Opening a brand-new Claude account can feel like walking into an empty apartment. There’s lots of space and plenty of potential, and you have no idea where the couch goes. I’ve watched plenty of people type a random question, get a decent answer and never come back to set things up properly. So when I came across this tip, I stopped scrolling.
The author of this LinkedIn post found something hiding in plain sight. Claude’s own team built a skill that walks you through setting up Claude from scratch. According to the original poster, almost nobody knows it exists. It takes one command, and I think it’s the smartest first move for any new account.
Here’s how it works, step by step, along with why each step matters.
🧠 First, What’s a “Skill”?
Some quick context before we start. The creator explains it simply: a skill is a saved set of instructions Claude follows for one kind of task.
Think of it like a recipe card. You don’t explain how to bake bread every time you want a loaf. You pull out the card and follow it. Skills do the same for Claude. Someone already wrote the best steps for a job, so Claude runs them without you having to explain everything from zero.
That’s why this discovery is so useful. The setup skill is a recipe card Anthropic wrote for the one job every new user has to do: getting Claude ready.
🛠️ The Step-by-Step Setup
- Open a fresh chat in your new Claude account. Start clean so nothing from an old conversation gets in the way of the setup.
- Type /setup. The slash tells Claude you’re calling a specific skill, not just asking a question. This is the built-in onboarding the expert highlighted.
- Add a short prompt after the command. Tell Claude where you’re starting from and what you want. The exact prompt from the post is below.
- Follow Claude’s lead. In the author’s words, “Claude will know what to do next.” Answer its questions and let it guide you through each stage.
- Come back and build on it. Once the basics are done, you have a foundation to improve over time instead of starting from nothing each session.
That’s the whole process. It’s short on purpose, because the skill does most of the heavy lifting.
💬 Prompt of the Day
Here’s the exact prompt the original poster shared. Copy it word for word:
/setup This is a new Claude account.
Set up my Claude from scratch, step by step.
It’s a small prompt that does a lot. “This is a new Claude account” tells Claude you’re starting from zero, so it won’t assume you already have anything in place. “From scratch, step by step” asks it to go slowly and cover everything in order rather than dumping it all on you at once.
The person who shared it calls this the best onboarding Claude has, and it’s already built in. You don’t need to install or configure anything first.
🤔 Why This Approach Works
I love this tip because it changes who does the work. Most people approach a new AI tool by guessing. They read a few blog posts, poke around the settings and hope they didn’t miss anything important.
The setup skill turns that around. Instead of you figuring out Claude, Claude helps you figure out Claude. Here’s why that matters:
- It comes from the source. Claude’s own team built this skill, so it reflects how the tool is meant to be used.
- It’s tailored to you. A generic tutorial can’t see your situation. A guided conversation can ask questions and adjust.
- It cuts decision fatigue. You don’t have to decide what to set up first. The skill handles the order.
- It builds good habits early. Starting with a solid setup means every chat after that begins from a better place.
Why it matters: the gap between casual Claude users and power users usually isn’t talent. It’s setup. One command closes a big part of that gap on day one.
💡 Tips to Get Even More Out of It
Once you’ve run the prompt, a few small habits can make the results even better. These are my own suggestions for building on the author’s advice:
- Answer honestly and in detail. If Claude asks about your work or goals, give it real context. “I run a small bakery and want help with marketing emails” beats “I do business stuff.”
- Don’t rush it. Treat the setup like a conversation, not a form to click through. The more carefully you go, the more useful it gets.
- Ask follow-up questions. If a step confuses you, say so. Try something like “Explain that step like I’ve never used an AI tool before.”
- Revisit it later. Your needs will change. Running a setup check-in after a few weeks keeps things fresh.
🎯 Who Should Try This
This tip isn’t only for complete beginners. Here are a few people who’ll get real value from it:
- Brand-new users who just created an account and don’t know where to start.
- Teams rolling out Claude who want every member starting from the same solid base.
- Returning users who signed up months ago, never set things up and want a clean restart.
- Anyone helping a friend or family member get started, since you can just hand them one prompt.
⏱️ Don’t Try to Master It All at Once
The post ends with some advice I really agree with: you can’t master Claude in one day. Instead, the creator suggests blocking out 20 minutes this week to focus on it.
That’s a realistic goal. Twenty minutes is enough to run /setup, work through the guided steps and try a couple of real tasks with your new setup. Small, steady sessions beat one overwhelming weekend of tutorials every time.
So put 20 minutes on your calendar, open a fresh chat and type the prompt. It’s the easiest head start you’ll find.
Check out the full LinkedIn post to see the original tip straight from the author.