Claude Code for Everyone

Module 01 — Corporate Laptop Check (Do This First)

🎯 Goal: Find out what your company-managed laptop will and won't let you do, before you spend an evening fighting it. ⏱️ Time: ~30 min, plus waiting on IT if needed.

Why this module exists: Your laptop is managed by your company's IT department. That means software like Jamf, CrowdStrike, or similar may block installs, restrict the terminal, or require admin approval. Better to find out now than halfway through Module 03.

Step 1 — Do you have admin rights?

This decides whether you can install software yourself.

  1. Click the Apple menu (top-left corner of your screen) → System Settings → Users & Groups.
  2. Find your name. Does it say Admin underneath it?
    • Admin → great, most installs will work.
    • Standard → you can still do a lot, but some installs will ask for a password you don't have. That's where IT comes in.

Don't worry if you're Standard — there are workarounds, and Homebrew often installs fine even without full admin rights.

Step 2 — Can you reach the terminal?

  1. Press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight search.

  2. Type Terminal and press Enter.

  3. A window opens. Type this and press Enter:

    whoami

    It should print your username. If the Terminal app is missing or blocked, note that for IT.

(We'll replace this default Terminal with the nicer Ghostty in Module 02, but the built-in one is fine for this check.)

Step 3 — The email to send IT

Many companies are encouraging AI use right now, so this is a reasonable ask. Send something like this (adjust to your situation):

Subject: Permission to install developer tools for AI automation

Hi [IT team],

As part of the company's push to use AI tools, I'd like to use Claude Code to automate some of my document workflows. To do that I need to install a few standard, widely-used developer tools on my managed MacBook:

  • Homebrew (package manager — installs the tools below)
  • Ghostty (terminal application)
  • Visual Studio Code (code editor, from Microsoft)
  • Git (version control)
  • uv / Python (for running automation scripts)
  • Node.js and Claude Code (the AI assistant CLI)

These run locally on my machine. I will not be connecting them to any company systems or SaaS tools without separate approval — to start, I'll only be processing files I've already downloaded.

Could you let me know if these are approved, or whether I need to go through a software request process? Happy to hop on a call.

Thanks, [Your name]

That last paragraph matters: it tells them you're being careful with company data, which is the thing they actually care about.

Step 4 — While you wait, know your fallbacks

If IT is slow or restrictive, you still have options. In rough order of preference:

  1. Ask for the specific tools to be approved (the list above). This is the clean path.
  2. Use the company's self-service app catalog if they have one (often called "Self Service", "Company Portal", or similar) — VS Code and Git are sometimes already available there with one click.
  3. Use a personal machine for learning the basics (Modules 02–08), then apply the skills on the work laptop once approved. Never put company data on a personal machine, though — keep that for learning only.

⚠️ The data rule (read this twice)

Throughout this course, until your company explicitly says otherwise:

  • Follow your company's AI and data policy. This course deliberately uses the lowest-risk pattern — files already on your laptop, no direct SaaS connections — but some regulated workplaces require approval even for local, AI-assisted work. When in doubt, ask before you start.
  • Only process files you have downloaded to your laptop. No connecting Claude Code directly to your company's SaaS tools or accounts.
  • Don't paste client names, personal data, SSNs, or anything sensitive into any AI chat. Working on a file locally is fine; copying its contents into a chat box is not.
  • Module 10 covers this in full. For now, the rule of thumb: automating how you handle a file = good. Sending the file's contents somewhere = ask first.

✅ You're done with this module when

  • You know whether you're Admin or Standard.
  • You've confirmed you can open a terminal.
  • You've sent the IT email (or confirmed you don't need to).
  • You understand the data rule.

Next: Module 02 — The Terminal (Ghostty).