Claude AI Tutorial for Beginners: Chat, Prompts & Files

This Claude AI tutorial for beginners gives you the whole recipe first. Go to claude.ai and sign up with Google or your email. Type your question in the chat box, pick a model by clicking its name next to the send button, attach files with the + button, and write your prompt in three parts: the task, the context, and the format you want back. Send it, and you get an answer you can actually use.

Watch the 8-minute video:

This is Episode 1 of Mastering Claude & Claude Code, my free 12-episode course. It goes from your very first chat all the way to building your own MCP server. Everything in this episode works on the free plan, and I’ll tell you every time a feature needs a paid one. I checked every step against Claude’s help center and pricing page on 28 October 2026.

Our demo is a real IT task: a week of help desk tickets (tickets.csv) from my clients at mouhimen.dev, turned into a report a manager can read in one minute.

Step 1: Create your Claude account

Open your browser and go to claude.ai. There are also apps for Windows and Mac, and for iPhone and Android. It’s the same account and the same chats everywhere.
Click Continue with Google, or type your email and click Continue with email. Claude emails you a secure login link (subject: “Secure link to log in to Claude.ai”). Click it on the same device and you’re signed in. If you open it on another device, it gives you a code to type in instead.
Verify your phone number. Claude requires this for all new users. Enter the 6-digit code from the text message.

You need to be 18 or older and in a supported country.

Which plan do you need?

Plan	Price (28 Oct 2026)	What you get
Free	$0	Chat on web, desktop and mobile, file uploads, web search, Artifacts, memory. Models: Sonnet and Haiku.
Pro	$20/month, or $17/month billed yearly	More usage, Opus, Projects, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome. Fable only with usage credits (extra cost).
Max	From $100/month	5x or 20x Pro usage, Fable included, priority access, higher output limits.

You start on Free, and that’s all you need for this episode. Prices change, so check claude.com/pricing before you pay.

Step 2: Learn the chat window

Sidebar (left): New chat starts a fresh conversation, and your old chats are listed below it.
Chat box (middle): this is where you type.
+ button (bottom left): files, photos and more tools. Typing / in the chat box shows the same options and commands.
Model name (bottom right): it sits next to the send button. Click it to change the model.

Try a first question that you’d really ask at work:

What's the difference between a switch and a router?
Explain it for a new help desk technician.

Claude answers in seconds. It’s a conversation, so you can follow up without repeating yourself:

Now give me a one-line version for a ticket reply.

Under each answer there’s a copy button, so you can paste it straight into your ticket.

Build one habit early: new topic, new chat. Long chats use more of your usage limit, and old topics can confuse the answer.

Step 3: Choose the right model

Click the model name to open the model menu.

Model	Best for	Plan
Sonnet 5.5	The everyday default: writing, analysis, code. Not sure? Start here.	Free and paid
Haiku 5.5	The fastest: quick answers, short summaries, simple lookups.	Free and paid
Opus 5.5	Deep reasoning and long, hard problems.	Pro and above
Fable 5.1	The most capable model, for the biggest tasks.	Included in Max; Pro pays with usage credits

On models that support it, the same menu has an Effort setting (Low to Max) and a Thinking switch. Higher effort gives a more careful answer, but uses more of your limit.

My own rule: I stay on Sonnet for almost everything, and only switch up when the answer has to go deeper.

Heads-up: on 29 October 2026 Claude removes Haiku 4.5 from the model menu. Haiku 5.5 replaces it, so if you still see the older one, it’s about to change.

Step 4: Upload files

Click +, then Add files or photos, and pick your file. You can also drag a file into the chat, or paste a screenshot with Ctrl + V.

Claude reads:

Documents: PDF, DOCX (Word), CSV, TXT, HTML, ODT, RTF, EPUB, JSON
Images: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP
Spreadsheets: XLSX, but only when code execution and file creation is turned on in your settings

You can add up to 20 files per chat. Screenshots are great for IT work: paste an error dialog and ask Claude what it means and what to check first.

