Set up your environment

This is the only setup you need to do once. Five minutes if Python is already on your machine.

What you need first

• Python 3.10 or newer (python3 --version to check)
• An Anthropic console account — free to create
• A terminal you're comfortable with

If any of those isn't ready, sort it out first; the rest assumes you can run python3 and git.

1 · Get the code

git clone https://github.com/Berta-one/claude-guides.git
cd claude-guides

2 · Create an isolated Python environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate        # macOS / Linux
# venv\Scripts\activate         # Windows PowerShell
pip install -U anthropic python-dotenv jupyter

That's enough to run the first module. Other modules add packages as needed via their own requirements.txt.

3 · Add your API key

1. Open https://console.anthropic.com, go to API Keys, click Create Key. Copy the key (it starts with sk-ant-).
2. Make a .env file from the template, then paste your key into it:

bash cp .env.example .env # open .env in your editor and set: # ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

.env is in .gitignore so it never goes into git. Treat the key like a password — anyone with it can spend on your account.

4 · Say hello

python guides/guide-01-getting-started/scripts/main_application.py

You should see a short structured lesson plan printed by Claude. If you do, you're done with setup — go open Module 1.

What's next

• Module 1 · Getting Started with Claude — your first real prompts and what's happening underneath.
• The full journey — five stages from total beginner to specialist applications.
• All modules — browse by stage.

If something went wrong

AuthenticationError or Invalid API Key — check .env has ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... with no surrounding quotes, no leading space. Reactivate the venv (source venv/bin/activate) so the script can find python-dotenv.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'anthropic' — your venv probably isn't activated. Run source venv/bin/activate and try again. If it still fails, pip install -U anthropic python-dotenv.

jupyter: command not found — pip install jupyter inside the activated venv.

Network error — confirm https://api.anthropic.com is reachable from your network (corporate proxies sometimes block it).

Anything else: open an issue with the full error and the OS you're on.