← Back Digital Personal Assistant Setup macOS

macOS Setup Guide
Digital Personal Assistant

Follow these steps to get Claude Code running on your Mac. Once you're in, a guided onboarding conversation handles everything else — naming your assistant, setting up your team, and building your knowledge base. No manual file editing required.

Before you start, you'll need:
  • A Mac running macOS 12 Monterey or later
  • An Anthropic account — free at claude.ai (Pro plan required for Claude Code)
  • About 15–20 minutes total

How to open Terminal: Press ⌘ Space to open Spotlight, type Terminal, and press Enter. Terminal is a built-in Mac app — no download required. You'll use it for most steps in this guide.

1
Get a Claude Pro account
Sign up at claude.ai — required to use Claude Code CLI
▼

Claude Code is the command-line tool that powers this entire system. It requires an active Claude Pro subscription ($20/mo) or an Anthropic API key.

Option A — Claude Pro (recommended for most people)

Go to claude.ai, create an account, and upgrade to Pro. This is the simplest path — no API keys, no billing dashboards.

Option B — Anthropic API Key (for developers)

Go to console.anthropic.com, create an account, and generate an API key. You'll be billed per use rather than a flat monthly rate. Better if you're already building with the API.

Customize this: If your company has an Anthropic Teams or Enterprise plan, ask your admin for credentials. You may not need your own account.
2
Install Homebrew
Mac's package manager — makes installing everything else easy
▼

Homebrew lets you install developer tools from your terminal with a single command. If you already have it, skip to Step 3.

Is this safe? Yes — Homebrew is one of the most widely used open-source tools on Mac, maintained by a large independent developer community. It has nothing to do with AI. Think of it like the Mac App Store, but for developer tools. The installer runs from GitHub, which is where most trusted open-source software lives.

Check if you already have it

brew --version

If you see a version number, you're good. If you see "command not found", run the installer below.

Install Homebrew

Open Terminal (press ⌘ Space, type "Terminal", press Enter) and paste this command:

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

Follow the prompts. It will ask for your Mac password. This takes 3–5 minutes.

Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3/M4): After installing, Homebrew will tell you to run two extra commands to add it to your PATH. Do that before moving on.
3
Install Node.js
Claude Code is installed through Node's package manager
▼

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime — you don't need to know anything about it. It's just the vehicle Claude Code rides in on.

Option A — Install via Homebrew (recommended)

brew install node

Option B — Download the installer

Go to nodejs.org, download the LTS (Long Term Support) version, and run the installer. Click through the defaults. Then close and reopen Terminal before continuing.

Verify the installation

node -v

You should see a version number like v22.x.x. If so, you're ready for the next step.

4
Install Claude Code
The CLI tool that runs your entire Digital Personal Assistant system
▼

This installs the claude command globally on your Mac.

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Git required: Claude Code requires Git to run local sessions. If you installed Homebrew in Step 2, you likely already have it. If you skipped Homebrew, run brew install git now — or download Git from git-scm.com/downloads/mac and install it, then reopen Terminal before continuing.

After it installs, run claude once to authenticate:

claude

It will open a browser window asking you to log in with your Anthropic account (from Step 1). Log in, approve, and return to the terminal. You only do this once.

Type /exit or press Ctrl+C to close Claude Code for now.

5
Create your assistant folder
This is the root of your entire system — everything lives here
▼

Every file in your system lives inside this one folder. Claude Code launches inside it, reads it, and writes to it. Where you put it and what you name it is up to you.

mkdir ~/Desktop/Assistant
Name it anything: MyAI, Assistant, your own name — whatever you'll remember. You can also put it in ~/Documents/ or a cloud-synced folder. Just pick a location and be consistent.
6
Download and unzip the starter kit
Pre-built files that power the onboarding process
▼

The starter kit contains the config files, onboarding instructions, and your two default support team members. The onboarding process names them, builds your lead persona, and writes everything else — you don't need to manually create any files.

Download the starter kit

Click the button below to download the starter kit zip file.

Download Starter Kit

Unzip it into your folder

Move the downloaded zip to your Desktop, then run this in Terminal to unzip it directly into your Assistant folder:

unzip ~/Desktop/starter-kit.zip -d ~/Desktop/Assistant
Prefer to do it manually? That works too — just double-click the zip file to unzip it, then drag the contents into your Assistant folder. Make sure the files land inside the folder, not in a nested subfolder.

When done, your folder should contain:

Assistant/ ├── CLAUDE.md # System config — loads automatically ├── onboarding.md # Onboarding flow — runs on first launch ├── walkthrough.md # Persistent system guide └── team/ ├── sage.md # Knowledge & File Manager └── nadia.md # Personnel Director
Or clone from GitHub: If you're comfortable with git, run git clone https://github.com/chandlercatron/digital-personal-assistant.git ~/Desktop/Assistant instead.
7
Launch Claude Code and start onboarding
From here, everything is conversational — the system guides you
▼

Navigate into your folder and launch Claude Code:

cd ~/Desktop/Assistant && claude

The system will detect the onboarding file and start walking you through setup automatically. The onboarding will:

  • Teach you two essential Claude Code commands (/rename and /resume)
  • Detect your operating system
  • Help you name and design your lead AI persona
  • Set up a terminal shortcut to launch your assistant by name
  • Ask about the areas of your life you want to manage
  • Capture personal and professional context
  • Write all your system files automatically when done
You can pause anytime. If you close the window mid-onboarding, open a new terminal, navigate back to your folder, run claude, then type /resume and select "Initial Onboarding" to pick up exactly where you left off.

Prefer the desktop app? Use Claude Code from there instead

If you have the Claude desktop app installed, you can run Claude Code without using Terminal at all:

  1. Open the Claude desktop app
  2. Click the icon in the top-left corner and select Claude Code (you may see it labeled as switching from "Claude" to "Claude Code")
  3. Once in Claude Code mode, click Open Folder (or the folder icon) and navigate to your Assistant folder
  4. Claude Code will launch with your folder loaded — the onboarding starts automatically
Note: The Claude desktop app chat and Claude Code are different things. The chat app is for conversations on claude.ai. Claude Code is the tool that reads your Assistant folder and runs your system. Make sure you've switched to Code mode before trying to connect your folder.

Important: always launch from your folder

Claude Code reads the folder it's launched from. If you open it from somewhere else, it won't load your system. The onboarding will walk you through setting up a shortcut — after that, you'll launch by typing your assistant's name in any terminal window.

✓

That's all the manual setup.

Everything else happens inside the conversation. The onboarding process handles naming your assistant, building your team, and setting up your knowledge base — no file editing required.

After Onboarding
Just start talking
Ask what you should focus on today, brain dump a project, or ask for help with anything. Your assistant learns from every conversation.
Write journal entries
Tell your assistant you want to do a journal entry. Your knowledge manager will process it and surface patterns over time.
Grow the team
Ask your personnel director to add a specialist when you need one — health coach, finance director, creative lead. The team expands as your needs do.