Claude Code on Windows: Native vs WSL Setup

Claude Code started life on macOS and Linux, but it now runs well on Windows in two ways: natively (from PowerShell or Command Prompt) or inside WSL, the Linux environment built into Windows. Which you choose depends mostly on where your projects live and what they need.

(Not installed yet? How to install Claude Code has every option. This post covers the Windows-specific choices, as of autumn 2026.)

Option 1: Native Windows

Install from PowerShell:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

or with WinGet:

winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode

No administrator rights are needed. Then open a new terminal, cd into your project and run claude.

Install Git for Windows too. It's optional, but recommended: with it, Claude Code can run shell commands through Git Bash, so the Unix-style commands it naturally writes (ls, grep, rm -rf dist) just work. Without it, Claude Code falls back to PowerShell, which works but has different syntax and more room for small mistakes.

Native is a good fit when:

Your projects are Windows-native — .NET, Windows desktop apps, PowerShell scripts.
Your project lives in your normal Windows folders and you edit it with Windows tools.
You want the simplest setup.

Option 2: WSL

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) runs a real Linux system — usually Ubuntu — inside Windows. (What is WSL?)

Install WSL (from an administrator PowerShell, once):

wsl --install

Restart, open Ubuntu from the Start menu, then install Claude Code inside it with the Linux installer:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

WSL is a good fit when:

You build web apps with Node.js, Python, Docker or anything that's deployed to Linux. Your development environment then matches production. (Why your app works locally but not in production)
You follow tutorials written for Mac/Linux.
You want Claude Code's sandboxing for shell commands, which WSL 2 supports and native Windows doesn't.

The gotchas

Keep WSL projects inside the Linux file system. Store them under ~/projects in WSL, not under /mnt/c/Users/.... Accessing Windows folders from WSL is much slower, and file watchers (hot reload) often don't notice changes.

Two separate worlds. A Claude Code installed in WSL isn't visible from PowerShell and vice versa. Likewise Node, Git and your SSH keys — each environment has its own. Pick one per project and stay there.

Line endings. Windows uses CRLF line endings, Linux LF. Mixing them can make git show every line as changed and break shell scripts. Setting git config --global core.autocrlf input in WSL, and a .gitattributes file in the repo, keeps things consistent.

Paths. In native mode, Claude Code understands Windows paths (C:\Projects\app). In WSL, use Linux paths; your C: drive is at /mnt/c.

Pasting screenshots. Use Win+Shift+S to snip, then Ctrl+V (or Alt+V in some terminals) in Claude Code. (Pasting images)

Which terminal?

Windows Terminal (installed by default on Windows 11) is the best place to run either. It has tabs for PowerShell and Ubuntu side by side and handles colours and Unicode properly.

With VS Code

Native: install the Claude Code extension and use it directly. (Claude Code in VS Code)
WSL: install the WSL extension, open your project with code . from the Ubuntu terminal, and VS Code runs its server inside Linux — Claude Code and your tools included.

Quick decision

Web app, Node/Python, Docker, deploying to Linux → WSL.
Windows-specific project, or you just want it working in five minutes → native, with Git for Windows.

The summary

Claude Code runs natively on Windows and inside WSL.
Native: install Git for Windows so commands run in Git Bash.
WSL: install Claude Code inside Linux and keep projects in the Linux file system.
Each environment has its own tools — don't mix them in one project.

Skip the local setup entirely: EasySpawn gives you a persistent Linux server with Claude Code ready in a browser terminal, so a Windows laptop (or any device) is all you need. See how it works or join the waitlist.

Claude Code on Windows: Native or WSL?