Claude Code - Looking for guidance on where to start with coding and tools

[dovmarkowich]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

Hi everyone,

Long-time reader, first-time poster.

I’m hoping someone here can point me in the right direction, because right now everything feels a bit overwhelming.

I come from an IT background of 25+ years, although the last 15 years have been focused more on legal and real estate. I’m comfortable with technology, but I’m a true beginner when it comes to coding.

I want to start using Claude Code to start building a project idea I’ve had for a while, and AI-assisted coding has pushed me to finally explore it. My problem is that the number of tools, plugins, and workflows out there feels overwhelming, and I’m not sure what a sensible beginner starting point looks like.

If anyone can suggest the best way to begin, and / or where I can learn - especially what tools or setup to start with, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share advice, and appreciation to all the coders here. It’s a skill worth being proud of.

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[AmanAshutosh]

Hey, welcome — and honestly, you’re not alone. The ecosystem does feel overwhelming at the start.

The good news is you don’t need most of the tools people talk about. A simple setup is more than enough to begin:

Install VS Code (or any code editor you’re comfortable with)
Install Node.js
Use Claude (or any AI assistant) alongside your editor

That’s all you need to get started.

A practical approach:

Start with a very small version of your idea, not the full project
Build step by step, and use AI to explain things when you get stuck
Focus on learning just what you need as you go

Suggested learning order:

JavaScript basics (variables, functions, loops)
DOM (how web pages work)
Calling APIs
Then move to frameworks like React later

The key is not to get stuck in setup or tutorials. Build something small, iterate, and learn along the way.

Hope this helps — you’re starting at a great time with AI, making the process much more accessible 👍

[dovmarkowich]

Hi AmanAshutosh,

Really appreciate the reply and response to your message. The overwhelming comes from what to start off with first and learning things properly so that I don't start learning things with bad habits that will be challenging to re-correct later on.

I also keep hearing about Superpowers as well as an add-on to Claude Code? Good? Useful? Other good add ons as well to use?

Thank you again, Dov

[rubak714]

Hey there,

It is wonderful to see you reaching out here.

With your twenty five plus years in information technology and even though your recent focus has been on legal and real estate work, you already bring a solid foundation in technology.

It is completely understandable that the world of coding, with all its tools and options, feels overwhelming right now.

Many people experience this when they begin. You have made an excellent choice by deciding to explore this with the help of Claude.

A sensible way to start is to keep things as simple as possible at first. I recommend beginning with the Python programming language.
Python reads almost like plain English, which helps beginners focus on ideas rather than complex syntax.

Here is a gentle starting path you can follow.

• First, install Visual Studio Code. It is a free editor from Microsoft that works well for beginners. Next, download and install Python from the official python.org website.

• For learning and building, begin directly with Claude in your web browser at claude.ai. You do not need complicated setups yet. Tell Claude about your project idea in plain language. Ask it to break the project down into very small steps. You can request simple code examples, ask it to explain every line, and have it walk you through what each part does.

• A great free resource to build your foundation is the book Automate the Boring Stuff with Python. It is available online at no cost and teaches practical skills through real world examples.

• Take it one small piece at a time. Focus on getting one tiny part of your project working before moving to the next. Claude excels at helping with this patient, step by step approach.

Once you feel more comfortable, you can explore integrating Claude more deeply into your editor. Tools like the Continue extension for Visual Studio Code allow you to use Claude directly while writing code.

You have already shown great initiative by posting here and wanting to learn. Coding is indeed a valuable skill, and with your background plus artificial intelligence assistance, you are in a strong position to make real progress.

Please feel free to share more details about your project idea if you would like more specific guidance.

Take care, and best wishes on your coding journey.

[dovmarkowich]

rubak714,

Thank you so much for this. It's a great first step and very much appreciated that there's (appears to be) great support in this community. Something that I've always been fond and intrigued of, but never really felt comfortable taking that step in trying. I guess with the advancements of AI i.e. Claude Code, it gave me that push.

I will take your recommendations and try them out over this weekend.

Really appreciate it.

Have a a great weekend.

Dov

[dovmarkowich]

Thank you @Gecko51. I'll definitely take a look at those combo's. I'm assuming I can install all of those. I've ready about people saying having Superpowers + (something else) is "a must have!" for Claude Code. These are the things that throw me off with the never ending evolving tools / add ons.

Of course, I have to learn everything, but in terms of an add-on, I'd be looking for a good all in one tool of:

• Great planning prior to beginning
• Enhanced / Smart logical programming
• Good / Creative front end (UI/UX) developments
• Bugs / Security audit and overview
• Provide suggestions for enhancements and or improvements

If that's something that it can do all this, then great. If additional tools are to be added on, which is fine too, please let me know what else might be out there.

BTW, Is Visual Studio Code the same thing as using Cursor? I'm assuming that I can connect my Claude account to VS code using some sort of API token access?

Hate being a "newbie" ! lol. Thank you again sir for your time and input.

[anaya33]

I would say start with an AI IDE like cursor or windsurf or copilot with Vs code and use Claude in it and look at some YouTube videos on agentic coding to begin and just go feature by feature and you can use AI to pair program and explain and use gemini to find a good video when getting stuck!

a few weeks/months in of doing it and you will know it very well!

[dovmarkowich]

Thank you @anaya33