Working with Claude Code

Your personal assistant for the big stuff

Cortex is great for conversations and quick tasks. But sometimes you want more -- a custom plugin for tracking habits, a dashboard that shows your key metrics at a glance, a prototype of a landing page for your new product. That's where Claude Code comes in.

Think of Claude Code as a personal assistant who can read your entire filing cabinet and then build whatever you ask for. It works alongside Synap, understands the structure of your mind, and turns your plain language descriptions into real, working results.

How it works

Claude Code runs in a text-based window on your computer. If you've ever used a search bar or a messaging app, the experience is similar — you type what you want in plain language, and Claude Code responds. There are no buttons to learn, no menus to memorize, and no technical commands to remember.

On a Mac, you can open this window through an application called Terminal (you'll find it in your Applications folder under Utilities). On Windows, it's called Command Prompt or PowerShell. Once open, you simply start Claude Code and begin typing your requests — just like sending a text message.

If you can describe what you want to a colleague, you already have everything you need to work with Claude Code.

What you can do

Claude Code can read every file in your mind and work with all of it. Here's what that unlocks:

Create plugins. Describe a plugin in your own words and Claude Code builds it for you. "Create a plugin that shows my pending tasks as a dashboard with priority colors." "Build a reading list tracker where I can rate books and filter by genre." "Make a habit tracker that lets me check off daily goals." Just say what you want.

Generate content. Point Claude Code at your notes and ask it to create something new. "Write a blog post outline based on my research notes about market trends." "Generate a content calendar for next quarter using my brand guidelines." "Draft a presentation structure for our annual review."

Organize your mind. If your files need restructuring, Claude Code can help. "Move all my meeting notes from this year into monthly folders." "Find files that should be in Memory but are in Focus." "Tag all my project files with their status."

Analyze your knowledge. Claude Code can spot patterns, summarize information, and surface insights across your entire mind. "Which of my initiatives are behind schedule?" "Summarize what I learned from the last six months of client calls." "Compare my Q1 and Q2 performance."

Build prototypes in Canvas. Describe a screen or a page, and Claude Code can create a visual prototype you can view, share, and iterate on — right alongside your content cards. No design skills necessary.

A simple example

Here's what a typical interaction looks like:

You open Claude Code and point it at your mind. Then you type something like this:

"Create a plugin that shows my pending tasks as a dashboard. Each task should be a card. Color the cards red for urgent, yellow for medium, and green for low priority. Add a search bar at the top."

That's it. Claude Code reads your mind, understands your task structure, and builds the plugin. A few moments later, it appears in your Synap sidebar, ready to use.

Iteration is the secret

The first result doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, it rarely needs to be. Claude Code is designed for back-and-forth conversation, just like working with a colleague.

If the cards are too small, say "Make the cards bigger." If you want a different layout, say "Switch to a grid layout with three columns." If you want to add a feature, say "Add a button that lets me sort by due date."

Each change builds on the last. You're not starting over -- you're refining. Think of it as giving feedback to a designer who works incredibly fast.

Getting Claude Code

Claude Code is made by Anthropic (the company behind Claude). To get started, visit anthropic.com and look for Claude Code — you'll find instructions for downloading and setting it up on your computer. Anthropic offers different plans, so check their website for the latest pricing and availability.

Once Claude Code is installed, it works naturally with any mind you've created in Synap. Because Synap stores your knowledge as structured files on your computer, Claude Code can read and understand everything without any special configuration. There's nothing to connect — they just work together.

You don't need to be a developer

This point is worth repeating. You don't need to write a single line of code. You don't need to understand programming concepts. You don't need any technical background at all.

You need to know what you want and be able to describe it in your own words. If the result isn't right, you describe what to change. That's the entire process. The people getting the most out of Claude Code aren't developers -- they're professionals who know their work deeply and can articulate what they need.