Why This Matters
You know that thing where you Google something, and suddenly you have 20 tabs open? You're reading one article, clicking to another, copying bits into a note somewhere. An hour goes by and you still don't have a clear answer.
Claude Code can do all of that for you. You tell it what you want to learn, and it finds the information, puts everything together into one clean file, and saves it right on your computer. No tabs. No copying and pasting.
Step 1: Open Claude Code in Any Folder
First, open your terminal and go to wherever you want to save the research. Your Desktop works great:
cd ~/DesktopThen start Claude:
claudeThat's it. You're ready to ask Claude to research something.
Step 2: Tell Claude What to Research
Now just describe what you want to learn. Be specific. The more detail you give, the better the results.
Here's a good example. Paste this into Claude Code:
Research the best places to visit in Portugal for a 10-day trip. Find the top cities, what to see in each one, the best time of year to go, and rough costs. Save everything as a file called portugal-trip.md in this folder.Claude will search the web for you. It reads through multiple sources, pulls out the important stuff, and writes it all up in one place. You'll see it working in real time.
When it's done, you'll have a file called portugal-trip.md sitting right on your Desktop.
What Makes a Good Research Prompt
Notice how that prompt did a few things well:
- Specific topic: Not just "Portugal" but "best places to visit for a 10-day trip"
- Clear categories: Top cities, what to see, best time, costs
- File name: Told Claude exactly where to save it
The more you tell Claude what you're looking for, the better your results will be.
Step 3: Read Your Report
Open the file Claude created. On Mac, you can ask Claude to open it for you:
Open portugal-trip.mdOr find it on your Desktop and double-click it. The file is formatted with headings, bullet points, and clear sections. It reads like a real travel guide, not a pile of random notes.
This file is yours forever. No website to bookmark. No tab to keep open. It lives on your computer and you can read it whenever you want.
Step 4: Ask Follow-Up Questions
Here's where it gets really fun. You can keep the conversation going. Ask Claude to add more detail, change the focus, or go deeper on anything.
Try something like:
Now add a section about the best restaurants in Lisbon. Include a mix of fancy spots and casual local places.Or go even further:
Turn this into a day-by-day itinerary. Start in Lisbon, end in Porto, and include travel times between cities.Claude updates the same file each time. Your research keeps getting better with every question.
More Ideas to Try
Travel planning is just one example. You can research literally anything. Here are a couple more ideas:
Before a Big Purchase
Research the best robot vacuums under $500. Compare the top 5 models, list pros and cons for each, and give me your recommendation. Save it as robot-vacuum-research.mdPlanning an Event
Research how to plan a 50-person outdoor dinner party. Cover venue ideas, catering options, table setup, lighting, and a realistic budget breakdown. Save it as dinner-party-plan.mdThe pattern is always the same: tell Claude what you want to know, be specific about the details, and tell it where to save the file.
What You Learned
You just turned Claude Code into your research assistant. Instead of opening dozens of browser tabs and spending hours reading, you described what you wanted to learn and Claude did the work for you. It searched the web, pulled together the best information, and saved a clean report right on your computer.
The key is being specific. Tell Claude exactly what you're looking for, what categories to cover, and where to save the file. Then keep asking follow-up questions to make your research even better.
