Claude Code is a tool for developers from Anthropic — the same company that makes the Claude AI assistant. But it's not just a chat: Claude Code can read your project itself, write and edit code in your files, run commands and tests, and work with git — that is, it does the work, not just advises on it.
Tools like this are called AI agents. Let's break down what Claude Code is, how it differs from a regular chatbot and from code autocomplete, what it can do, and how to start using it.
What is Claude Code
Claude Code is an AI coding agent that mainly lives in the terminal (the command line). You open your project, launch Claude Code, and simply describe the task in plain words: "add authentication," "find and fix this bug," "write tests for this module."
From there the agent acts on its own: it studies the relevant files, makes edits, runs commands, and checks the result. You stay in the driver's seat — you can watch what it does and approve the changes.
We covered what a CLI and a terminal are in a separate article. In short, it's a text-based way to control your computer with commands, without windows and buttons. That's where Claude Code works first and foremost, though there are other options too (see below).
How Claude Code differs from a chatbot
A regular chatbot like ChatGPT or Claude in the browser replies with text. You ask, it explains or shows code, and copying and pasting it into your project is on you.
Claude Code works differently — it acts:
- it sees your whole project, not just the snippet you pasted into a chat;
- it opens and edits the relevant files itself;
- it runs commands, tests, and builds, and looks at the result;
- if something didn't work, it fixes it and tries again on its own.
That's the key difference. A chatbot is a conversation partner that advises. An AI agent is a doer that gets the work done and checks itself along the way.
How Claude Code works
At the heart of Claude Code is a so-called agentic loop: gather context → take an action → verify the result → repeat.
In practice it looks like this:
- You state the task.
- The agent reads the relevant files to understand how the project is built.
- It makes changes — sometimes across several files at once.
- It runs tests or commands to make sure everything works.
- If something's off, it fixes it and repeats until it gets there.
The ability to repeat the loop and check itself is what sets an agent apart from plain text generation. The harder the task, the more that self-checking matters.
What Claude Code can do
Its capabilities go far beyond "write a function":
| Capability | What it means |
|---|---|
| File operations | Read the whole project, edit several files at once |
| Commands and tests | Run builds, tests, and servers |
| Git | Make commits and branches, open pull requests |
| Web search | Look up documentation or make sense of an error message |
| Plan mode | Propose a plan first, then touch the code |
| Subagents | Run several AIs in parallel on different parts of a task |
There are more advanced pieces too: a CLAUDE.md file with persistent project instructions, memory between sessions, connecting external tools via MCP, and custom "skill" commands for your own workflows.
Where you can run Claude Code
Although Claude Code is primarily about the terminal, you can reach it in several places:
- Terminal — the main way (macOS, Linux, Windows, WSL).
- IDE extensions — VS Code and JetBrains environments (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and others).
- Desktop app — a standalone program for Mac and Windows.
- Web — right in the browser at claude.ai/code, no install needed.
Installing in the terminal usually takes a single command, after which starting it looks simple:
cd my-project
claudeOn the first run you sign in to your account — after that you can start describing tasks right away.
Which models power it
Claude Code runs on models from the Claude family, and you can pick the model to fit the task:
- Haiku — for light, fast operations.
- Sonnet — the balanced default for most tasks.
- Opus — for complex logic and architecture.
- Fable — the new flagship for the hardest, longest tasks.
Tools like Claude Code are exactly where powerful models such as Fable shine: the agent can work on a large task for a long time on its own, rather than producing a single answer.
Claude Code or GitHub Copilot
They're often compared, but they're different kinds of tools:
- GitHub Copilot is mainly autocomplete: it suggests the next line of code right in your editor as you type. A reactive, here-and-now helper.
- Claude Code is an agent: it takes on the whole task, works across the entire project, makes edits itself, and verifies them. It doesn't suggest line by line — it carries the task from start to finish.
One doesn't replace the other — many developers use both: Copilot speeds up typing code, while Claude Code takes on the bigger tasks.
How to start and how to get access
Claude Code itself is free to install, but to work it needs access to the Claude models — through a subscription (Pro, Max, and others) or through the API with pay-as-you-go billing.
Here you run into the same hurdle as with Claude: Anthropic's services aren't officially available in every country, and some regions aren't yet included. To connect to them reliably, people use a VPN.
A VPN provides access and a stable connection to Anthropic's servers. But setting up a subscription may also require a foreign payment method — a separate matter that a VPN by itself doesn't cover. We try to be honest: a VPN solves the main part of the problem, just not the only part.
With RuSolv it works like it does for any service: pick a server in a suitable region, connect over WireGuard, and get stable access to tools that otherwise won't open. Pricing starts at $0.05 per hour, and for regular work the monthly plan at $4.50 is more convenient.
Bottom line
Claude Code is an AI agent from Anthropic that doesn't just advise — it writes and edits code in your project itself: it reads files, runs commands and tests, works with git, and checks itself as it goes. It runs on Claude models, including the new Fable flagship, and it's especially good at large, multi-step tasks.
What sets it apart from a chatbot is the ability to act, and what sets it apart from autocomplete is working with the whole project at once. And to connect to it reliably from a region where the service isn't available directly, a solid VPN helps.
