you do not have to build alone.

This step is optional. unparty works without a large language model, and it always will. But the next few steps (installing tools, creating a database, deploying your site) are where most people get stuck, usually on one confusing error message. A partner that can read that error, explain it in plain words, and tell you the next click changes how those steps feel. That partner is what this step sets up, and we recommend Claude.

Go to claude.ai and sign up with your email or Google account. Use the same business email you used for GitHub so everything about your build lives in one place. Then get the desktop app from claude.com/download. It keeps Claude one click away while you work, and it can run Claude Code without a terminal.

There are three ways in, and you can switch any time. Claude Code is not included in the Free plan. Prices below are as of September 2026. Check claude.com/pricing for current ones.

• Start on Free if you mostly want someone to explain things while you do the clicking. Upgrade when you want Claude inside your code
• Choose Pro for a predictable monthly price. Usage resets on a schedule, so a heavy day can hit a limit, and it resets
• Choose API credits if your building comes in bursts. Sign up at platform.claude.com, then Settings → Billing → Buy credits. Credits are non-refundable and expire one year after purchase, so start small
• Were you given a guest pass? Redeem it when you sign up, and note when its trial ends

Skip this if you are staying on Free. The easiest way is the desktop app you just installed, which runs Claude Code without a terminal. If you would rather use the terminal (you will be in it for the next steps anyway), paste the command for your computer:

Close the terminal, open a new one, and check that it worked. A version number means you are set. The first time you run claude, it opens your browser to sign in: choose your Claude account for Pro, or your Anthropic Console account for API credits.

• See which account you are billing — type /status inside Claude Code
• See what a session cost (API credits) — type /usage, or check platform.claude.com/usage
• Cap your spend (API credits) — your first Console sign-in creates a workspace called "Claude Code". Set a spend limit on it in the Console
• Watch for ANTHROPIC_API_KEY — if that variable is set in your terminal and you approve it, Claude Code bills your API credits instead of Pro. Run unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to go back to your plan

Your copy of unparty-app comes with Claude wired into GitHub. Two workflows are already in your repository, and neither does anything until you ask:

• Mention @claude in an issue or a pull request comment, and Claude answers there, reading your code and your CI results
• Add the LLM. label to a pull request, and Claude reviews it for bugs, security, and performance

As they ship, they run on API credits, so they need an API key saved in GitHub. Once your repository arrives in the next step:

1. In the Console at platform.claude.com, create an API key and copy it
2. In your repository on GitHub, open Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
3. Click New repository secret, name it ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, and paste the key
4. Test it: comment @claude what does this repository do? on any issue

Your site can use a model too, for two things: a short reply under a thought someone leaves on an article, and "where are you starting from?" on your founder page understanding someone's own words, not just the choices. Without a model, both still work, just without the model's part. To turn it on with your own Anthropic key:

1. In the Console at platform.claude.com, open a workspace (or create one, like "my site") and create an API key inside it. A key made outside a workspace also needs that workspace's ID as ANTHROPIC_WORKSPACE_ID
2. Set a spend limit on that workspace, so a busy day can't surprise you: SET A SPEND LIMIT. walks through it
3. Add the key to .env in your copy (below), then restart npm run dev
4. Add the same key to Vercel: Settings → Environment Variables, or from the terminal with vercel env add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY production. Then redeploy

• Replies are limited per person on your key, so one visitor can't run up your bill
• Visitors can bring their own key — "use your own key" lets someone paste their Anthropic key. It stays in their browser tab and goes straight to Anthropic, so it never costs you anything
• Prefer other models? Use Vercel AI Gateway instead: set AI_GATEWAY_MODEL (from the model list) and AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY, and cap spend with Gateway budgets. If both are set, your Anthropic key is used first
• This key is not your terminal's — it lives in .env, which your site reads and your terminal does not, so it doesn't switch Claude Code to API credits (see the tip under step 3)

• Never paste your keys — your API key goes in GitHub secrets, and the values in your .env file (database, sign-in, payments) stay out of every chat. Describe a key instead: "my Clerk secret key"
• Ask before it changes anything — start with "explain, don't change anything yet," then approve changes one at a time
• Read what you approve — Claude Code asks before editing files or running commands. That pause is for you, so use it
• Check its work — Claude can be confidently wrong. If an answer does not match what you see on screen, say so and ask again
• Clear between tasks — type /clear when you switch to something unrelated. Long conversations cost more on every message

Start with the setup itself. These work in the chat and in Claude Code:

• You can open Claude and get an answer to a question
• You know how you are paying: Free, Pro, or API credits
• If you chose Pro or API credits: claude --version prints a version number, and /status shows the account you expect

Keep Claude open for the rest of setup. Next up is Get your copy: your repository arrives in the GitHub account you set up in the last step, and then Claude Code has something to work in.