Big ideas start here.
Make a game, tell a story, or bring a character to life. In Scratch, you snap colourful blocks together to tell your computer what to do. Let’s get you ready!
Grab a grown-up and a great idea.
You and your parent or carer can do this part together. You’ll need:
- A computer with internet
- A parent or carer’s email inbox
- A username idea
- A secret password
Scratch is free and works in your web browser. You don’t need to buy anything or install an app.
Choose your coding name.
Join ScratchThis opens Scratch in a new tab. Keep this guide open so you can come back.
- Pick a username. Try a fun nickname like CosmicOtter42. Don’t use your real name. If it’s taken, invent another!
- Make a password with your grown-up. Keep it secret and let them store it somewhere safe.
- Follow the questions on screen. Have your birth month and year and country ready. Ask your grown-up to help with the details.
- Use your parent or carer’s email. They should open Scratch’s email and follow its instructions to confirm the account and give any permission requested. Check the junk folder if it’s missing.
Already have an account? Choose Sign in on Scratch instead. Your account lets you keep your projects and return to them another day.
Two tabs. One adventure.
When you’re ready, this button opens the Scratch editor in this tab and Raspberry Pi projects in a second tab. You can use your browser’s Back button to return to this guide.
The Raspberry Pi projects site is your recipe book for coding. It shows you what to make, one small step at a time. You don’t need a Raspberry Pi computer for these Scratch projects.
Only Scratch appeared? Ask a club helper to allow pop-ups for this page, or open the project guides in a new tab.
Race a boat. Catch a ghost.
Choose a project on the projects tab, or use one of these links. Follow its instructions, including opening a starter project if it asks you to.
Read a little. Code a little. Try it out.
Click the project’s tab at the top of your browser and read one step. Then click the Scratch tab to try it. Keep hopping between them as you build. When the guide asks you to test, click the green flag in Scratch and see what happens!
Want both tabs side by side in Chrome?
With Scratch selected, right-click the project guide’s tab at the top of Chrome. Choose New split view with current tab. Now you can read the guide and code beside it. Drag the divider to give either side more room.
To go back, use the split view icon beside the address bar and choose Separate split view. If the split option isn’t there, switching tabs works just as well. A club helper can help you.
Give it a name. Make it yours.
In Scratch, check that you’re signed in, give your project a name at the top, and use File → Save now. If you’re working without an account, use File → Save to your computer and ask a helper where to keep the file.
Before you leave a shared club computer, sign out of Scratch. Next time, you can carry on creating!
What will you make?
Try things, change things, and ask for help. That’s how coding works.
Grown-up corner: Scratch for parents · Scratch account setup