Esc interrupts Claude mid-task. Use it the moment it heads somewhere you don't want.
• /help lists commands.
• exit, or Ctrl + D twice, leaves Claude Code.

1. Brief the courier

Paste this brief. Its last line asks Claude to talk through the approach before writing anything, which is all the planning a job this size needs:

Make a tiny top-down delivery game in one file called index.html, with no libraries and no build step.

The player is Snag, a goblin courier, drawn as a green circle. Move with WASD or the arrow keys. A yellow parcel appears at a random spot; walk over it to pick it up, then carry it to a glowing drop-off zone on the other side of the map. Each delivery adds 1 to the score and spawns a new parcel. A shift lasts 60 seconds. Show the score and the time left at the top, and a "Shift over" screen with the final score and a key to restart.

Before you write any code, tell me in a few lines how you'll structure it, and ask me about anything that's unclear.

Read the approach Claude describes before you let it build. Look for three things: does it match what you asked, did it add anything you didn't ask for, and did it ask about anything ambiguous? If something's off, say so in plain words and let it revise.

2. Green-light it and watch

When the approach looks right, tell Claude to go ahead. It will write the file and ask permission before creating it. Then open the game:

open index.html

start index.html

Run these in a second terminal window, or type ! before the command at the Claude prompt to run it as a shell command.

3. Play it, then direct the next change

Play a full shift. You'll notice things: too slow, drop-off too far, parcel hard to see. Tell Claude what you felt, not which numbers to change. Then add the feature that makes it Goblin Express:

After each delivery, the customer rates it from 1 to 5 stars based on how quickly the parcel arrived after pickup. Show the stars and a short, grumpy one-line review for a couple of seconds. Write at least ten different reviews and keep them in a list that's easy to edit.

A change this small and clear doesn't need an approach discussion; just ask. When the reviews come in, they might look like these:

Change the game until you'd show it to a colleague. Then stop: the game should stay this small until tomorrow.

4. Clock out: save the game

Before you leave, put today's work under version control. You don't need to remember any Git commands; ask Claude:

Set this folder up as a Git repository with a sensible .gitignore, and commit everything with a clear message describing what the game does so far.

Watch what it runs. If this is your first time using Git on this machine, Claude will notice Git doesn't know your name and email yet and ask you for them. Tomorrow starts from this commit, and if a change ever goes badly, this is the save point you load.

04 · Checkpoint · 5 min

Sign the timesheet

Tick these off. They're saved in this browser only.

• claude doctor runs without errors
• I asked for the approach first and changed at least one thing before Claude built it
• A full 60-second shift plays in my browser, with score and restart
• Customers leave star ratings and grumpy reviews
• I interrupted Claude with Esc at least once, on purpose
• The game is committed to Git

Debrief questions

Jot down answers; we'll use them on Day 2.

• Where did Claude's plan differ from what you pictured? Whose version was better?
• What did you have to tell it that you assumed was obvious?
• How long would today's prototype have taken you by hand?