Install Cursor or Anti-Gravity

Cursor and Anti-Gravity are code editors - the app where your brain lives and where you'll talk to Claude. Both are built for AI-assisted development.

You only need one. Pick whichever you prefer.

Step 1: Download and Install

Cursor: cursor.com - click Download
Anti-Gravity: antigravity.google - click Download

Both detect your operating system automatically. Download, run the installer, and open the app.

Step 2: What You'll See

When you open the editor, you'll see three main areas:

File Explorer (left sidebar) - shows all the files and folders in your project
Editor Canvas (center) - where you view and edit files
Chat/Agent Panel (right side) - a built-in AI assistant

We're not going to use the editor's built-in AI assistant. Instead, we'll use Claude Code, which runs in the terminal and is far more powerful. You can ignore the chat panel for now.

Step 3: Open the Terminal

The terminal is where the real work happens. This is where you'll install Claude Code and talk to your brain.

Look for Terminal in the application menu at the top, and open a new terminal window. Or use the keyboard shortcut:

Mac: Press Cmd + J
Windows: Press Ctrl + J

You should see a command prompt appear at the bottom of the window.

Step 4: Verify Node.js

Since you installed Node.js in the previous step, let's confirm it's working. In the terminal, type:

node --version

You should see a version number. If you get "command not found", close the editor completely and reopen it - the terminal sometimes needs a restart to find newly installed programs.

This terminal is also where you'll type claude to start Claude Code - but first we need to install it.

Why These Editors?

Cursor and Anti-Gravity are purpose-built for AI development. Even though we primarily use Claude Code in the terminal, these editors give you a great file browser, syntax highlighting, and options for the future. Anti-Gravity also has a built-in browser mode that's useful when building web apps.

Troubleshooting

App won't open on Mac: Right-click the app in Applications, choose "Open", then click "Open" in the dialog. This bypasses macOS security for first-time apps.

App won't open on Windows: Make sure you ran the installer as Administrator if you're having permission issues.

Next step: Install Claude Code