🚀 Hackathon Setup Guide

Welcome to the AI Hackathon! Follow these steps to get your machine ready for Claude-based development.

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📧 1. Sign Up for Claude

• Please create an account on claude.ai using your @therealbrokerage.com email address
• Your team lead will meet with you to setup your account with a company credit card to have a Claude Max plan. Make sure that this is a PERSONAL plan.
• Please confirm that you are on the Claude Max plan.

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✅ 2. Install Node.js (macOS)

Open the Terminal application to run the following commands.

First, check if you already have Node.js installed:

node -v

If you see version numbers for both, you can skip to step 3. If not, continue with the installation below.

Install Homebrew (if not already installed)

We recommend using Homebrew to install Node.js on your Mac. First, install Homebrew by running this command in your terminal:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Important: After installation, you'll need to add Homebrew to your PATH. Follow the instructions shown in your terminal, which typically look like this:

Install Node.js

Once Homebrew is installed and added to your PATH, install Node.js:

brew install node

Verify the installation:

node -v

You should see version numbers for both.

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🧠 3. Install Claude Code CLI

Install the Claude CLI tool globally via npm:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

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⚡ 4. Run Claude

Before running Claude, create a new folder for your hackathon project:

mkdir hackathon
cd hackathon

Launch the Claude CLI from your terminal:

claude

Claude will guide you through authenticating with your API key and setting up your environment.

Initial Setup Walkthrough

Step 1: Welcome Screen & Theme Selection Choose your preferred terminal theme and preview code highlighting

Step 2: Login Method Selection Select "Claude account with subscription". Use the arrow keys to navigate and press Enter to proceed.

Step 3: Authorization

Click your Organization to select your account.

Click the Authorize button to allow Claude Code to connect to your Anthropic organization

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📹 5. Watch the Example Walkthrough

Check out this explanatory video where we walk through an example project using Claude Code:

Watch Example Project Walkthrough →

This video demonstrates real-world usage patterns and best practices for getting the most out of Claude Code during your hackathon project.

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You're now ready to start coding with Claude. Have fun and build something amazing!