Claude Code on MacBook

Stuck somewhere? Regular Claude, in the chat at claude.ai, will walk you through it step by step. Just give it the link to this page and tell it which step you're on — it'll figure it out with you.

You can also use VS Code (code.visualstudio.com) instead of Antigravity — they're very similar apps, and every step below works the same way. I just use Antigravity because I like it better.

Step 1

Install Antigravity

In your browser, go to antigravity.google/download.
Choose Antigravity IDE (not CLI) and download the macOS build:
- Apple Silicon — for MacBooks with M1/M2/M3/M4;
- Intel — only if you have an older Intel Mac.
Open the downloaded .dmg and drag Antigravity into your Applications folder.
The first time you open it, macOS may ask you to confirm: open the app from Launchpad, or right-click it → Open.
Sign in with your Google account and go through the welcome setup.

Antigravity is built on VS Code, so the layout, extensions, and built-in terminal will feel familiar if you've used VS Code or Cursor.

Step 2

Install Claude Code

In Antigravity, open the built-in terminal: Terminal → New Terminal. Then run:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

When it's done, open a new terminal window and check:

claude --version

If you see a version number, you're all set. Anthropic's docs recommend this native installer for macOS; you can also install it with Homebrew:

brew install --cask claude-code

Step 3

Sign in to Claude Code

In your project folder, run:

claude

An interactive session will start and a browser sign-in will open. Sign in to your Claude account with a Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise plan, or use an Anthropic Console API key.

If you'd rather use an API key:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your_key"
claude

Claude Code will offer to use that key when it starts.

Step 4

Connect it to Antigravity

In Antigravity, open the Extensions panel: Cmd + Shift + X.
Search for Claude Code.
Install the official Claude Code for VS Code extension by Anthropic.
Open your project: File → Open Folder, and pick the folder — for example, your WordPress project.
Open the Claude Code panel in the sidebar and start a New session.
In the Claude Code chat, type:

/ide

This links the running Claude Code to your current Antigravity window, so it can see the open project and work with its files.

Step 5

First run in your project

In the Antigravity terminal, go to your project folder and run:

cd ~/Projects/my-site
claude

Then, in Claude Code, run:

/init

Claude will create a CLAUDE.md file with your project's context. For WordPress work, it helps to start with something like:

This is a WordPress project. First, study the structure of the theme and plugins. Don't change any files without a plan. Propose a plan for the changes.

Good to know

Antigravity and Claude Code are separate accounts. You sign in to Antigravity with Google, and to Claude Code with Anthropic. One login can't be "plugged into" the other.
Claude Code isn't free: you need Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise, or Console with an API key.
If you get claude: command not found, open a new terminal window; if that doesn't help, run claude doctor.
When installing the extension, make sure the publisher is Anthropic, not a third-party clone.

Once that's done, you've got the full setup: Antigravity as your editor + Claude Code as your agent — it can read your project, suggest edits, run commands, and help with WordPress/PHP/JS tasks.