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Claude Code Setup (Commercial / Non-Engineers)

A plain, jargon-free guide to get Claude Code running in VS Code and connected to Cred's tools — written for anyone, on Mac or Windows. No prior coding experience needed.

Just want to ask questions about Cred's code?

You only need Steps 1–4. The Google Cloud part (in Step 4) is optional — skip it unless you'll actually run data tools like dbt/BigQuery.

1. Install VS Code

The free editor from Microsoft where Claude runs. Download VS Code

  1. Download the Mac version from the link above.
  2. Open the downloaded .zip — the blue Visual Studio Code icon appears.
  3. Drag that icon into your Applications folder.
  4. Open it from Launchpad. If a security warning appears, click Open.
  1. Download the Windows installer from the link above.
  2. Open the .exe and click Next on every screen.
  3. Tick the "Add to PATH" option (usually already checked).
  4. Click Finish. VS Code opens on its own.

2. Install Claude Code

The easiest way is through the extensions store — no commands.

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. On the left sidebar, click the Extensions icon (four little squares). Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+X (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows).
  3. In the search bar, type Claude Code.
  4. On the result published by Anthropic (the one with the blue ✔ verified badge — not the look-alikes), click Install.
  5. The Claude icon appears in the sidebar. If it asks to install an extra component, accept it.

The Claude Code for VS Code extension by Anthropic in the marketplace

Pick the one by Anthropic with the ✔ badge — not the look-alikes below it.

About Node.js

In some cases Claude Code asks for Node.js. If that happens, download the LTS version from nodejs.org, install it, and reopen the editor.

3. Sign in & get ready

Connect your Claude account — done only once.

  1. Click the Claude icon in the sidebar.
  2. Click Sign in.
  3. Your browser opens. Log in with your Claude (Pro/Max) or company account.
  4. Click Authorize and return to the editor.

How do you know it worked?

A chat box appears. Test it by typing: "Hi, are you working?"

4. Set up your Cred workspace

The goal: put the projects you care about into one folder so you can ask Claude questions about Cred's code. You don't need to run anything — just download and open.

4.1 — Create the cred-local-workspace folder

  1. Open Finder → go to your Desktop.
  2. Right-click an empty spot → New Folder.
  3. Name it exactly cred-local-workspace.
  1. Open File Explorer → go to your Desktop.
  2. Right-click an empty spot → New → Folder.
  3. Name it exactly cred-local-workspace.

This is the single home for all the Cred projects on your computer.

4.2 — Download the projects with GitHub Desktop

The easiest way to download Cred's projects is the free GitHub Desktop app — no commands, just clicks. Download GitHub Desktop

  1. Open GitHub Desktop and sign in with your @credinvestments.com GitHub account (it asks on first launch).
  2. Go to File → Clone repository…
  3. In the list, find the project under credinvest (e.g. credinvest/cred-dbt) — or paste its link.
  4. Set Local path to your cred-local-workspace folder, then click Clone.
  5. Repeat for each project you need (see 4.3).

You can also start from a project's GitHub page: click the green Code button → Open with GitHub Desktop.

GitHub Code button showing the Open with GitHub Desktop option

On the project's GitHub page, click Code → Open with GitHub Desktop.

Browse all Cred projects

They all live at github.com/credinvest.

4.3 — Which repos? (download the ones for your area)

You only need the projects for your work.

Area Repositories to download
Data / Dados cred-dbt · cred-model · cred-scheduled-jobs
Backend (BE) cred-platform-ts · cred-agent-ai · cred-mcp · cred-auth
Frontend (FE) cred-platform-ts (web app lives here) · cred-web-admin
Docs / Planning cred-wiki · plan-and-design-repo

4.4 — Open the folder and start asking

  1. In VS Code: File → Open Folder… → select cred-local-workspace.
  2. If it asks "Do you trust the authors?", click Yes, I trust them.
  3. Open Claude and ask away, e.g. "What does the cred-dbt project do?" or "Where is the deal model defined?"

Optional — Connect to Google Cloud (only to run data tools / BigQuery)

You don't need this just to read code and ask questions. Skip it unless you'll actually run something that reaches Cred's data — for example running dbt or querying BigQuery.

Easiest: just ask Claude

Open Claude and type: "Install the Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) and help me log in." It runs the right steps for you and asks before doing anything.

Or do it yourself in the Terminal:

gcloud auth login
gcloud auth application-default login
gcloud config set project cred-1556636033881

Each line opens your browser — sign in with your @credinvestments.com account and click Allow.

Don't have the gcloud command yet?

Install the Google Cloud CLI first:

  1. In the Terminal, run: brew install --cask google-cloud-sdk (needs Homebrew from brew.sh).
  2. Close and reopen the Terminal, then run the 3 commands above.
  1. Download the installer from cloud.google.com/sdk.
  2. Run GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe and click Next through it.
  3. Reopen PowerShell, then run the 3 commands above.

Costs & real data

BigQuery queries run against real data and can cost money. Prefer read-only queries and avoid heavy runs unless needed. You only access what your Cred account is already allowed to see.

5. Using it day to day

You talk to Claude in plain English. A few handy tricks:

You want to… Just write / do this
Ask for something Type in plain English: "Summarize this file"
Point to a file Type @ and pick the file name
See ready-made commands Type / (e.g. /help)
Start fresh Use /clear
Connect tools Use /mcp (see next section)

Golden rule

Talk to it like a colleague: give context, state the goal, and say what NOT to do. The clearer the request, the better the result.

6. Connect Cred's tools (MCPs)

MCPs are connectors that let Claude reach the tools Cred uses (Google Drive, Linear, Slack…). You turn them on from the /mcp menu.

  1. In the Claude chat box, type /mcp and press Enter.
  2. A panel called MCP servers opens, listing every connector with a status:
    • ✓ Connected — already working, nothing to do.
    • ⚠ Needs Auth — needs you to log in once.
  3. Click the connector you want that shows ⚠ Needs Auth (e.g. Gmail or Slack).
  4. Your browser opens — log in with your Cred account and click Authorize.
  5. Back in Claude, the status turns to ✓ Connected.

The MCP servers panel showing connectors with Needs Auth and Connected statuses

The MCP servers panel. Green = ready, beige = needs login.

Use your Cred (work) account

When a connector asks you to log in, always use your @credinvestments.com account so Claude sees the right company data.

The connectors you'll see

Connector What it lets Claude do
Google Drive Read and search Cred's documents, spreadsheets and slides
Linear Look at and update tasks, issues and projects
Slack Read and send messages, summarize channels
Gmail / Google Calendar Read emails and check/manage your calendar

Security first

Only connect tools with your official Cred account, and only the ones you're allowed to use. If unsure whether a connector is approved, check with your team before authorizing.

Looking for the engineer version?

For the CLI install and the full MCP-via-command setup (Figma, dbt Cloud, CircleCI, etc.), see Claude Code Setup under Development.

Whenever in doubt, the official source is the Claude Code documentation.