Your first hour with Claude Code, step by step, without writing any code

So you've decided you want to jump into Claude Code. You've downloaded the Claude app, you've clicked the Code tab, and now you're looking at an empty box with a cursor blinking in it. You've seen people online with AI teams and AI operating systems, and you have no idea what you're supposed to type first.

Most people type something small, get a small answer and decide Claude Code isn't for them. The problem is that Claude doesn't know anything about them yet, so it has nothing to work with.

I'm not a developer, and everything I run in my business I've built in Claude Code without writing code. This post is the first hour I'd give anyone starting today. By the end of it you'll have an AI brain with your business written down in it, a map of your AI organisation, and your first AI employee, your COO. Each step has a free kit that sets it up for you.

What you'll have at the end of the hour

My AI Vault/                 → your AI brain, a folder on your computer
├── Knowledge Base/          → you, your business, your offers & clients
├── Expert Brain/            → empty for now, you'll fill it later
├── Organisation/            → your AI org chart & your AI employees
│   ├── AI ORG CHART.md      → made with the AI Org Mapper
│   └── COO.md               → your first AI employee
└── CLAUDE.md                → the instructions Claude reads first

That's the foundation every other AI build sits on. Everything after this hour, from your inbox to your content, plugs into it.

What Claude Code actually is, in plain English

Claude Code is Claude, working on your computer instead of in a browser tab.

In the chat, Claude only knows what you paste in. You explain your business, it answers, and next week you explain it all again. In Claude Code, you choose a folder on your computer and Claude can read everything in it, create files, edit them and save them back. It can connect to the tools you already use, and it can connect to your Obsidian vault, which is where your business is written down.

In the chat, Claude is someone you ask questions. In Claude Code, Claude is someone you hand work to.

If you want the longer version of what it is and what it's for, I wrote that up in Claude Code for business owners who don't code.

What you need before you start

• The Claude desktop app on a paid plan. Claude Code comes with Pro and above, and it's the Code tab at the top of the app.
• Obsidian, which is free. You'll download it in Step 1.
• Ten minutes of notes about your business: what you sell, who you sell it to and what you charge. Rough is fine.
• Your task manager, if you use one (ClickUp, Asana, Notion or Trello). You'll connect it to your COO in Step 4. If you don't use one, you can skip that part.

You don't need to know how to code, and you never need to open the terminal. If Claude needs something installed, ask it to do it for you and explain what it's doing in plain English.

A quick tour of the Code tab

The Code tab looks like a chat, with a few extra things around the box you type in.

• The folder. Before you send your first message, you choose the folder Claude works in. This is the most important part of Claude Code. Whatever's in that folder, Claude can read, and that's how it gets to know your business.
• Sessions. Every conversation is a session, listed down the left-hand side. Click New session to start a fresh one.
• The permission mode, next to the send button. Manual asks before it changes any file. Accept edits lets it create and edit files without asking each time. Start on Manual so you can see what it does.
• The + button. This is where you attach files and folders, like the kits in this post.
• The @ sign. Type @ and the start of a file name to point Claude at one file. "Read @offers and tell me what's missing" is how you say "look at this one".

How to prompt it: talk to it the way you'd brief a new assistant who's very good but has never met you. Say what you want, where it should look and what you want back. And end with "show me before you save" until you trust it.

Step 1 - Download Obsidian and create your AI vault

Your AI brain is where your business gets written down so every AI you use can read it. I keep mine in Obsidian, because it saves everything as plain text files in a normal folder on your computer, which is the format AI reads best. The full reasoning is in How to set up your AI brain in Obsidian.

1. Go to obsidian.md and download Obsidian.
2. Open it and click Create new vault.
3. Call it "My AI Vault" and save it in your Documents folder.
4. Click Create.

Now go back to the Claude app, open the Code tab and start a new session. Choose your new vault as the folder, then paste this.

I don't code & I'm new to Claude Code. This folder is my new AI brain.
It's an Obsidian vault & I want every AI I use to read my business from
here.

Create three folders: Knowledge Base, Expert Brain & Organisation. Put a
short README.md in each one saying what goes in it, in one or two
sentences:
- Knowledge Base: me, my business, my offers, my clients & where
  everything is up to
- Expert Brain: the frameworks, courses & methods I've learned & want you
  to apply (I'll fill this later)
- Organisation: my AI org chart & my AI employees

Then write a CLAUDE.md file at the top of the vault that tells you what
each folder is for, that you draft before you save, & that passwords &
keys never go anywhere in the vault. Show me before you create anything.

What you'll see: Claude lists the folders and files it wants to create and asks if they're right. Say yes, then look at Obsidian. Your three folders are in the left-hand sidebar.

Step 2 - Put your core documents in your knowledge base

Your knowledge base is you and your business. This is the step that makes Claude stop sounding like it's writing for someone else.

Now I want to fill my Knowledge Base with my core documents. Interview
me, one question at a time. Start with what I sell & what I charge,
then who my ideal client is & the problem I solve for them, then how I
work with a client from start to finish, then who I am & how I sound.

