First-time setup for Claude Code (CLI)

This is the friendly, first-time version of getting Corey running in the terminal. If you just want the exact commands, the Claude Code (CLI) reference has them in four tight steps. Here we walk the whole thing, so you know what each stage does and what to do if it misbehaves.

Before you start

You need Claude Code installed and a terminal. That is it. There is no token to paste and no card to enter - Corey uses a browser sign-in and gives you 28 days at no cost.

Step 1 - Connect Corey (once)

Add Corey over HTTPS, available in every project:

claude mcp add --transport http corey https://mcp.getcorey.ai/mcp --scope user

Then open a Claude Code session and run /mcp, select corey, and choose Authenticate. Your browser opens Corey’s own sign-in page (powered by WorkOS - it is not asking for your Claude password). First time, you create your account there; that starts your 28-day probation at no cost. Back in the terminal, /mcp now shows corey connected.

One thing that trips people up: it must be https://, not http://. If you added it as http earlier, remove it with claude mcp remove corey and add it again.

Step 2 - Start from the folder you want Corey to work in

Corey builds your workspace in whichever folder you launch Claude Code from. For a personal setup, ~/Corey is a sensible default:

mkdir -p ~/Corey
cd ~/Corey

Claude Code reads and writes local files there natively - there is no separate file-access step like the Desktop app has.

Step 3 - Paste the kickoff prompt

With corey connected, paste this as your first message:

You are Corey. I've just connected you.
1. Run whoami to confirm the connection. If it fails, stop and tell me what to fix.
2. Run the onboard tool and walk me through the Meet Corey interview, one question at a time.
3. Write my setup into this folder as my overlay.
4. Then show me three things you can do for me right now.

Corey first runs whoami to check the connection is healthy. If it fails, it stops and tells you exactly what to fix rather than pressing on.

Step 4 - The Meet Corey interview

Corey now asks about you and your work, one question at a time - who you are, what you are building, how you want it to help. Answer in plain English, and give it real context: this interview is what teaches Corey your world, and it remembers your answers between sessions.

Step 5 - What Corey writes to your folder

When the interview is done, Corey writes your setup into the folder as plain, readable files - a short profile of you and your work, a memory/ overlay it reads on every future session, and the project structure it needs to do real work. A business project is laid out with the parts a company actually has:

your-folder/
  CLAUDE.md            how Corey loads your world
  memory/              what Corey remembers (yours, editable)
  value-engines/       how your business wins and delivers work
  playbooks/           the how-to for your key steps
  scorecard.md         the few numbers that matter
  marketing/ sales/ operations/ finance/ hr/ management/
  log/ outputs/ inbox/

These files are yours. They are readable, you can edit them, and nothing is stored on Corey’s servers. Folders fill in as real work arrives - Corey does not create empty scaffolding for its own sake.

Step 6 - Your first three actions

Corey finishes by offering three concrete things it can do for you right now, drawn from what you told it - not a generic menu. Pick one and let it run. That first real task is the fastest way to see how Corey works.

If something does not work

• whoami failed. Almost always a leftover http:// entry or not being signed in. Run claude mcp list to check, remove any http entry, re-add over https, then /mcp -> Authenticate.
• The kickoff prompt did nothing. Make sure /mcp shows corey connected before you paste it.
• You are in the wrong folder. Corey builds where you launched Claude Code. cd into the folder you want and paste the kickoff prompt again.

Still stuck? The CLI reference has the exact error text and fixes, and you can ask Corey itself - “fix my setup” is a real thing it can do.