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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

You’re Using Claude
In The Wrong Place

Most people open the Claude desktop app and stop there. A lot of the people getting the most out of Claude run it inside a free app called VS Code, and you can move over in about five minutes.

The Claude app is great for chatting. VS Code is a free app from Microsoft where Claude sits right next to your actual files, you can run Claude and OpenAI’s Codex side by side, and free add-ons let you shape the window around how you work.

You don’t need to be a coder. You’ll install one app, add Claude, and type to it in plain English the same way you do now.

Before you start

The Claude Code extension needs a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account. It doesn’t work on the Free plan. (Anthropic’s VS Code docs)

Set It Up In 5 Steps
  1. Download VS Code. Go to code.visualstudio.com and install it like any other app. It’s free on Mac, Windows and Linux.
  2. Open Extensions. Click the four-squares icon on the left edge, or press Cmd+Shift+X on a Mac or Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows.
  3. Search "Claude Code." Pick Claude Code for VS Code by Anthropic.
  4. Click Install. It takes a few seconds.
  5. Sign in. Click the spark icon (in the left bar or the top right of an open file), click Sign in and approve it in your browser. Claude now opens in a panel next to your files.

You only do this once. After that, open VS Code and Claude is waiting in the panel.

Why It’s Worth The Move

01

Two AI models in one window

Install Codex ("Codex, OpenAI’s coding agent") from the same Extensions panel and it gets its own panel next to Claude. Codex is included on ChatGPT plans, Free included. The top model changes every few months, so having both means you can switch to whichever is better at the job that week. Inside Claude, click the model name under the prompt box to switch between Claude models too.

Get the Codex extension →

02

Make the window yours

VS Code has a marketplace of free add-ons called extensions. Bigger text, a darker theme, a cleaner way to read Claude’s notes. Each one installs in one click. My first seven are below.

03

Your files and tools in one place

Open a folder and Claude works on the real files in it. Type /mcp in the Claude panel to add connectors, the bridges that let Claude reach tools like your Google Drive or notes app, without leaving the window.

7 Free Extensions To Add First

All free, all one click, all useful even if you never write code. Search the name in the Extensions panel and hit Install. Don’t like one? Click Uninstall.

01

Markdown All in One

Claude writes in Markdown, the format with # and * symbols. This gives you a clean, formatted preview so drafts and notes are easy to read. Install this one first.

Markdown All in One in the marketplace →

02

Code Spell Checker

Underlines typos as you type, like your email does.

Code Spell Checker in the marketplace →

03

One Dark Pro

One of the most popular themes on the marketplace. One click and the window switches to a calm dark color scheme. Prefer light? Search "light theme" and pick any.

One Dark Pro in the marketplace →

04

Material Icon Theme

Gives each file type its own colored icon so your folders are faster to scan.

Material Icon Theme in the marketplace →

05

Live Server

If Claude builds you a simple web page, click Go Live at the bottom of the window and it opens in your browser and refreshes every time something changes.

Live Server in the marketplace →

06

Rainbow CSV

Colors each column of a CSV (a spreadsheet saved as text) so the rows line up and make sense. A lifesaver when Claude hands you data.

Rainbow CSV in the marketplace →

07

PDF viewer

Listed in the marketplace as vscode-pdf. Opens PDFs right inside VS Code, so you can read the file Claude is working from in the same window.

PDF viewer in the marketplace →

How To Use It Day To Day
  1. Open your folder. Click File, then Open Folder, and pick the folder you’re working on. Now Claude can see those files.
  2. Tell Claude what you want in the panel, in plain English. Type @ and a file name to point it at one file.
  3. Review what it changed. Claude shows each edit as a before-and-after, with buttons to accept or reject the change.

The shortest possible start is a new empty folder with a few documents in it. Open that folder in VS Code and paste this into the Claude panel.

First Folder Task
You're my organized, careful assistant working inside this folder. I'm not a developer, so explain anything technical in plain words. Goal: help me get a handle on the documents in this folder and turn them into something I can use today. Steps: 1. List every file in this folder with one line on what each one is. Don't change anything yet. 2. Read them and write a new file called summary.md with: a 5-bullet summary of what's in here, any dates, numbers or deadlines you found (with the file each came from), and the 3 things I should probably act on first. 3. Suggest a cleaner way to name and group these files (for example, date first, then topic). Show me the before and after names as a table and wait for my "yes" before renaming anything. Rules: never delete a file. Don't invent facts that aren't in the documents; if something is unclear, say so. My main question about these files is: [WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW OR GET DONE].

It looks busy. Ignore most of it.

VS Code was built for developers, so the first look is a cockpit. You only need the Extensions panel, the File menu and the Claude panel. Leave everything else alone.