After each answer, write it into a clean .md file in Knowledge Base &
tell me where you put it. If anything I say contradicts something
already in the vault, ask me which one is true.

Answer the way you'd talk to a friend. If you've got an about page, a services page or a recent proposal, drag it into the chat and tell Claude to use it.

What you'll see: a handful of files appearing in your Knowledge Base folder in Obsidian. Open each one and read it. If Claude has written something about your business that isn't true, fix it now, because every AI that reads it later will believe it.

If you want to know exactly which documents belong in here, it's in The 6 documents every freelancer should have in their AI brain.

Your expert brain, for later

You don't need to fill your Expert Brain folder today. It's where everything you've studied goes: the frameworks from your courses, the way your coach taught you to write, the sales process you swear by. Your knowledge base says what your business is. Your expert brain says how you think.

When my Scriptwriter writes a script, it reads the frameworks in my expert brain first, so it writes the way I've been taught to write. Come back to it once your COO is running, and add one framework at a time.

Step 3 - Map your organisation with the AI Org Mapper

Before you build any AI employees, you map what you actually need. The AI Org Mapper is a free kit that interviews you about how you run your business, then gives you your AI org chart: a COO at the top, your departments, the employees you need and the skills each one uses. It also gives you the top five to build first.

Download the AI Org Mapper kit →

1. Double-click the zip to unzip it.
2. In your session in the Code tab, with your vault still chosen as the folder, drag the unzipped folder into the chat.
3. Fill in the blanks and paste this.

I've downloaded the AI Org Mapper kit (attached). Read README FOR
CLAUDE.md first, install it, then run my first mapping session with
me, one question at a time. Here's what you need to know:
- My business name: [NAME]
- Save my org chart in: [Organisation folder, or "you pick"]
- What has to stay with me no matter what: [e.g. sales calls, pricing]
- Include a Personal department: [yes / no]
- The tools I use: [e.g. Gmail, Google Calendar, ClickUp]

Claude installs the skill, reads your knowledge base so it doesn't ask what it already knows, and asks you one question at a time: what your week looks like, what you do on repeat, what you hate doing, what you outsource and what has to stay with you. Voice notes are perfect for this.

What you'll see: your org chart, with your COO at the top, your departments underneath, and your top five to build. When you're happy, it saves it as AI ORG CHART.md in your Organisation folder.

The full session, with every question it asks, is in How to map your AI org chart before you build any AI employees.

Step 4 - Install your COO

Your COO is the one AI employee you talk to most. You brain dump to it, and it tells you what it'll do itself, what goes to another employee on your org chart and what has to stay with you. When you're ready for more employees, it drafts each one with you.

Download the AI COO kit →

If you use a task manager, connect it first. In the Claude app, open Settings, then Connectors, find your task manager, click Connect and sign in on its own screen. Then your COO can see what's due and add tasks for you when you ask. If you don't use one, skip this. Your COO works from your AI brain.

Unzip the kit, drag the folder into the same session, fill in the blanks and paste this.

I've downloaded the AI COO kit (attached). Read README FOR CLAUDE.md
first & set up my COO with me, one question at a time. Check my
connections first. Here's what you need to know:
- My name & business: [NAME, BUSINESS NAME]
- My org chart is in: [Organisation/AI ORG CHART.md]
- My task manager: [ClickUp / Asana / Notion / Trello / none]
- What always comes to me first: [e.g. anything to do with money,
  client calls]
- What my COO must never do: [e.g. email a client, book anything]
- How I write: [e.g. British spelling, no jargon]

What you'll see: Claude asking you what your COO is allowed to touch and what it must never do. Mine can't send anything, pay for anything or delete anything. Anything that goes out into the world stops with me. Then it saves COO.md in your Organisation folder and tests it with a real brain dump of your week.

If the answer sounds like it knows your business, your first hour is done. The full build, and why I'd build a COO before any other AI employee, is in The first AI employee I'd build as a non-techie founder: an AI COO.

After your first hour: the AI employees to install next

Once your COO is set up, it can install the rest of your team for you. These are the AI employees I give away for free. Each one comes as a kit your COO reads and sets up with you, one at a time, testing each one while you watch.

The Daily AI Employees: four in one download

• The Inbox Assistant files your email into the right folders and drafts the replies that are waiting on you. It never sends.
• Meeting Notes files the notes from your calls in the client's folder and turns the actions into tasks.
• The Post Idea Generator reads what you did today and gives you post ideas about your real work by the morning.
• The Knowledge Base Updater reads the day's chats, tasks and files every night and writes them into your AI brain, so it never goes out of date.

Download the Daily AI Employees kit →

Start a new session with your vault as the folder, drag the unzipped kit in, fill in the blanks and paste this.