In the video I upload tickets.csv (42 tickets, with sample requesters such as Abd Almouhimen Shamout) and ask:

Which problems came up the most last week?

Claude reads every row and finds the top three: VPN drops (14), password resets (11) and printer errors in the Riyadh office (7). It even counts them. But always spot-check numbers like these against the file before you send them to anyone.

Step 5: Write a good first prompt

Here’s what most beginners type:

summarize this

It works, but you get a generic summary, because Claude has to guess what you want. Use the three-part formula instead:

Task: write a weekly summary of these tickets for my IT manager.
Context: we're a small team supporting mouhimen.dev clients.
My manager wants to know where our time goes.
Format: 3 bullet points, under 100 words, then 1 recommendation.

Task: what you want done.
Context: who it’s for and why. When Claude knows the reason, it makes better choices about what to keep and what to cut.
Format: the shape of the answer.
Example (optional): if you have a past report you liked, paste it in. Showing beats describing.

Same file, same model, and now the answer is ready to send. If it isn’t quite right, don’t start over. Just reply “make it shorter” or “make it friendlier”.

A tip from my work

Before Claude answers, ask it to ask you questions. I end big prompts with:

Before you start, ask me up to 3 questions.

Claude finds the gaps in my request, like the audience or the deadline, and the first answer comes out right.

And one rule I never break: no passwords, no API keys and no client personal data in a chat. Replace them with placeholders such as [PASSWORD], [API_KEY] and [CLIENT_PHONE] first. (If you want to see what happens when AI tools and secrets mix, read how a browser extension can hijack your AI assistant.)

Errors and fixes

1. “There was an error logging you in”

Usually a VPN, a browser extension, or old cookies. Turn off the VPN and your extensions, then clear your cache and cookies. Still stuck? Check status.claude.com.

2. The phone code never arrives

Wait about five minutes, press Try again and re-enter your number. If it keeps failing, use a different number. There’s no way to skip phone verification.

3. “Your message will exceed the length limit for this chat.”

Your files are too big for one conversation. Attach fewer or smaller files, split the document into parts, or start a new chat. You can also ask Claude to find the most relevant section first.

4. “5-hour limit reached”

You’ve used your allowance for this window, and on the free plan that comes sooner. Wait for the reset time shown in the message. Save usage with new chats for new topics, Haiku for quick questions, and thinking or web search off when you don’t need them. If you hit it every day, that’s when Pro is worth it.

Checklist

[ ] Account created at claude.ai and phone verified
[ ] New chat for every new topic
[ ] Sonnet for most work, Haiku for quick questions
[ ] Files attached with + (or drag and drop, or paste)
[ ] Prompt = Task + Context + Format (+ an example)
[ ] No passwords, keys or client data in the chat

FAQ

Is Claude AI free?
Yes. The free plan includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, file uploads, web search and the Sonnet and Haiku models. Paid plans add more usage and more models.

Which Claude model should a beginner use?
Sonnet. It’s the everyday default for writing, analysis and code. Use Haiku when you want a fast, short answer.

What files can I upload to Claude?
PDF, Word, CSV, TXT, HTML, JSON and more, plus images like PNG and JPEG, up to 20 files per chat. Excel files need code execution and file creation turned on.

Why does Claude say I hit a limit?
Usage resets every five hours, and paid plans also have a weekly limit. Long chats use the most, so start new chats for new topics.

What is the best first prompt for Claude?
Give it a task, the context (including why), and the format you want. End with “Before you start, ask me up to 3 questions.”

What’s next

Next episode (Wed 4 Nov): Claude Projects Tutorial: Organize Your Work with AI: project knowledge, custom instructions and a real IT docs project.

This is the first episode, so there’s no previous one yet. While you wait, read how to lock down an Ollama server on port 11434 if you also run local AI, or build a real back end in my Laravel API tutorial for beginners.

Watch the video: