What Is Claude AI?
Claude is an AI assistant built by Anthropic, a company founded in 2021 by former members of OpenAI. What sets Claude apart is Anthropic's focus on building AI that is helpful, harmless, and honest. In practice, this means Claude is one of the most thoughtful and careful AI assistants available -- it gives thorough answers, follows instructions precisely, and is transparent about its limitations.
As of February 2026, Claude is available in several forms: a free web app at claude.ai, paid Pro and Max subscription plans, an API for developers, and Claude Code for programmers. This guide covers all of them.
If you are coming from ChatGPT or Gemini and want to understand how Claude compares, check out our Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini comparison.
Getting Started with claude.ai
Creating Your Account
Head to claude.ai and sign up with your email address or Google account. The free tier gives you access to Claude Sonnet 4.5, which is a very capable model for everyday tasks.
Once you are signed in, you will see a clean chat interface. Type a message, press Enter or click the send button, and Claude responds. Simple as that.
The Chat Interface
Claude's interface is intentionally minimal. Here are the key elements:
- Chat area: Where your conversation happens
- Model selector: Choose between available models (top of chat)
- Attachment button: Upload files, images, or documents
- Projects panel: Organize conversations by topic (left sidebar)
- Artifacts panel: View generated content like code or documents (right sidebar)
Understanding Claude's Models
Claude comes in three model tiers, each optimized for different use cases:
Claude Opus 4.6 (Flagship)
This is Anthropic's most capable model. It excels at complex reasoning, nuanced writing, coding, and multi-step analysis. Available on Pro and Max plans.
Best for: Complex coding projects, research, detailed analysis, creative writing, important business communications.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 (Balanced)
The sweet spot of capability and speed. Sonnet handles most tasks very well and responds noticeably faster than Opus. Available on all plans including free.
Best for: Everyday questions, drafting emails, explaining concepts, moderate coding tasks, brainstorming.
Claude Haiku 4 (Fast)
The lightweight model designed for speed and efficiency. Great for simple tasks where you need quick answers.
Best for: Quick questions, summarization, simple formatting, data extraction, high-volume tasks.
Which Model Should You Use?
| Task | Recommended Model |
|---|---|
| Writing important emails | Sonnet 4.5 |
| Complex coding project | Opus 4.6 |
| Quick factual questions | Haiku 4 |
| Analyzing a long document | Opus 4.6 |
| Brainstorming ideas | Sonnet 4.5 |
| Translating text | Haiku 4 |
| Creative writing | Opus 4.6 |
| Summarizing meeting notes | Sonnet 4.5 |
Subscription Plans Explained
Free Plan
- Access to Claude Sonnet 4.5
- Limited daily messages (roughly 30)
- File uploads supported
- No Projects or advanced features
Claude Pro ($20/month)
- Access to Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, and Haiku 4
- 5x the message limit of free
- Projects with custom instructions
- Artifacts for generated content
- Priority access during peak times
- Extended thinking mode for complex reasoning
Claude Max ($200/month)
- Everything in Pro
- 20x the message limit of free
- Higher rate limits on Opus 4.6
- Early access to new features
- Claude Code included
For most people, the Pro plan at $20/month is the sweet spot. Max is worth it if you use Claude heavily for professional work throughout the day.
Projects: Organize Your Work
Projects are one of Claude's most powerful features and something that many people overlook. A Project is essentially a workspace with its own context, custom instructions, and conversation history.
Creating a Project
- Click "Projects" in the left sidebar
- Click "New Project"
- Give it a name and description
- Add custom instructions (system prompt)
- Upload reference files if needed
Why Projects Matter
Custom instructions in a Project apply to every conversation within it. This means you can set up Claude to behave exactly the way you need for a specific task without repeating yourself every time.
Here are some Projects I keep active:
Blog Writing Project:
You are helping me write technical blog articles for WikiWayne.
