Install Claude Code

Setup is the part people overcomplicate. It's ten minutes: install one tool, make one folder, run one command. By the end of this lesson you'll have an empty project sitting there, ready for the three apps to move in.

The mental shift matters more than the steps. You are not about to learn to program. You're going to describe what you want and let Claude Code write the code. So don't read this like a coding tutorial — read it like you're setting up a new workspace.

What you need before you start

The install itself has almost no prerequisites. But two things need to be true later — when you connect your own Instagram numbers in a future chapter — so line them up now:

• Claude Code installed (terminal or desktop). No programming required.
• An Instagram Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook Page. This is what unlocks your private metrics later.
• 1,000+ followers, because Meta's Graph API only returns insights above that threshold. If you're not there yet, you can still build everything and analyze competitors — you just plug in your own data once you cross it.

None of the Instagram pieces block today's setup. They only matter when we connect your account. Get them started in the background while you build.

Create the project

Open your terminal and make a home for the whole system, then open Claude Code inside it:

mkdir mi-content-os && cd mi-content-os
claude

That's the entire "creation" step. The folder is your Content OS — everything (data, tools, dashboards) will live inside it. Opening claude from inside that folder is what scopes the agent to this project, so it only touches these files.

Run /init

With Claude Code open, run:

/init

/init generates a CLAUDE.md file. That file is the persistent brain Claude reads at the start of every session — the thing that stops you from re-explaining your niche, your voice, and your file structure every single time. We'll fill it out properly in the next lesson; for now, just know that /init is what creates it.

"No code — you describe it, it builds"

This is the premise the rest of the course rides on. You don't write the apps. You describe the problem and the output you want, and Claude Code builds it. That's not a motivational line — it's how non-developers are already doing this.

Jithin Raaj built a dashboard that monitors 37 Instagram accounts without being a developer. In his words: "I didn't write the code from scratch. What I brought was a clear description of the problem and a clear picture of what the output should look like." That description skill is the whole game. If you can explain what you want to a smart intern, you can build this.

So the setup you just did isn't "step one of learning to program." It's step one of learning to delegate to an agent that programs. Different skill, much lower bar.

Key takeaway

Setup is ten minutes: install Claude Code, run mkdir mi-content-os && cd mi-content-os then claude, and finish with /init to create your CLAUDE.md brain. Line up an Instagram Business account on a Facebook Page (1,000+ followers) in the background for later. The only skill you actually need is describing what you want clearly — the code is Claude's job, not yours.