Hey Claude, you're my AI COO. I've just downloaded the Daily AI
Employees kit (attached) & I'd like you to install these four
employees for me. Read README FOR CLAUDE.md first, then set them up
with me one at a time, testing each one before the next. Add each one
to my org chart & your list of employees when it works.
Here's what you need to know:
- Which ones I want: [all four / inbox / calendar / content / memory]
- My name: [NAME]
- My Gmail: [EMAIL ADDRESS - start with your busiest]
- My task manager: [ClickUp / Notion / Asana / Trello]
- My meeting notes come from: [Gemini in Google Meet / ClickUp AI
  Notetaker / both / "help me pick"]
- My clients or projects are in: [FOLDER, or "find them for me"]
- What I post about & who it's for: [ONE OR TWO LINES]
- Where my content calendar is: [A SHEET, A NOTION PAGE, A LIST - or
  "make me one"]
- My working hours: [e.g. 7am to 9pm]
- My timezone: [e.g. Europe/London]

The Morning Brief

It reads your calendar, your tasks and where every client is up to before you're at your desk, and tells you what today is and what your focus should be. Mine runs at 06:06.

Download the Morning Brief kit →

I've downloaded the Morning Brief kit (attached). Read README FOR
CLAUDE.md first & set it up with me, one step at a time. Check my
connections first. Here's how I want mine:
- My name: [NAME]
- My town, for the weather: [TOWN]
- My dog's name, for the walk: [NAME, or "no dog"]
- My calendar: [Google Calendar / Outlook / none]
- My task manager: [ClickUp / Notion / Asana / Trello / none]
- What wins when two things compete, in order: [e.g. paying clients,
  content, new leads, my own projects]
- My goal right now: [ONE LINE]
- Where my leads come in: [e.g. a form, an email label, or "none"]
- Time it runs: [e.g. 06:00, weekdays only]
- How I like it written: [e.g. warm, short, emojis welcome]
- Anything else it should always tell me: [e.g. "which client I
  haven't spoken to in a fortnight"]
- My timezone: [e.g. Europe/London]

A little bonus for you: the Skill Updater

I haven't written a post on this one yet, so here it is.

The Knowledge Base Updater keeps your business up to date. The Skill Updater keeps your skills up to date. Every time you send work back to one of your AI employees with a correction, the lesson goes into a small memory file for that skill. Once a week, the Skill Updater reads those files, finds the lessons that have come up twice or more, and drafts the change to the skill for you to approve. Mine runs on Sunday nights.

It never changes a skill without your yes. And every change it proposes has to replace or tighten a line that's already there, so your skills get better without getting longer.

First, give your skills somewhere to write down what they learn.

I want my skills to learn from my corrections. Create a folder called
Skill Memory in my Organisation folder, with one .md file for each skill
I use. Then add this rule to my CLAUDE.md: whenever I send work back
with a correction, before you redo it, add one line to that skill's
memory file with the date, what was wrong, what fixed it & what to do
next time. Max 15 lines per file. When you add the 16th, delete the
oldest. Never edit a skill yourself. Show me before you save.

Then set up the updater.

Set this up as a routine that runs every Sunday at 9pm.

You are my Skill Updater. Read every file in Organisation/Skill Memory.
For each skill, find the lessons that have come up twice or more & that
the skill doesn't already say. For each one, draft the change: the exact
line to remove, the exact line to add & the two memory lines that
justify it. Every change must replace or tighten something. No skill
goes past about a page & a half.

Never change a skill yourself. Put the drafts in one file in my
Organisation folder called SKILL UPDATE - [date].md, numbered, for me to
approve. When I reply with the numbers I approve, make exactly those
changes & delete the memory lines they came from. If nothing has come
up twice, write nothing.

What you'll see: on a Monday morning, a short file of numbered changes, each with what it removes, what it adds and why. Reply with the numbers you want. Anything you don't name stays as it is.

The catch, and the fix

The catch is that the first hour feels slow. You're answering questions instead of getting work done, and it's tempting to skip straight to installing the exciting employees.

Don't. Claude Code with nothing to read is just the chat in a different tab. Every question you answer in this hour is something you never have to explain to Claude again, and every employee you install later reads from it.

The second catch is that your AI brain goes out of date. A client moves on, a price changes, and Claude is confidently telling you something that stopped being true. The fix is one habit: when you decide something important in a chat, tell Claude to save it into your vault before you close it. When you're ready, the Knowledge Base Updater in the Daily AI Employees kit does that job for you every night.

And when you start connecting your tools, keys never go in the chat. A key is a password for your account. Connectors use your normal sign-in, and if a tool ever needs a key, ask Claude to open the private file it goes in and paste it there on your own screen.

What this looks like as a business

Most of the business owners you know are where you were at the top of this post: they've opened Claude Code, typed something small and closed it again. Sitting down with them to build their AI brain, map their organisation and set up their COO is a systems job, and you're paid for knowing what to build and in what order. That order is The Incuv8or AI Framework, and this hour covers the first three steps.

Start with one

Block out one hour this week. Download Obsidian, create your vault and run the first prompt. If that's all you get done, you've still done the part most people skip.

If you haven't read what Claude Code is and why I use it over the chat, start there: Claude Code for business owners who don't code.

If you haven't got your AI brain set up, that's the foundation for all of this: start here.