How to Install Claude Code on Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora)

Quick answer: install Claude Code on Linux in one line

# Official native installer (recommended)
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Verify the install
claude --version

# Start it inside a project
cd ~/my-project
claude

The installer puts the launcher in ~/.local/bin/claude and keeps itself updated in the background. Every command in this guide comes from the official Claude Code setup documentation.

Requirements

• A 64-bit Linux on x64 or ARM64. Officially supported: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 10+ and Alpine Linux 3.19+. Fedora and RHEL get an official dnf repository.
• At least 4 GB of RAM and an internet connection.
• Bash or Zsh.
• A Claude Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise or Console account. The free claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code.

Install with apt or dnf (official repositories)

If you prefer updates to arrive with the rest of your system, Anthropic publishes signed repositories. The trade-off: package manager installs do not auto-update; you upgrade them like any other package.

Ubuntu and Debian (apt)

sudo apt install curl gnupg
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/keys/claude-code.asc \
  -o /etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc] https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code/apt/stable stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/claude-code.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install claude-code

# Later: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade claude-code

Fedora and RHEL (dnf)

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/claude-code.repo <<'EOF'
[claude-code]
name=Claude Code
baseurl=https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code/rpm/stable
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://downloads.claude.ai/keys/claude-code.asc
EOF
sudo dnf install claude-code

# Later: sudo dnf upgrade claude-code

Both commands use the stable channel, which is usually about a week behind and skips releases with major regressions. Alpine has an apk repository too; on Alpine you also need bash, curl, libgcc, libstdc++ and ripgrep installed first.

First run and logging in (also over SSH)

• Open a terminal in a project folder and type claude.
• Your browser opens with the Anthropic login. Sign in with your Claude account.
• On a server or over SSH, where no browser can open, press c to copy the login URL and open it on any other device.
• If the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is set, Claude Code asks you once to approve the key instead of opening a browser.

If something looks wrong afterwards, claude doctor prints a read-only report of your install, your settings and the last update attempt.

What about the Claude desktop app on Linux?

Anthropic now ships a Claude desktop app for Linux in beta, for Ubuntu 22.04+ and Debian 12+ on x64 and ARM64, and it includes Claude Code. If you want the official graphical app for one Claude conversation at a time, that is the place to start.

CodeAgentSwarm solves a different problem: running several terminal agents at once and keeping track of them. It works with the Claude Code CLI you just installed, mixes it with Codex and other agents in the same window, and ships as an AppImage too, so it also runs on Fedora and most other distributions.

Common Linux errors and how to fix them

• "claude: command not found" after installing: ~/.local/bin is not on your PATH yet. Open a new terminal, or add export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc.
• "NO_PUBKEY BAA929FF1A7ECACE" on apt update: the signing key did not download. Check that your network reaches downloads.claude.ai and run the key download again.
• "not found" when running the installer on Alpine: Alpine has no bash or curl by default. Install them with apk add bash curl libgcc libstdc++ ripgrep.
• Search inside Claude Code fails: Claude Code relies on ripgrep. On musl distributions install it from your package manager and set USE_BUILTIN_RIPGREP=0.
• Permission errors with npm: never use sudo npm install -g. Switch to the native installer, which needs no root.

For anything else, the official install troubleshooting page lists every known error with its fix.

Running several Claude Code sessions on Linux

With Claude Code working, the next limit shows up quickly: one terminal is one task at a time. You hand Claude a job and wait. Opening more tabs in GNOME Terminal or tmux helps, until you lose track of which session finished, which one is waiting for permission and what each one changed.

CodeAgentSwarm is a desktop app for exactly that, and it now runs on Linux as a .deb (Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives) or an AppImage (Fedora and most other distros), for x64 and ARM64. It puts several Claude Code terminals side by side and adds desktop notifications when an agent finishes or needs input, searchable history across every session and a live diff of what each terminal changed.

Good next steps: how to use multiple Claude Code terminals and run multiple Claude Code sessions. Setting up Codex on the same machine? See Codex CLI on Linux.

Conclusion

On Linux, Claude Code is one curl command away, or one apt or dnf install if you want your system to manage it. Run claude doctor if anything looks off, and when a single terminal stops being enough, CodeAgentSwarm is there to run several at once.