What do I need before I can use codus?

Five things, and two of them surprise people: a Mac, a GitHub account, a codus seat, a separate paid Claude subscription, and the Claude Code app installed on your machine. codus does not include the AI. It runs the AI you already pay for, so if you have not got Claude Code working first, codus will open but nothing will happen when you try to work.

The five things

1. A Mac

codus is macOS only today, for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. macOS 11 or newer is the stated requirement.

Windows is not released. You can reserve a founding place for £1 a month, which holds your price until the day Windows actually launches. Be aware that a Windows reservation does not let you download the Mac version in the meantime.

Linux is listed as coming after Windows.

2. A GitHub account

codus signs everyone in through GitHub, in the web app and in the desktop app. There is no other way in, and no email-and-password option.

If you do not have one, create it at github.com before you start. It takes a minute and you do not need to know anything about GitHub to use codus. It is only being used to confirm who you are.

Use the same account everywhere. If your team invited you, they invited a specific GitHub username, and signing in as a different account will look to codus like a different person.

3. A codus seat

codus is a paid product. There is no free version and no trial, and you cannot download it without an active subscription or a seat on someone's team plan. See What is a seat?.

4. A paid Claude subscription, bought separately

This is the one people miss. codus does not come with an AI. It drives Claude Code, which needs its own paid Claude plan, Pro or Max, bought from Anthropic. Your codus seat does not include it, and the free Claude.ai plan does not cover it.

If you would rather use OpenAI Codex, codus supports that instead, on the same principle: you bring your own.

5. Claude Code installed on the machine

Claude Code is a separate program you install and sign in to yourself, before codus is any use. Signing in happens in your Mac's Terminal app, not inside codus.

Set aside about twenty minutes for this, mostly waiting. See How do I install Claude Code?, which covers the two parts that catch people out: the line that lets your Mac find it afterwards, and a confirmation email that is routinely slow.

How do I know I am ready?

Open your Mac's Terminal app, type claude and press return.

If Claude Code starts and is signed in, you are ready to install codus. If you get "command not found", your Mac cannot find it yet, and codus will not be able to either.

What you do not need

• You do not need to be a developer. You do need to be comfortable running one or two commands in Terminal during setup.
• You do not need your projects to be set up in any particular way. codus will open any folder.
• You do not need to grant microphone or camera access. codus does not ask for either during setup or normal use.

Next

How do I install Claude Code?, which is the part to get working first.