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Your First Win

Outcome: You complete a real AI-assisted task AND understand Markdown

Part 1: Let's cook!​

Lets put this to the test!

Step 1: Create a Test File​

  1. In VS Code, right-click on your personal repo folder
  2. Click "New Folder" → name it test
  3. Right-click on the test folder
  4. Click "New File" → name it test.md

Why .md? The .md extension means "Markdown." It's like a Google Doc for GitHub. 99% of the files you create will be .md files.

Step 2: Open Claude Code​

  1. Look for the Claude Code panel (usually on the right side or bottom)
  2. Or press Cmd + Shift + P and type "Claude Code"

You should see a chat interface. This is your AI assistant.

Step 3: Give Claude a Task​

Think of something you're actually working on. A project, a document you need to write, research you need to do.

Activate Wispr Flow: Press FN + Space and talk naturally:

"Hey, I need you to help me create a summary of [your topic]. I want you to research this and give me a comprehensive overview. Write the output to my test.md file."

Or type it out if you prefer.

Pro tip: Add this line at the end:

"Make a comprehensive to-do list for yourself to complete this task."

This makes Claude organize its own work.

Step 4: Provide Context (Optional but Powerful)​

If you have a relevant file (notes, transcript, data):

  1. Find the file in your VS Code Explorer
  2. Right-click → Copy Path
  3. Go back to your prompt
  4. Press Shift + Enter to add a new line
  5. Paste: "Here's some context: [paste path]"

Step 5: Watch It Work​

Press Enter and watch Claude:

  • Create a to-do list for itself
  • Research or analyze
  • Write content to your test.md file

That's it. You just gave an instruction, and an AI agent executed a multi-step task for you.

Step 6: Turn it into Ppt Deck w/brand guidelines​

Step 7: Turn it into ASCII Diagrams​

Part 2: Understanding Markdown​

Now let's look at what Claude created—and learn about the format it used.

Open Your File with Mark Sharp​

  1. Click on test.md in your Explorer
  2. You'll see raw text with symbols like #, **, -
  3. Look for the M icon in the top-right of the editor tab
  4. Click it

Now you see it formatted: headings are big, bold text is bold, lists look like lists.

This is what Mark Sharp does—it renders Markdown so you can read it like a normal document.

Make Mark Sharp your default so you don't have to click the M icon every time:

  1. Right-click on any .md file
  2. Click "Open With..."
  3. Click "Configure Default Editor for .md"
  4. Select "Mark Sharp"

Now every Markdown file opens formatted.

What is Markdown?​

Markdown is a simple formatting language. Here's the cheat sheet:

What You TypeWhat You Get
# HeadingBig heading
## SubheadingSmaller heading
**bold**bold
*italic*italic
- itemBullet point
1. itemNumbered list

Why does this matter? Every document Claude creates will be in Markdown. It's the universal language of AI-generated content.

Bonus: Paste Markdown into Google Docs​

You can take this Markdown and paste it into Google Docs with formatting preserved.

Enable Markdown paste in Google Docs:

  1. Open Google Docs
  2. Go to Tools → Preferences
  3. Check "Automatically detect Markdown"
  4. Click OK

Now:

  1. Copy the raw Markdown text from VS Code (not the rendered version)
  2. Paste into Google Docs
  3. Watch it format automatically

What You Just Learned​

  1. How to give Claude a task with context
  2. How to have Claude write to a specific file
  3. What Markdown is and how to read it
  4. How to move content to Google Docs

Next: Let's understand WHY this worked—and why it's different from using AI in your browser.