Claude Code Installer

Automated installer for Claude Code CLI and the VSCode extension, with all prerequisites handled. Supports Windows and macOS.

For end users

Download the installer for your platform from the latest release:

Platform	File	How to run
Windows	ClaudeCodeInstaller.exe	Right-click → Run as Administrator
macOS	Install-ClaudeCode-mac.zip	Unzip, then right-click Install-ClaudeCode.command → Open (required the first time due to Gatekeeper). If macOS says the file is not executable, run chmod +x Install-ClaudeCode.command in Terminal first.

Both installers present an interactive menu:

[1] Install Claude Code CLI
[2] Install VSCode + Claude Code Extension
[3] Install Both
[4] Exit

What gets installed

Both platforms:

• Claude Code CLI
• Visual Studio Code (if selected)
• Claude Code VSCode extension (if selected)
• Adds the user-local bin directory to PATH (~/.local/bin on macOS; %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin on Windows)
• Drops the /dev-setup skill into the Claude home directory (~/.claude/skills/dev-setup/SKILL.md on macOS; %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\dev-setup\SKILL.md on Windows)

Windows only:

• Git for Windows (if not present)
• Node.js via MSI (if not present)
• Sets CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH environment variable

macOS only:

• Xcode Command Line Tools / Git (if not present)
• Homebrew (if not present; required for Node.js installation)
• Node.js via Homebrew (if not present; skipped if Homebrew installation is declined or fails)

After installation

1. Open a new terminal (or restart VSCode) for PATH changes to take effect
2. Run claude to log in to your Anthropic account and start using Claude Code CLI
3. Open Claude Code and run /dev-setup to complete your environment setup (GitHub account, org membership, Python, and more)

Troubleshooting

Windows log: %TEMP%\ClaudeCodeInstaller.log macOS log: /tmp/ClaudeCodeInstaller.log

Issue	Solution
Windows: "requires administrator privileges"	Right-click → Run as Administrator
macOS: "cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer"	Right-click → Open (instead of double-clicking)
macOS: "permission denied" running .command after unzip	Run chmod +x Install-ClaudeCode.command in Terminal first
claude not found after install	Open a new terminal to refresh PATH
Windows: Git Bash path not detected	Manually set: $env:CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH="C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe"

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For developers

Repo structure

File	Purpose
Install-ClaudeCode.ps1	Windows installer script
Install-ClaudeCode.sh	macOS installer script
Build-Installer.ps1	Builds the Windows EXE locally via ps2exe
.github/workflows/release.yml	CI: builds and publishes release artifacts on a new v* tag

Releasing

Merge your changes to main, then tag the release:

git tag v1.2.3
git push origin v1.2.3

The Actions workflow will:

1. Build ClaudeCodeInstaller.exe on a Windows runner (version pulled from the tag)
2. Package Install-ClaudeCode.command (the macOS .sh with a double-clickable extension)
3. Attach both to a GitHub Release

Download the artifacts from the release and upload them to Box for distribution.

Building locally (Windows only)

Normal releases don't require this. Pushing a v* tag triggers the Actions workflow, which builds the EXE automatically on a Windows runner. Local builds are only needed if you want to test the EXE before tagging a release.

# From an Administrator PowerShell session
.\Build-Installer.ps1
# Output: .\build\ClaudeCodeInstaller.exe

The build script installs ps2exe automatically if it isn't present.

Running scripts directly (testing)

Windows:

# Interactive
.\Install-ClaudeCode.ps1

# Silent
.\Install-ClaudeCode.ps1 -Silent -InstallCLI
.\Install-ClaudeCode.ps1 -Silent -InstallExtension
.\Install-ClaudeCode.ps1 -Silent -InstallCLI -InstallExtension

macOS:

# Interactive
bash Install-ClaudeCode.sh

# Silent
bash Install-ClaudeCode.sh --silent --cli
bash Install-ClaudeCode.sh --silent --vscode
bash Install-ClaudeCode.sh --silent --cli --vscode

Testing checklist

Windows:

• Fresh Windows 11 VM with no prerequisites
• Machine with Git already installed
• Machine with VSCode already installed
• Silent installation mode
• Non-administrator user (should show error)

macOS:

• Fresh macOS install (no Homebrew, no Xcode tools)
• Machine with Homebrew already installed
• Machine with VSCode already installed
• Right-click → Open Gatekeeper flow on .command file
• Silent installation mode

Code signing

Code signing removes the security warnings users see when running downloaded executables:

• Windows: SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" for unsigned EXEs
• macOS: Gatekeeper shows "cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer" for unsigned files (the right-click → Open workaround bypasses this)

Windows

The git history shows the EXE was previously signed by the Curator Install Server (commit e01bfaf). The details of that process — what certificate was used, how it's stored, and how to invoke it — are not documented here. Check with Derrick Austin before attempting to sign a new release.

Once the certificate and process are confirmed, signing looks like:

signtool sign /f "path\to\certificate.pfx" /p "password" /tr http://timestamp.digicert.com /td sha256 /fd sha256 "build\ClaudeCodeInstaller.exe"

Ideally this step would be added to the Actions release workflow so every release is signed automatically without a manual step.

macOS

Signing a .command file requires an Apple Developer ID certificate ($99/year via the Apple Developer Program). Without it, users must right-click → Open the first time, which is documented in the end-user instructions above and is acceptable for internal distribution.

If a certificate is obtained in the future:

codesign --sign "Developer ID Application: InterWorks" Install-ClaudeCode.command

Customization

Windows — edit the $Script:Config block at the top of Install-ClaudeCode.ps1 to pin specific versions or change paths:

$Script:Config = @{
    GitInstallerUrl  = "..."   # Pin a specific Git for Windows version
    VSCodeInstallerUrl = "..." # Pin a specific VSCode version
    NodeInstallerUrl = "..."   # Pin a specific Node.js version
    LocalBinPath     = "..."   # Change the default bin path
}

macOS — equivalent URLs and paths are at the top of Install-ClaudeCode.sh.

Icon — place InterWorks-Logo.ico in the repo root before building. See ICON-GUIDE.md for creation instructions.