Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have:

• VS Code 1.94.0 or higher

• An Anthropic account: any paid Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account works, and no API key is required. You'll sign in with this account when you first open the extension. If you access Claude through a third-party provider like Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud's Agent Platform, see Use third-party providers for setup instructions.

  The extension bundles its own copy of the CLI (command-line interface) for the chat panel. To run claude in VS Code's integrated terminal, you also need the standalone CLI install. See VS Code extension vs. Claude Code CLI for details.