Late last night I installed Claude Code. Early this morning I extended my first script from the couch, before coffee. The gap between those two moments tells you something about where software coding is heading.
Claude Code is, essentially, Claude AI living in your Terminal. For those who haven’t ventured into the command line, Terminal is your Mac’s text-based interface, where you type commands instead of clicking buttons (Windows PCs have something similar). I have basic skills in Terminal (enough to navigate without breaking things) but I can’t code. Specifically, I can’t write Python, which is one of the simpler programming languages Claude Code uses to build applications. Python is popular because it’s readable and versatile, powering everything from web apps to automation scripts. I know what it does. I just can’t write it myself.
Or couldn’t. The distinction matters now.
The late-night experiment
Around 11:50 pm I described a simple need: a tool to resize and optimise images for web use. Nothing sophisticated, just something to handle the repetitive task of resizing photos for upload. Claude Code wrote the entire script, including error handling and command line arguments. Version 0.1, working, in minutes. I signed up to Claude Pro plan at 12:01AM. I had a fully working application by 12:34AM all without writing a single line of code. That time included me fiddling about in Claude Code for the very first time, figuring out where to begin. Actual Claude Coding time? Under 5 minutes.
I went to bed pleased with myself for trying something new.
The early-morning addition
I woke thinking about the script’s limitations. It only handled JPEG files. But my iPhone camera now shoots PNGs and I have to deal with WebP formats too. Old me would have noted this as a problem for later (meaning never). Instead, I opened Claude on my iPhone and typed a request to add support for those formats.
A few minutes later. Done. The script now handles all three file types.
This is the bit that keeps turning over in my mind. I extended working software by describing what I wanted. No debugging. No Google Search rabbit holes. No three-hour sessions questioning my life choices. Just: describe, build, iterate.
Late to the party, but perhaps at the right time
I’m aware Claude Code has been around for a while. The early adopters have been building with it for months. But there’s something to be said for arriving after the initial rush. The tool is refined now. There’s substantial documentation and community knowledge about effective usage patterns. The people who fought through the early limitations have smoothed the path for the rest of us.
The cost is a Claude Pro subscription at A$34 per month including GST. That’s up from A$22 a year ago, which tells you something about demand. There’s a discounted annual plan but I’m not ready to commit. I want to see how this fits into my actual workflow over the coming weeks.
The real shift
What strikes me is how the barrier has moved. It’s no longer “learn to program” but “can you explain what you need?” Those are very different prerequisites. One takes months or years. The other takes clarity of thought.
You still need to communicate clearly. If your requirements are vague, the output will be too. And you need to review what Claude builds because assumptions don’t always match intentions. But that’s true of working with human developers too. The difference is the iteration speed. Feedback in seconds rather than days.
I’m already listing problems I can now address. Downloads folder organisation. Batch file renaming. Automated backups. Things I would have wished for and never built. Now they feel possible.
The limiting factor has shifted from technical skill to imagination. I’m still working out what that means in practice.
What is Claude Code - Claude Code is an AI tool that acts like a smart coding assistant, helping people build, fix, and understand software by talking to it in plain English (or other natural language) instead of writing complex code commands.