Lesson 0.3 · 40 minYour first session with Claude Code

What you will have

The student has a project folder containing a one-page "about me" HTML file that Claude Code created and then changed twice at their request, and can explain what Claude did at each step.

Video

The video for this lesson is not recorded yet.

Prompts used in this lesson

Part 4 — Build the page

I'm starting a course on building websites and want a first simple page to practise on.

Create one file called about-me.html in this folder: a single "about me" page.
Use these details: my name is Alex Carter, I run Brightside Cleaning, a home-cleaning
service, and I am learning to build its website.

Done means: the file opens in a browser by double-clicking it and shows a heading
with my name, a short paragraph about me, and a list of three things I want to learn
in this course (make up sensible ones).

Constraints: one file only, with the styling inside the same file. No other files,
no installs, nothing loaded from the internet.

Part 5 — Open the page; approve a command

Open about-me.html in my default browser so I can check it.
Done means the page is visible in a browser window. Do not change any files.

Part 6 — Two changes

Change about-me.html so it is easier to read and looks more like a business page.

Done means: the page has a coloured band at the top with my name in it, the text
sits in a centred column that is not too wide, and everything else stays the same.

Constraints: edit only about-me.html, keep all the existing text, nothing loaded
from the internet.

Add a section at the bottom of about-me.html with the heading "Contact" and one
line: "Email: hello@example.com".

Done means the new section appears below the list and matches the style of the
rest of the page. Edit only about-me.html and change nothing else on the page.

Do along

Pause the video after each part named below and do the step before you continue.

1. Pause after Part 2. Run cd ~, mkdir with your project name (or brightside-site), cd into it, and claude. Accept the trust question.
2. Pause after Part 3. Press Shift+Tab until the label under the prompt reads manual mode on.
3. Pause after Part 4. Send the first prompt from Part 4. Adapt: your own name and your business from lesson 0.1. Put nothing private on the page.
4. Read the permission prompt, then choose Yes.
5. Pause after Part 5. Send the "open in my default browser" prompt from Part 5. Read the command before approving.
6. Pause after Part 6. Ask for two changes, one at a time, each with a "done means" sentence and the constraint "edit only about-me.html". Use the two from Part 6 or your own. Reload the browser after each.
7. Pause after Part 7. Try each once: /help; Esc while Claude is answering; /clear; /exit; then claude --continue.

Check your work

1. Open the project folder in Finder or File Explorer and double-click about-me.html. Expected: it opens in your browser and shows your name, a paragraph and a list.
2. Look for your two changes. Expected: both are visible on the page.
3. In the project folder, run claude --continue. Expected: your latest conversation reopens.
4. Say what a permission prompt shows. Expected: "what Claude is about to do, and to which file or with which command".

Common problems

• Claude created the file without asking. → The session is in auto or accept-edits mode. → Press Shift+Tab until the label says manual mode on. The file is fine; carry on.
• Shift+Tab does nothing on Windows. → Some Windows terminals do not pass that key through. → Try Alt+M, or /exit and start with claude --permission-mode manual.
• Claude created extra files or started installing things. → The request left room for it. → Press Esc, then say: "Stop. I want one file only, about-me.html. Remove anything else you created."
• claude --continue opens a different conversation. → Sessions are stored per folder. → cd into the project folder first.
• You pressed Ctrl+C and Claude Code closed. → With nothing running, pressing it twice exits. → Run claude --continue. Use Esc to interrupt.

Homework

About 30 minutes, after the lesson. No spending, and no later lesson depends on it. Work in a separate folder, so your project folder still holds only about-me.html when lesson 0.4 starts.

1. A second page, on your own. Run cd ~, mkdir claude-homework, cd claude-homework and claude, and switch to Manual mode. Write your own prompt, without copying the lesson's, for a one-file page called services.html that lists what your business offers. Give it the same four parts as the lesson's. Then ask for two changes, one at a time.

   • Deliverable: services.html in the claude-homework folder.
   • Done when: the page opens in your browser, shows both changes, and the folder contains no other files.

2. A permission log, with one "no". During task 1, write one line for each of three permission prompts: what Claude wanted to do, to which file or with which command, and your answer. Refuse one prompt on purpose, tell Claude what you want instead, and note what it did next.

   • Deliverable: three lines in your course notes.
   • Done when: each line names an action, a file or command, and your answer, and one answer is "no".

3. Leave and come back. Type /exit. Later, or the next day, cd into claude-homework, run claude --continue and ask Claude to say in three sentences what was done in this conversation.

   • Deliverable: one sentence in your notes: did the summary match what happened?
   • Done when: the earlier conversation reopened and your sentence is written.