Claude Code

Claude Code was released by Anthropic in 2025. It is a terminal-based agent rather than an editor plugin. You run it from the command line inside your project directory, describe a task in plain language, and it reads your files, writes changes, and runs shell commands to accomplish the goal.

# Agentic capabilities

Claude Code can handle complex tasks that span multiple files and steps. You can ask it to refactor a module, trace a bug from an error message back to the source, write and run tests, or explain how an unfamiliar codebase is structured. It maintains context across a session and can refer back to earlier instructions.

It will ask for confirmation before running shell commands or making file edits, depending on your permission settings. You can grant more autonomy or require approval for each action.

# Editor integration

Claude Code is primarily a terminal tool (TUI), but it integrates with VS Code and JetBrains PhpStorm as an extension. In the editor it shows diffs, highlights modified files, and lets you accept or reject changes in a dedicated panel. The core interaction still happens through a CLI prompt or the extension's chat interface.

# Pricing

Claude Code requires an Anthropic account. It is available through a Claude Pro or Max subscription. There is no free tier. Heavy agentic sessions can use significant tokens; check your usage in the Anthropic dashboard.

# Privacy

All code context sent to Claude Code is processed on Anthropic's servers. Anthropic states that it does not use API inputs to train models by default.