Make your Claude account

A Claude account is free to make. You need your email address (from Part 1) and a phone that can receive text messages.

One thing is different from most accounts: Claude has no password of its own. Each time you sign in, it either emails you a link, or you sign in with your Google account. Keep your email account safe, and your Claude account is safe.

Sign up

1. Open your web browser.
2. Click in the address bar at the top and type claude.ai, then press Return (on a Windows PC the key is marked Enter).
3. You see a welcome page. Look for a button that says Sign up, Try Claude or Get started. Click it. If you already see a sign-in box, skip to the next step.
4. Pick one way to sign in:
   • Continue with Google: use this if your email is a Gmail address. A small window asks for your Google sign-in. After that, you are in.
   • Continue with email: type your email address in the box, then click the button. You may also see a Continue with Apple option; the email option works for everyone, so this guide uses that.
5. If you chose email, Claude sends you an email. Its subject is "Secure link to log in to Claude.ai" and it comes from an address ending in @mail.anthropic.com.
6. Open your email on the same computer, in a new browser tab. Find that email and click the link inside. It signs you in and takes you back to Claude.
7. The first time, Claude asks for a phone number. Type it, then type the code that arrives by text message into the box. Claude needs a phone number that can receive text messages (not a landline or an internet-only number); this step can't be skipped.
8. Claude may ask for your name and your date of birth. Fill them in.
9. You may see a page about what's new or a short tour. Click Continue, Next or Skip until you reach a mostly empty page with a message box in the middle. That is the chat screen.

Your browser will keep you signed in on this computer. You won't need the email link every time.