My audience is developers and tech enthusiasts.
Write in first person, conversational but authoritative tone.
Use practical examples and code when relevant.
Always suggest internal links to related articles.
Code Review Project:
You are a senior software engineer reviewing my code.
Focus on: security, performance, readability, and maintainability.
Point out issues in order of severity.
Suggest specific fixes, not just descriptions of problems.
Use the project's coding standards document as reference.
Email Drafting Project:
You help me draft professional emails.
Keep emails concise -- under 200 words when possible.
Match the tone to the recipient: formal for clients, casual for team.
Always suggest a clear subject line.
Adding Knowledge to Projects
You can upload files to a Project that Claude will reference in every conversation. This is incredibly useful for:
- Style guides and brand documents
- API documentation you reference often
- Company policies or product specs
- Research papers or reference materials
Claude can hold up to 200K tokens of project knowledge, which is roughly equivalent to a 500-page book.
Artifacts: Interactive Content Generation
Artifacts appear in a side panel when Claude generates standalone content like code, documents, SVGs, HTML pages, or diagrams. Instead of dumping everything into the chat, Claude creates an Artifact that you can view, edit, copy, and iterate on.
Types of Artifacts
- Code: Full files with syntax highlighting and a copy button
- Documents: Markdown-formatted text you can edit
- HTML: Interactive web pages that render in the browser
- SVGs: Vector graphics and diagrams
- Mermaid diagrams: Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, etc.
- React components: Interactive UI components
Working with Artifacts
When Claude creates an Artifact, you can:
- View it in the side panel alongside the chat
- Edit it directly in the panel
- Ask Claude to modify it with follow-up messages
- Copy the content to your clipboard
- Download it as a file
Artifacts make iterative work much more natural. Instead of scrolling through a long chat to find the latest version of your code, you always have the current version visible.
Claude Code: AI-Powered Development
Claude Code is a command-line tool that brings Claude's capabilities directly into your terminal and code editor. It is the most powerful way to use Claude for software development.
Getting Started with Claude Code
# Install Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
# Start an interactive session
claude
# Or give it a specific task
claude "Add input validation to the user registration endpoint"
What Claude Code Can Do
- Read and understand your codebase: It analyzes your project structure, dependencies, and existing patterns
- Write and edit code: Create new files or modify existing ones
- Run commands: Execute tests, builds, and other CLI tools
- Use git: Create commits, branches, and pull requests
- Debug issues: Read error messages and fix the underlying problems
- Refactor code: Restructure code while maintaining functionality
Example: Building a Feature with Claude Code
$ claude "Create a REST endpoint for user profile updates with
validation, rate limiting, and proper error handling.
Follow the patterns in our existing user endpoints."
# Claude will:
# 1. Read your existing user endpoint files
# 2. Understand your project patterns
# 3. Create the new endpoint following those patterns
# 4. Add input validation using your existing validator
# 5. Add rate limiting middleware
# 6. Write tests matching your test patterns
# 7. Show you a diff before applying changes
Claude Code works best when your project has clear patterns for it to follow. It picks up on coding conventions, testing patterns, and project structure naturally.
Best Practices for Getting Great Results
1. Be Specific About What You Want
Claude follows instructions carefully, so specific instructions get specific results:
Bad: "Help me with my resume"
Good: "Review my resume for a senior frontend developer position.
Focus on: quantifying achievements, relevant technical skills,
and formatting. My target companies are mid-size startups."
2. Provide Context
The more relevant context you give Claude, the better its response:
"I'm building a Next.js 14 app with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS.
The app uses Supabase for auth and database. I need to add a
user settings page that lets users update their profile photo,
display name, and notification preferences."
