Installation Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring Claude in both Linux and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) environments.

Linux Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher

• pip package manager

• git

Steps

1. Create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv claude-env
source claude-env/bin/activate

1. Install Claude CLI:

pip install anthropic

1. Set up your API key:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='your-api-key'

1. Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc for persistence:

echo 'export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

WSL Installation

Prerequisites

• WSL2 installed and configured

• Ubuntu or Debian-based distribution

• Python 3.8 or higher

Steps

1. Update WSL system:

wsl -d Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

1. Install Python dependencies:

sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv -y

1. Follow the same steps as Linux installation above.

Claude Desktop Application

For a graphical interface to Claude:

1. Install Node.js dependencies:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install --lts

1. Clone and build the desktop application:

git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-desktop
cd claude-desktop
npm install
npm run build

1. Start the application:

npm start

Role Configuration and Project Initialization

Setting Up Project Roles

Claude can be configured with different roles for various project contexts. Here's how to set up roles:

1. Create a claude-config.json in your project root:

{
  "roles": {
    "code_reviewer": {
      "description": "Reviews code for best practices and security issues",
      "temperature": 0.7,
      "max_tokens": 1024
    },
    "documentation_writer": {
      "description": "Generates and updates technical documentation",
      "temperature": 0.3,
      "max_tokens": 2048
    },
    "architect": {
      "description": "Provides architectural guidance and system design",
      "temperature": 0.4,
      "max_tokens": 1500
    }
  }
}

1. Initialize Claude with a specific role:

import anthropic
import json

def initialize_claude_with_role(role_name):
    with open('claude-config.json', 'r') as f:
        config = json.load(f)
    
    if role_name not in config['roles']:
        raise ValueError(f"Role {role_name} not found in configuration")
    
    role_config = config['roles'][role_name]
    
    return anthropic.Client(
        api_key=os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"),
        default_parameters={
            'temperature': role_config['temperature'],
            'max_tokens_to_sample': role_config['max_tokens']
        }
    )

Initializing Claude for Existing Projects

To initialize Claude for an existing codebase:

1. Create a project context file:

def create_project_context():
    context = {
        'project_structure': [],
        'dependencies': {},
        'configuration': {}
    }
    
    # Scan project structure
    for root, dirs, files in os.walk('.'):
        if '.git' in dirs:
            dirs.remove('.git')
        context['project_structure'].extend(
            os.path.join(root, file) for file in files
        )
    
    # Parse dependency files
    if os.path.exists('requirements.txt'):
        with open('requirements.txt', 'r') as f:
            context['dependencies']['python'] = f.read()
    
    if os.path.exists('package.json'):
        with open('package.json', 'r') as f:
            context['dependencies']['node'] = json.load(f)
    
    return context

1. Initialize Claude with project context:

def initialize_claude_for_project():
    context = create_project_context()
    claude = anthropic.Client(api_key=os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))
    
    # Initialize system message with project context
    system_message = f"""Project Context:
    - Structure: {len(context['project_structure'])} files
    - Dependencies: {', '.join(context['dependencies'].keys())}
    - Configuration: {context['configuration']}
    """
    
    return claude, system_message

1. Usage example:

# Initialize Claude as a code reviewer for your project
claude = initialize_claude_with_role('code_reviewer')
claude, context = initialize_claude_for_project()

# Now you can use Claude with project awareness
response = claude.messages.create(
    model="claude-3-opus-20240229",
    system=context,
    messages=[{
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Review the code in src/main.py for security issues"
    }]
)

Best Practices for Role Configuration

1. Role Separation

   • Keep roles focused and specific

   • Define clear boundaries between roles

   • Use appropriate temperature settings for each role

2. Context Management

   • Regularly update project context

   • Keep system messages concise but informative

   • Include relevant project-specific guidelines

3. Version Control

   • Track role configurations in version control

   • Document role changes and their purposes

   • Use environment variables for sensitive settings

Best Practices

1. API Key Security

   • Never commit API keys to version control

   • Use environment variables or secure key management

   • Rotate keys periodically

2. Virtual Environment

   • Always use virtual environments for isolation

   • Keep dependencies updated

   • Use requirements.txt for project dependencies

3. Error Handling

   try:
       import anthropic
       claude = anthropic.Client(api_key=os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))
   except Exception as e:
       logging.error(f"Failed to initialize Claude: {e}")

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

1. API Key Issues

   • Verify key is correctly set in environment

   • Check key permissions and quotas

   • Ensure no whitespace in key string

2. Installation Errors

   • Update pip: pip install --upgrade pip

   • Check Python version compatibility

   • Verify system dependencies

3. WSL-Specific Issues

   • Enable WSL2: wsl --set-version Ubuntu

   • Check WSL integration in VS Code

   • Verify network connectivity

Resources

• Official Claude Documentation
• Claude API Reference
• WSL Installation Guide