Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic development tool. Used from the command line and inside your editor (VS Code, JetBrains): you describe a task, it reads the codebase, proposes and applies changes, runs tests, fixes issues, and explains what it did. It's built for real development tasks, not just autocomplete.

Anthropic's coding assistant, in the terminal and the editor.

What it is

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic development tool. Used from the command line and inside your editor (VS Code, JetBrains): you describe a task, it reads the codebase, proposes and applies changes, runs tests, fixes issues, and explains what it did. It's built for real development tasks, not just autocomplete.

Where Claude Code stands out

  • Understands an entire codebase and works a task end to end.
  • Integrated into the terminal (useful for automation, scripts, CI) and into the editor.
  • Built on the Claude models, known for strong code reading and writing.
  • Can connect to external tools via connectors.
  • Keeps a trace of changes, easy to review and undo.

Limits and precautions

  • It's an agentic tool: any large change should be reviewed before being kept.
  • Usage-based billing on the models: cost depends on task size.
  • Code you send is processed by the service — check your settings for sensitive contexts.
  • It doesn't remove the need to understand your own project: you stay responsible for the outcome.

Access and pricing

Access via a Claude subscription or via Anthropic's API (usage-based billing). Works in the terminal and via editor extensions. Plans and capabilities change quickly — check current pricing on the official site.

Professional use cases

  • Implementing a feature or fixing a bug in an existing codebase.
  • Refactoring, migrating, updating dependencies.
  • Writing tests and documentation from the code itself.
  • Automating recurring maintenance tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Claude Code like Cursor?

A similar approach (an agent that edits the project), but Claude Code is centered on the terminal and editor integration, built on the Claude models. You can use both.

How is it billed?

Based on model usage (via a Claude subscription or the API). Larger tasks consume more.

Should I accept everything it proposes?

No — review the proposed diff, adjust it, then approve it. The tool tracks changes so you can roll back.