> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://claude.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get started

> Install Claude Science on macOS, Windows, or Linux, sign in with your Claude account, and run your first analysis.

## Install

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    Download the installer from [claude.com/product/claude-science](https://claude.com/product/claude-science) and double-click to install. On first launch, the app sets up its runtime and starter Python and R environments, which takes a few minutes, then opens a new tab in your default browser. If no browser tab appears, choose Open from the menu bar icon.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows">
    Download the installer from [claude.com/product/claude-science](https://claude.com/product/claude-science) and open it. It installs Claude Science for your user account, adds **Claude Science** to the Start menu and the desktop, and opens the app in its own window. The installer is signed by Anthropic, PBC. On first launch, Claude Science sets up the sandbox and downloads its app window engine (about 150 MB) from `downloads.claude.ai` before the window appears, so the first start takes longer than later ones, and a notice shows progress. The starter Python and R environments keep setting up in the background for several minutes after the window opens.

    **One-time Windows permission.** If Claude Science asks for one-time permission from Windows so that cells can run git and Command Prompt scripts and PowerShell can change folders, **Yes** lets Windows ask for approval (an administrator's password if you aren't one) and **No** leaves those features off. Python and R cells work either way, and the **Ask Windows now** button under **Settings** > **Permissions** grants the permission later.

    **Notification-area icon.** Closing the window leaves Claude Science running, with an icon in the notification area of the taskbar. Click the icon to reopen the window, or choose **Quit Claude Science** from the icon's menu to stop the app.

    **Updates.** Claude Science checks for updates in the background and shows **Update available** when one is ready; choose **Restart to update** to install it. Administrators who distribute the app themselves can turn the background check off with `[update] auto_update = false` (see [Manage Claude Science on devices](/docs/claude-science/manage-on-devices#deploy-configuration-with-device-management)). To update by hand instead, open a newer installer, which upgrades the installed copy in place and keeps your data.

    **Uninstall.** Quit Claude Science from its notification-area icon first, because the uninstaller refuses to run while the app is running. Then uninstall **Claude Science** from **Settings** > **Apps** > **Installed apps**, or run `claude-science uninstall` in a terminal. Either way your data is kept. To remove the data as well, run `claude-science uninstall --purge` in a terminal instead.

    **Corporate networks.** Claude Science follows the proxy configured in Windows proxy settings and trusts corporate root certificates installed for the whole computer, so most managed PCs need no Claude Science configuration. See [Use Claude Science on a corporate network](/docs/claude-science/corporate-networks).

    **Differences on Windows:**

    * Claude runs shell commands with PowerShell. Command Prompt scripts, git inside cells, and folder changes in PowerShell need the one-time Windows permission.
    * Only folders on local NTFS or ReFS drives can be granted, not network shares, mapped network drives, FAT or exFAT drives (many USB sticks and memory cards), or a whole drive such as `D:\`. Copy such files to a local folder or attach them in the chat.
    * [Custom connectors](/docs/claude-science/custom-connectors) that run a local command start with `npx`, `node`, `python`, or the full path of a program. Connectors launched through `npm` or a `.cmd`, `.bat`, or `.ps1` file aren't supported.
    * The **Model endpoints** section of **Settings** > **Compute** (NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM) isn't available.

    **Linux version under WSL.** The Windows app itself doesn't need WSL. The Linux command-line version of Claude Science also runs under Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) with Ubuntu 24.04 or later. Inside the Ubuntu terminal, follow the install steps in the Linux tab, then start Claude Science with `claude-science serve --port 8765 --no-browser` instead, and open the printed link in a Windows browser.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux">
    Install the sandbox dependencies, then run the installer. The sandbox needs bubblewrap 0.8.0 or later and socat, and installing them takes administrator (`sudo`) access; if you don't have it, ask your system administrator to install them.

    * Ubuntu or Debian: `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y curl bubblewrap socat`
    * Fedora or RHEL: `sudo dnf install -y curl bubblewrap socat`
    * Arch: `sudo pacman -S curl bubblewrap socat`

    Ubuntu 24.04's repositories carry a new enough bubblewrap and Ubuntu 22.04's don't; on any distribution, confirm with `bwrap --version` that the installed version is 0.8.0 or later before you start Claude Science.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install-claude-science.sh | bash
    ```