3. Use Step-by-Step Instructions for Complex Tasks
"Help me set up a CI/CD pipeline for my project:
1. First, analyze my project structure and dependencies
2. Create a GitHub Actions workflow file
3. Include steps for: linting, testing, building, and deploying
4. Add environment variable handling for staging vs production
5. Add Slack notifications on failure"
4. Ask Claude to Think Before Answering
For complex problems, explicitly ask Claude to reason through its approach:
"Before writing any code, analyze the requirements and outline
your approach. Consider edge cases and potential issues. Then
implement the solution step by step."
5. Iterate and Refine
Claude excels at iteration. Start with a rough request and refine:
- "Draft an outline for a blog post about AI agents"
- "Expand section 3 with more technical detail"
- "Make the introduction more engaging and add a hook"
- "Add a comparison table in section 2"
For a deep dive into prompting techniques that work across all large language models, check out our AI Prompt Engineering Guide.
Advanced Tips
Extended Thinking
Claude Pro and Max users can enable "extended thinking" mode, where Claude spends more time reasoning before responding. This produces noticeably better results for:
- Complex math and logic problems
- Multi-step coding tasks
- Nuanced analysis requiring careful consideration
Toggle it with the thinking icon in the chat interface, or in Claude Code with the --think flag.
File Analysis
Claude can analyze uploaded files including:
- PDFs: Research papers, reports, contracts
- Images: Screenshots, diagrams, photos
- Code files: Any programming language
- Data files: CSV, JSON, XML
- Documents: Word docs, presentations
Upload files by clicking the attachment icon or dragging them into the chat.
System Prompts via API
If you are using the API, system prompts give you fine-grained control:
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
message = client.messages.create(
model="claude-opus-4-6",
max_tokens=4096,
system="You are a senior code reviewer. Focus on security "
"vulnerabilities, performance issues, and maintainability. "
"Rate severity as Critical, High, Medium, or Low.",
messages=[
{"role": "user", "content": "Review this Python function: ..."}
]
)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Treating Claude Like a Search Engine
Claude is a reasoning engine, not a search engine. Instead of asking "What is the population of Texas?", ask Claude to analyze, compare, explain, or create something.
2. Not Using Projects
If you use Claude regularly for specific types of work, setting up Projects with custom instructions will save you significant time and improve response quality.
3. Accepting the First Response
Claude is great at iteration. If the first response is not exactly right, tell Claude what to change rather than starting over. It keeps the context of the conversation and builds on what it already knows.
4. Being Too Vague
"Make it better" is not actionable. "Make it more concise, use active voice, and add a specific example in paragraph 2" gives Claude something to work with.
Resources for Learning More
If you want to become a Claude power user, I recommend starting with Prompt Engineering for Generative AI. It covers the fundamentals of effective prompting that apply specifically to models like Claude.
For understanding the broader landscape of AI tools and how to integrate them into your workflow, AI Engineering by Chip Huyen is an excellent technical reference.
Also check out these WikiWayne guides:
- AI Prompt Engineering Guide 2026 for prompting techniques
- AI Agents Explained for understanding what comes next
- Best AI Coding Assistants for Claude Code alternatives
Getting Help
If you run into issues with Claude:
- Anthropic's support docs: Comprehensive help center at docs.anthropic.com
- Community Discord: Active community of Claude users sharing tips
- Status page: Check status.anthropic.com if Claude seems slow or unresponsive
- API documentation: Detailed docs at docs.anthropic.com/en/docs
Claude is one of the most capable AI tools available today, and it keeps getting better with each update. The key is investing a little time upfront to learn how to use it effectively. The difference between a casual user and a power user is not talent -- it is knowing which buttons to push.
New to Claude? Share your first experience on X (@wikiwayne) -- I love helping people get started and answering questions.
Recommended Gear
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Prompt Engineering for Generative AI — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
Prompt Engineering for LLMs — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
AI Engineering by Chip Huyen — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
Designing ML Systems by Chip Huyen — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
Logitech MX Keys S Wireless — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
ASUS ProArt PA279CRV 27" 4K — Great pick for anyone following this guide.
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