F.1 — Preface

Front matter — Level 0. Product details verified on 22/06/2026 against official sources.

Goal

This preface explains who the book is for, how it is organized and how to read it. By the end you will know which level to start from and how to interpret the boxes, tags and figures you will encounter in the chapters.

Who it is for

The book is for anyone who wants to master Claude, from the first message all the way to advanced tasks. It assumes no technical skill in the early levels, and raises the bar as it goes. Three typical profiles:

• those starting from scratch who want to use the chat well;
• those installing and configuring Claude locally (Code, Cowork);
• those who automate, integrate and work in a team.

You don’t have to read everything in order. Chapter F.4 offers three reading paths depending on what you need.

What the book is not: a generic programming course, a survey of competing products or a price list. When a fact is subject to change (prices, versions), the book flags it and points you to the up-to-date source, instead of faking a stability that isn’t there.

Claude is not a single product

The first misconception to clear up: “Claude” is not just the chat in the browser. It is an ecosystem. There’s the chat, there’s the tool for programming (Claude Code), there’s agentic work on your computer (Cowork), there’s the design side, and there are the APIs for developers. Understanding how these pieces talk to each other is half the value of the book: chapter F.2 maps it out.

How it is structured

The content is divided into levels of increasing complexity. Each chapter declares its own level, so you know what to expect:

• Level 1 — Foundations: using the chat well.
• Level 2 — Local installation: Desktop and Code.
• Level 3 — Daily work: Cowork, Projects, documents.
• Level 4 — Design: from canvas to code.
• Level 5 — Skills and identity: giving Claude your voice.
• Level 6 — Advanced: automations, integrations, APIs.

Before the levels comes the front matter (this part); at the end, a complete project and the appendices.

How to use boxes, tags and figures

To read without surprises, keep three conventions in mind.

The boxes flag information outside the main flow: Note (a useful detail), Warning (a mistake to avoid), Tip (a shortcut).

The tags indicate how stable a piece of information is. ** marks concepts that rarely change. ** marks facts that may change soon: versions, commands, prices, menu names.

The figures are numbered per chapter and always have a short caption and an alternative text, so they remain understandable even to those who use screen readers or read a version without images. The identifier combines the chapter and the sequence: the first figure of ch. L2.1 is Figure L2.1.1, the first table of front matter F.2 is Table F.2.1.

An honest note on a product that changes

Claude evolves fast: new models, new features, menus that move. A printed book risks being born out of date. That’s why volatile facts are marked as such and collected, where useful, in an online companion repo that accompanies the book with up-to-date commands and errata. When you see a ** fact, consider the verification date shown and check the official source if you need the most recent value.

Note: every chapter shows at the top the date on which its product details were verified. It’s your reference for understanding how “fresh” a piece of information is.

Summary

1. The book goes from beginner to expert: start from the level that suits you.
2. Claude is not just the chat, but an ecosystem of products (ch. F.2).
3. The content is divided into six levels of increasing complexity.
4. Boxes, tags / and numbered figures help you find your way through the reading.
5. Facts that change are dated and collected in the companion repo: always verify at the source when you need the current value.

Next step

In ch. F.2 — The Claude ecosystem we’ll see the complete map of the products: what each one does, where it runs and when it’s worth using over the others.