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Claude Code with version control for Windows

You’re working with AI assistance. It makes changes to your files. Sometimes the changes are brilliant. Sometimes they aren’t. Version control is like an undo button for your entire project. Every time you save a snapshot (called a “commit”), you create a restore point you can always go back to. Best of all, you can do this entirely on your computer and Claude Code does it for you.

Key Concepts

• PowerShell - Windows’ built-in command-line tool, used here to run Git and Claude Code
• Git - Tracks every change to your files on your computer, creating restore points you can return to anytime
• Commit - A snapshot of your project at a specific point in time with a description of what changed
• Claude Code - AI coding assistant that writes code, fixes bugs, and handles Git operations through simple requests

What You’ll Need

• Finished Installing Claude Code on Windows
• 20 minutes

Step 1: Open PowerShell

• Click the Start menu
• Type PowerShell
• Click Windows PowerShell to open it

Note: If you set up the optional WSL/Ubuntu path instead of the native install, open the Ubuntu app instead — Git and Claude Code work the same way there, just with Linux-style paths (/mnt/c/Users/...) instead of ~\Documents\....

Step 2: Install Git

• Verify whether Git is already installed:

  git --version
  

• If you see a version number like git version 2.45.0, skip to Step 3
• If you see an error, install Git for Windows:
  • Go to git-scm.com/download/win
  • The download should start automatically — open the installer when it finishes
  • Click Next through the installer, accepting the default options
  • Click Install, then Finish
  • Close and reopen PowerShell, then verify again with git --version

Step 3: Configure Git with Your Identity

Git needs to know who you are for commit messages.

• Set your name and email (can be fake)

  git config --global user.name "Your Name"
  git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
  

Using your name and email helps you identify who made changes when multiple persons work on this.

Step 4: Navigate to Your Documents Folder

• Navigate to your Documents folder:

  cd ~\Documents
  

• Verify you’re in the right place:

  pwd
  

You should see a path ending in \Documents.

Step 5: Create Project Folder

• Create a folder called test_claude:

  mkdir test_claude
  

• Navigate into it:

  cd test_claude
  

This is where your project will live.

Step 6: Start Claude Code

• Start Claude Code:

  claude
  

Log in with your Claude subscription following the installation tutorial. After logging in, you’ll see a welcome message and the Claude Code prompt.

Step 7: Ask Claude to Initialize Git

• Type this request:

  Start tracking changes
  

Claude initializes a Git repository in your folder (takes 2-5 seconds). You now have version control!

Step 8: Build the Timer App

• In Claude Code, type: ``` Create a simple countdown timer app in a single file called timer.html. It should have:
  • An input field to set minutes
  • Start and Stop buttons
  • Display showing time remaining in MM:SS format ```

Claude creates timer.html (takes 10-30 seconds) with the CSS and JavaScript code.

Step 9: Test the Timer

• Open Windows File Explorer
• Navigate to Documents\test_claude
• Double-click timer.html to open it in your browser
• Try the timer:
  • Type 1 in the input field
  • Click Start
  • Watch the countdown

If something’s broken: In Claude Code, describe the error: I'm seeing this error: [describe what happened]. Can you fix it?

Step 10: Ask Claude to Commit

• In Claude Code, type:

  Save these changes.
  

Claude will:

• Check what files changed
• Write a descriptive commit message
• Create the commit (takes 5-10 seconds)

You’ve created your first save point! You can always return to this working version.

Step 11: Add Preset Buttons

• In Claude Code, type:

  Add two buttons on the top. If I click on them it automatically starts 1- and 5-minute timers.
  

• Refresh your browser tab
• Test: Click the 5 min button
• If it works, commit the changes:

  Save these changes.
  

We created a 2nd save point. This version has the two buttons working.

Step 12: Add Another Button

• In Claude Code, type:

  Add a 15-minute button.
  

• Refresh your browser tab
• Test: Click the 15 min button

For this tutorial: Pretend the 15-minute button doesn’t work correctly. Don’t commit yet—we’ll practice discarding bad changes.

Step 13: Discard Changes

Sometimes AI code doesn’t work and you need to start over from your last save point.

• In Claude Code, type:

  discard these changes.
  

• Claude shows a menu with options like Yes and No — use the arrow keys (or press the number next to Yes) to select it, then press Enter
• Refresh your browser—the 15-minute button disappears

Claude throws away the new changes we don’t like. The timer works again with just the 1- and 5-minute buttons!

Step 14: Add Sound Notification

• In Claude Code, type:

  Add a sound notification when the timer reaches zero.
  

• Refresh browser and test after Claude is done (set timer for 1 minute)
• If it works, commit the changes:

  Save these changes.
  

Step 15: Add snooze button

• In Claude Code, type:

  The sound should continue until I click a button to snooze it. 
  

• Refresh browser and test after Claude is done (set timer for 1 minute)
• If it works, commit the changes:

  Save these changes.
  

Step 16: View Your Commit History

• In Claude Code, type:

  show my change history
  

Claude displays your commits in a readable format. You’ll see:

• Your initial timer app commit
• The preset buttons (1-min and 5-min) commit
• The sound notification commit
• The snooze button.

Notice the 15-minute button attempt isn’t there—you discarded it!

Step 17: Examine the code

• In the browser that shows the app, right click and select View Page Source
• You can see the source code for this.
• In Claude Code, ask

  Explain this code. Just big picture.
  

The Complete Workflow

• Ask Claude to make changes
• Test
• If it works → Ask Claude to commit
• If it fails → Ask Claude to fix it.
• Unable to fix → Discard changes and try again
• Repeat

You can always return to any commit. Discard fearlessly—only commit working code!

Next Steps

Try adding more features to your timer:

• 15-minute button: Add a working 15-minute preset button (redo what we discarded!)
• Pause button: Add a Pause/Resume button that toggles the timer state
• Better styling: Improve the visual design with a modern color scheme and larger fonts
• Progress bar: Add a visual progress bar showing time remaining

Remember: Test after each feature, commit after each success, discard failures.

Troubleshooting

• “not a git repository” error: Make sure you’re in the test_claude folder (cd ~\Documents\test_claude)
• Can’t find timer.html in Windows: The file is at C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Documents\test_claude\timer.html
• git command not found: Close and reopen PowerShell after installing Git for Windows so the PATH updates, then run git --version again
• Timer doesn’t work: Open browser console (right-click the page, select Inspect, click Console tab), copy any red error messages, paste them to Claude

What You Can Ask Claude

• what files have I changed? - See uncommitted changes
• show me the diff - See exactly what code changed
• explain what the timer code does - Understand the implementation
• create a branch called experiment - Try risky changes safely
• go back to the previous commit - Undo everything since last commit

Claude handles all Git operations through natural language—no commands to memorize!

Workflow Overview

• Setup: Install Git once, configure identity once
• Development: Claude writes code, you test in browser
• Version Control: Claude handles all Git operations via simple requests
• Safety: Discard bad changes anytime, return to any previous commit
• Local: Everything stays on your computer, no account or internet required

Created by Steven Ge on December 8, 2025.