    ```bash theme={null}
    claude-science serve
    ```

    First launch prints a local URL right away, then continues setting up its starter Python and R environments. To run Claude Science on a remote server and use it from your computer, see [Run on a remote Linux server](/docs/claude-science/run-on-remote-linux-server).
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Claude Science is a local application, not a website, so there's no public URL to visit. On Windows it opens in its own window, and on macOS and Linux it opens in a browser tab. Open it from the application itself: the menu bar icon on macOS, the Start menu on Windows, or the `claude-science` command on Linux. On a remote server, the sign-in link reaches your browser through an SSH tunnel; see [Run on a remote Linux server](/docs/claude-science/run-on-remote-linux-server).
</Note>

## Sign in and complete setup

When the app opens, sign in with your Claude account. On Windows, click the **Sign in on the web** button and confirm with **Continue**; the app opens claude.ai in your default browser and continues in the app window once you approve the sign-in there. If the sign-in redirect can't return to the app (for example, through an SSH tunnel), use the **Paste code instead** option on the sign-in screen. No API key is required.

After sign-in, a setup wizard walks you through enabling connectors and skills, setting which websites Claude can access, and choosing whether memory is on. You can change these at any time in Settings.

<Note>
  Claude Science keeps your data in a single folder in your home directory: `~/.claude-science` on macOS and Linux, and `%USERPROFILE%\.claude-science` on Windows. On Linux, the `claude-science` command itself installs to `~/.local/bin`, and on Windows the app installs to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ClaudeScience` and adds that folder to your user PATH. Beyond that, it doesn't modify your existing conda installation, R libraries, or shell configuration.
</Note>

<Warning>
  Deleting the data folder removes all projects, artifacts, and conversation history. Deleting the folder and the application removes Claude Science entirely; on Windows, quit the app from its notification-area icon, then uninstall it from **Settings** > **Apps** > **Installed apps**.
</Warning>

## Run your first analysis

* Open the Example project, or create a new one.
* Start a conversation. Reference a folder on your computer by typing its path or using the @ picker in the composer.
* Review the folder-access card when it appears and choose whether to allow it.
* Review the code-execution card when Claude proposes running code and choose whether to allow it.
* Results appear as artifacts in the Files panel.

## Troubleshooting first launch

* macOS says the application isn't supported, or the app icon appears crossed out: the download page picked the build for the wrong processor. Return to the download page and choose Mac (Intel) or Mac (Apple Silicon) to match your Mac. To check which you have, open the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and look at the Chip or Processor line.
* No browser tab appeared on macOS or Linux: on macOS, choose Open from the menu bar icon. On Linux, copy the printed URL into a browser on the same machine, or run `claude-science url` to print a fresh one.
* On macOS, some of Claude's tools can't start and the error mentions the Xcode license, usually right after an Xcode update: macOS won't run the Python that comes with Apple's developer tools until the license is accepted. Open Xcode and agree to the license with an administrator account, or run `sudo xcodebuild -license accept` in Terminal, then ask Claude to try again.
* A Claude Science message on Windows says the app was not installed because the file could not be confirmed: the copy you opened still runs but isn't installed. Download the installer again from [claude.com/product/claude-science](https://claude.com/product/claude-science) and open the new file. If the message persists, the PC could not verify the publisher's signature, so ask your IT team.
* The Windows app reports that it couldn't set up the app window engine: the first launch downloads that engine from `downloads.claude.ai`, and this usually means the app couldn't reach it. Check the internet connection, and on a corporate network ask IT to allow that domain (see [Network requirements](/docs/claude-science/network-requirements)).
* Linux refuses to start: a sandbox dependency is missing (install bubblewrap and socat as shown in the Install section), too old, or blocked. Check your bubblewrap version with `bwrap --version`, then match the error message to its fix in the [Linux troubleshooting table](/docs/claude-science/run-on-remote-linux-server#troubleshooting).
* Projects from another computer don't appear: by design, Claude Science keeps your work on the computer where it's installed, so each computer starts with its own projects. Your earlier projects are still on the other computer. See [Use Claude Science on more than one computer](/docs/claude-science/multiple-computers).
* Projects you created under another sign-in on this computer don't appear automatically, for example, after you move from a personal plan to your organization's Team plan: your earlier projects are still in that sign-in's folder. Select the **Review** button on the banner at the top of the home screen, or select **Review** next to **Access previously saved Claude Science work on this computer** under **Settings** > **General** > **Account**, to access them. On Team and Enterprise plans, if there's no banner and the setting is grayed out, your admin controls it. See [Access work from another sign-in on your computer](/docs/claude-science/multiple-computers#access-work-from-another-sign-in-on-your-computer).
* Sign-in stops at claude.ai: your account is on the Free plan (upgrade required), the redirect couldn't return (use Paste a code), or your Team or Enterprise organization hasn't [enabled Claude Science](/docs/claude-science/enable-claude-science) yet.