How to Download Anthropic Claude: Step-by-Step Guide

How to Download Anthropic Claude

There's no single installer file called "Claude.exe" — Anthropic distributes Claude through a few different channels depending on how you want to use it: a desktop app, a mobile app, a command-line tool for developers, or API access that lets you build Claude into your own software. This guide walks through downloading each one, so you can pick the right path for what you're actually trying to do.

If you just want to chat with Claude like you would with ChatGPT, the desktop or mobile app is what you need. If you're a developer who wants Claude running inside your terminal or IDE, the CLI is the download. If you're building a product on top of Claude, you don't "download" anything — you get API access instead.

Downloading the Claude desktop app

Anthropic offers native desktop apps for both macOS and Windows.

1. Go to claude.ai/download in your browser.
2. The site detects your operating system and offers the correct installer (.dmg for Mac, .exe for Windows).
3. Run the installer and follow the standard prompts.
4. Sign in with your Anthropic account, or create one if you don't have it yet.

Once installed, the desktop app behaves like a native application: it lives in your dock or taskbar, supports keyboard shortcuts, and can stay open in the background separate from your browser tabs.

Downloading the Claude mobile app

Claude is available as a mobile app for both iOS and Android.

• iOS: search "Claude by Anthropic" in the App Store, or follow the link from claude.ai on your iPhone.
• Android: search "Claude" in the Google Play Store.

The mobile app syncs your conversation history with the web and desktop versions if you're signed into the same account, so you can start a conversation on your laptop and continue it on your phone.

Installing Claude Code (the CLI)

If you're a developer and searched for "download Anthropic Claude" hoping to get it running in your terminal, you're probably looking for Claude Code — Anthropic's command-line tool that lets Claude read your codebase, run commands, and edit files directly.

Install it via npm:

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

Then run it from any project directory:

claude

You'll be prompted to authenticate with your Anthropic account on first run. From there, Claude Code operates inside your terminal, with access to your local files and shell (within permissions you control).

There's no download for API access

If your goal is to integrate Claude into an app, a script, or a backend service, you don't download anything from Anthropic — you sign up for API access on the Anthropic Console, generate an API key, and make HTTPS requests to their endpoint. There's no client library you're required to install; the official SDKs for Python and JavaScript are optional conveniences around plain HTTP calls.

This is also where a service like SubToAPI becomes relevant. Many developers already pay for Claude through a Claude subscription (Pro or Max) but don't have separate API billing set up, or want a simpler way to manage keys across a team. SubToAPI turns your existing Claude access into a standard HTTPS API: you get application keys (sub_live_...), streaming responses, tool use, usage metadata, and team seat management in one dashboard — without juggling a separate Anthropic Console billing account.

A basic request through SubToAPI looks like this:

curl https://api.subtoapi.app/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUBTOAPI_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    "max_tokens": 512,
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Explain what a download link does in one sentence."}
    ]
  }'

If you're setting this up for the first time, the quickstart guide walks through generating a key and making your first call, and the messages docs cover request and response formats in detail.

Choosing the right option

| What you want | What to download/get | |---|---| | Chat with Claude on your computer | Desktop app from claude.ai/download | | Chat with Claude on your phone | iOS or Android app | | Use Claude in your terminal/IDE | Claude Code CLI via npm | | Build Claude into your own app | API access — no download, just a key |

Most people typing "how to download Anthropic Claude" into a search bar actually want the desktop or mobile chat app — that's the fastest path if you just want a conversational assistant. Developers building something usually end up needing either Claude Code or direct API access instead.

Streaming and tool use, once you're building

If you land on the API path, two things are worth knowing early. First, streaming lets you receive Claude's response token by token instead of waiting for the full completion — useful for chat UIs where you want text to appear as it's generated. See the streaming docs for implementation details. Second, tool use (also called function calling) lets Claude call external functions you define, such as looking up a database record or hitting another API, and incorporate the result into its response. The tools documentation covers the schema for defining these.

If you're already paying for Claude Pro or Max and want to expose that access as an API for your own projects or team, signing up for a free trial takes a few minutes, and the pricing page lays out the Solo, Team, and Scale plans.

Questions

Do I need to download anything to use the Claude API? No. API access works over plain HTTPS requests. You don't install a client — you generate a key and send requests from whatever language or framework you're using.

Is the Claude desktop app free to download? Yes, the app itself is free. Usage limits depend on whether you're on the free tier or a paid Claude Pro/Max subscription.

What's the difference between Claude Code and the desktop app? The desktop app is a chat interface for conversations. Claude Code is a CLI built for developers, giving Claude access to your local files, terminal, and codebase to help with actual software tasks.