6 min · +100 XP
Files, folders and paths
How addresses on a computer work and where your project will live.
By the end of this lesson
You will have a project folder and be able to open a terminal inside it.
Everything on a computer is stored as files inside folders. Folders can contain other folders. A path is the address of a file or folder: the list of folders you pass through to reach it.
Reading a path
Paths on different systems
- 1Mac: /Users/anna/Desktop/notes.txt. Each / separates one folder from the next.
- 2Linux: /home/anna/Desktop/notes.txt. The same idea, with the home folder under /home.
- 3Windows: C:\Users\Anna\Desktop\notes.txt. Windows uses the backslash \ and starts with a drive letter.
- 4~ means your home folder. Desktop, Documents and Downloads are inside it.
If OneDrive backs up your Desktop, its real path is C:\Users\Anna\OneDrive\Desktop. If Claude cannot find your Desktop, tell it: my Desktop is inside OneDrive.
A home for your projects
Claude Code works with the folder where you start it and the folders inside it. I suggest a separate folder for each project. Then Claude works only with that project's files, and you always know where to find them.
Create the folder the way you usually create folders. Call it my-first-project.
Mac: create a folder
- 1Open Finder and go to the Desktop.
- 2Choose File → New Folder (or press Shift+Cmd+N).
- 3Type my-first-project and press Enter.
Windows: create a folder
- 1Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop.
- 2Choose New → Folder.
- 3Type my-first-project and press Enter.
Linux: create a folder
- 1Open the file manager and go to the Desktop or your home folder.
- 2Right-click an empty area and choose New Folder.
- 3Type my-first-project and press Enter.
Once Claude Code is installed, you can simply ask it to create folders and files.
“Create a folder called my-first-project on my Desktop and tell me its full path.”
Claude creates the folder and tells you its address.
An imitation of Claude Code in a terminal. Write each request in your own words and press Enter. Nothing here touches your computer.
1Ask Claude to create a folder called my-first-project on your Desktop.
An imitation of Claude Code in Windows PowerShell. Write each request in your own words and press Enter. Nothing here touches your computer.
1Ask Claude to create a folder called my-first-project on your Desktop.
Open a terminal in a folder
This is the one skill worth learning by hand. When the terminal opens inside the project folder, Claude Code started there works with exactly that project.
Mac: terminal in a folder
- 1In Finder, right-click the folder (or Control-click it).
- 2Choose Services, then New Terminal at Folder.
- 3If you do not see that item, drag the folder onto the Terminal icon in the Dock. A Terminal window opens in that folder.
- 4If macOS asks whether Terminal may access files in the Desktop or Documents folder, click Allow (or OK).
Windows: terminal in a folder
- 1Windows 11: in File Explorer, right-click the folder and choose Open in Terminal.
- 2Windows 10: open the folder in File Explorer, click the address bar at the top, type powershell and press Enter.
Linux: terminal in a folder
- 1In most file managers, open the folder, right-click an empty area and choose Open in Terminal.
You start Claude Code inside my-first-project. Which files does it work with by default?
You need a new folder for a second project. What is the simplest way once Claude Code runs?
Which of these is a Windows path?
Facts checked against the official Claude Code docs October 24, 2026 · source
Author
Evgenii Arsentev
PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health