Skip to content

Claude Code on Windows

APD-managed Windows machines are locked down, so Claude Code runs inside a WSL (Ubuntu) sandbox. This page covers the one-time setup and the restrictions the sandbox brings.

Setup

In Command Prompt

1. Install WSL

wsl --install

Restart your computer when prompted.

In VS Code

2. Open a new terminal

Terminal > New Terminal

3. Install the WSL extension

code --install-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl

Restart VS Code if needed.

4. Connect to WSL

Ctrl+Shift+P -> "WSL: Connect to WSL"

Confirm the connection: the bottom-left bar should show WSL: Ubuntu.

5. Open a new terminal in WSL

Terminal > New Terminal

In the WSL terminal

6. Install Node.js

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

Then:

source ~/.bashrc
nvm install --lts

7. Install Claude Code

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

8. Start Claude Code

claude

Then follow the on-screen instructions to log in.

How the sandbox changes things

Read this before installing skills. These restrictions apply to the current APD-managed environment and override the general guidance in Deployment Options.

  • User-level .claude on the Windows side is not visible. Because of the sandboxing, Claude Code only sees the WSL filesystem, not your Windows user profile. Skills installed to C:\Users\[MYUSER]\.claude will not be recognized.
  • For user-level skills that work across projects, copy them to the WSL side instead: \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\[MYUSER]\.claude (this is Ubuntu's ~/.claude, reachable from Windows Explorer at that path).
  • Skills go in the project folder. Put skills in the .claude/skills/ of the directory WSL is active in:

bash git clone https://github.com/Aimpoint-Digital/apd-agent-skills.git mkdir -p .claude/skills cp -r apd-agent-skills/skills/shared/apd-pptx-design .claude/skills/

Invoke as usual with /skill-name. - Plugins are currently blocked in our environment, so /plugin marketplace add and /plugin install are not an option here. - Skill uploads in chat are also currently blocked in our environment, so the claude.ai Settings › Capabilities route is unavailable on managed machines.

In short: on a managed Windows machine, skills must live on the WSL side. Use \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\[MYUSER]\.claude for all projects, or the .claude/skills/ of your active WSL folder for one project; plugins and chat uploads remain blocked.

Contacts

  • Setup trouble or a restriction that looks wrong: bring it to Office Hours

See also: Deployment Options · Getting Started · Handling Outputs