Your First Read-Only Project in Claude Code

Claude Code offers different interfaces, and installation or sign-in steps depend on the chosen environment. Follow the current official quickstart rather than an old copied installer. For a terminal setup, check the available client help after installation; this guide does not install or authenticate anything for you.

Use a project you may inspect and a copy you can restore. Confirm the account and directory before opening the agent. Read the project’s local instructions. Do not give a first experiment access to production secrets or a live customer inbox.

Prompt: “Inspect this static site’s contact form. Do not edit files, install packages, send messages, or deploy. Identify the form source, how styles are loaded, and which existing checks apply. Return file paths and uncertainties.” This request tests whether the agent is looking at your project instead of answering from a generic template.

1. Select the supported setup route for your OS and client from the official quickstart. Keep any sign-in interaction under your control.
2. Open the intended project folder and note its current changed files before starting the request.
3. Run the read-only inspection prompt. Review any permission request against the promised inspection scope.
4. Open the reported form source yourself. Compare one concrete observation, such as a missing label, against the actual markup.

Expect a small inventory: the source path, style path, known verification command or an explicit unknown, and one possible improvement. A first successful session does not need a code change. The inventory becomes input for your next brief.

Stop if the directory is wrong, sign-in cannot be completed, or the agent proposes a package installation before it can explain the existing form. Diagnose setup separately rather than accepting a more permissive mode to get past the problem.

• Did the reported paths exist in this project?
• Did the working tree remain unchanged during inspection?
• Can you distinguish a suggested command from one actually executed?