Get your agent running

Already have Claude Code installed and a Claude account? Skip to step 4 →

1. 1

   Create a Claude account

   You’ll talk to your agent through Claude. If you don’t have an account yet, make one — signup is free.

   1. Open claude.ai in a new tab.
   2. Sign up with your email or with Google / Apple sign-in.
   3. Verify your email if Claude asks.

   Verify: Once you can log in at claude.ai and see the chat screen, click Next.

   Common mistake: If your work email gets blocked by your company’s SSO, use a personal address instead. It’s fine — you can switch accounts later.

   Open claude.ai
2. 2

   Subscribe to Claude Pro or Max

   Your agent runs on Claude’s brain. For real work you’ll need a paid Claude plan — Pro ($20/mo) or Max ($100/mo) if you’ll use it heavily. The free tier runs out of room fast.

   1. Inside Claude, click your profile icon → Settings → Billing.
   2. Pick Pro to start. You can upgrade to Max later if you hit limits.
   3. Pay with a card or Apple Pay. No commitment, cancel anytime.

   Verify: After checkout, your profile in claude.ai should show a Pro or Max badge. Click Next when you see it.

   Compare plans
3. 3

   Install Claude Code on your Mac

   Claude Code is the app that runs your agent. It lives on your computer, not in a browser.

   1. Open Safari (or your browser) and go to claude.com/code.
   2. Download the Mac installer (the big button).
   3. Open the downloaded .dmg file. A window opens showing the Claude Code icon.
   4. Drag the Claude Code icon into the Applications folder shortcut in the same window.
   5. Open Launchpad or Spotlight (Cmd + Space), type "Claude Code", and open it.

   Verify: When Claude Code opens you’ll see a welcome screen asking you to log in with your Claude account. Log in, then click Next here.

   Common mistake: macOS may warn you that the app is from an unidentified developer the first time. Right-click Claude Code in Applications → Open. That bypass only needs to happen once.

   Download Claude Code
4. 4

   Make a folder for your agent

   Each agent lives in its own folder on your Mac. We’ll make one now so Claude Code knows where to put it.

   1. Open Finder (the smiley-face icon in the Dock, or Cmd + Space → "Finder").
   2. Press Cmd + Shift + H to jump to your home folder.
   3. Right-click in the empty space → New Folder → name it "agents" (lowercase).
   4. Double-click into the new "agents" folder.
   5. Right-click → New Folder again → name it after this specific agent (e.g. "lola" if you built Lola).

   Verify: In Finder you should now see ~/agents/<your-agent-name>/ as an empty folder. Click Next.

   Common mistake: You can name the folders anything you want — "agents" is just our suggestion. Keep them lowercase with no spaces; that makes step 5 easier.

5. 5

   Run the install command

   This is the step that drops your agent into the folder. You’ll paste one command into Terminal and Claude’s install script handles the rest.

   1. Open Terminal (Cmd + Space → "Terminal").
   2. Type: cd ~/agents/<your-folder-name> and press Enter. (Replace <your-folder-name> with the folder you made in step 4.)
   3. Paste the install command (shown below this card) and press Enter.
   4. Wait. You’ll see lines like "Downloading…" and finally "✅ Installed".
   You haven’t built an agent yet. That’s where your install command will appear. Pick a personality →

   Verify: You should see a message ending with "✅ Installed" (or similar success). If you see an error, scroll down to Troubleshooting at the bottom of this page.

   Common mistake: If "cd" complains "no such file or directory", you typed the folder name slightly differently than you named it. Run "ls ~/agents/" to see what’s actually there.

6. 6

   Restart Claude Code

   Claude Code only notices the new agent after a restart. Two seconds of work.

   1. Click Claude Code in the Dock, then press Cmd + Q to quit fully.
   2. Open Claude Code again (Launchpad or Spotlight).
   3. Choose File → Open Folder, then open the agent folder you used in step 4 (e.g. ~/agents/lola).
   4. In the chat input, type /plugin list and press Enter.

   Verify: You should see your agent’s name listed under installed plugins. If you do, the install worked end-to-end.

7. 7

   Talk to your agent

   You’re done with setup. From here it’s just a chat — the agent already knows how to do its job.

   1. In Claude Code’s chat, type "hi, what can you help with?" — Claude will route to your agent automatically when its expertise matches.
   2. For a direct call, prefix with "use the <agent-name> subagent:" followed by your task.
   3. Try a real task. The first reply tells you whether the personality is a fit; tweak the agent or build a new one if not.

   Verify: You’re reading the agent’s first answer. There’s nothing else to set up. Come back to factory when you want another agent.