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Generative AI for Beginners
Microsoft's 21-lesson open course on building generative AI applications, from prompting basics to working apps, with code samples in each lesson.
Credit: Microsoft
GitHub: microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners · 121,628 stars as of Oct 19, 2026
Copyright: Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
License: MIT · License file
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### 21 Lessons teaching everything you need to know to start building Generative AI applications [GitHub license](https://github.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/blob/master/LICENSE?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub contributors](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/graphs/contributors/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub issues](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/issues/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub pull-requests](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/pulls/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [PRs Welcome](http://makeapullrequest.com?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub watchers](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/watchers/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub forks](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/network/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [GitHub stars](https://GitHub.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-For-Beginners/stargazers/?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Microsoft Foundry Discord](https://discord.gg/nTYy5BXMWG) ### 🌐 Multi-Language Support #### Translations maintained with [Co-op Translator](https://github.com/Azure/co-op-translator) <!-- CO-OP TRANSLATOR LANGUAGES TABLE START --> [Arabic](./translations/ar/README.md) | [Bengali](./translations/bn/README.md) | [Bulgarian](./translations/bg/README.md) | [Burmese (Myanmar)](./translations/my/README.md) | [Chinese (Simplified)](./translations/zh-CN/README.md) | [Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong)](./translations/zh-HK/README.md) | [Chinese (Traditional, Macau)](./translations/zh-MO/README.md) | [Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)](./translations/zh-TW/README.md) | [Croatian](./translations/hr/README.md) | [Czech](./translations/cs/README.md) | [Danish](./translations/da/README.md) | [Dutch](./translations/nl/README.md) | [Estonian](./translations/et/README.md) | [Finnish](./translations/fi/README.md) | [French](./translations/fr/README.md) | [German](./translations/de/README.md) | [Greek](./translations/el/README.md) | [Hebrew](./translations/he/README.md) | [Hindi](./translations/hi/README.md) | [Hungarian](./translations/hu/README.md) | [Indonesian](./translations/id/README.md) | [Italian](./translations/it/README.md) | [Japanese](./translations/ja/README.md) | [Kannada](./translations/kn/README.md) | [Khmer](./translations/km/README.md) | [Korean](./translations/ko/README.md) | [Lithuanian](./translations/lt/README.md) | [Malay](./translations/ms/README.md) | [Malayalam](./translations/ml/README.md) | [Marathi](./translations/mr/README.md) | [Nepali](./translations/ne/README.md) | [Nigerian Pidgin](./translations/pcm/README.md) | [Norwegian](./translations/no/README.md) | [Persian (Farsi)](./translations/fa/README.md) | [Polish](./translations/pl/README.md) | [Portuguese (Brazil)](./translations/pt-BR/README.md) | [Portuguese (Portugal)](./translations/pt-PT/README.md) | [Punjabi (Gurmukhi)](./translations/pa/README.md) | [Romanian](./translations/ro/README.md) | [Russian](./translations/ru/README.md) | [Serbian (Cyrillic)](./translations/sr/README.md) | [Slovak](./translations/sk/README.md) | [Slovenian](./translations/sl/README.md) | [Spanish](./translations/es/README.md) | [Swahili](./translations/sw/README.md) | [Swedish](./translations/sv/README.md) | [Tagalog (Filipino)](./translations/tl/README.md) | [Tamil](./translations/ta/README.md) | [Telugu](./translations/te/README.md) | [Thai](./translations/th/README.md) | [Turkish](./translations/tr/README.md) | [Ukrainian](./translations/uk/README.md) | [Urdu](./translations/ur/README.md) | [Vietnamese](./translations/vi/README.md) > **Prefer to Clone Locally?** > > This repository includes 50+ language translations which significantly increases the download size. To clone without translations, use sparse checkout: > > **Bash / macOS / Linux:** > ```bash > git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners.git > cd generative-ai-for-beginners > git sparse-checkout set --no-cone '/*' '!translations' '!translated_images' > ``` > > **CMD (Windows):** > ```cmd > git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners.git > cd generative-ai-for-beginners > git sparse-checkout set --no-cone "/*" "!translations" "!translated_images" > ``` > > This gives you everything you need to complete the course with a much faster download. <!-- CO-OP TRANSLATOR LANGUAGES TABLE END --> # Generative AI for Beginners (Version 3) - A Course Learn the fundamentals of building Generative AI applications with our 21-lesson comprehensive course by Microsoft Cloud Advocates. ## 🌱 Getting Started This course has 21 lessons. Each lesson covers its own topic so start wherever you like! Lessons are labeled either "Learn" lessons explaining a Generative AI concept or "Build" lessons that explain a concept and code examples in both **Python** and **TypeScript** when possible. For .NET Developers checkout [Generative AI for Beginners (.NET Edition)](https://github.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-for-beginners-dotnet?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst)! Each lesson also includes a "Keep Learning" section with additional learning tools. ## What You Need ### To run the code of this course, you can use either: - [Azure OpenAI Service](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners/azure-open-ai?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - **Lessons:** "aoai-assignment" - [Microsoft Foundry Models](https://ai.azure.com/catalog/models?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - **Lessons:** "githubmodels" (GitHub Models is retiring at the end of July 2026 - use Microsoft Foundry Models instead) - [OpenAI API](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners/open-ai?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - **Lessons:** "oai-assignment" - [Foundry Local](https://foundrylocal.ai?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) - Run models fully offline on your own device, no cloud subscription required - Basic knowledge of Python or TypeScript is helpful - \*For absolute beginners check out these [Python](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners/python?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) and [TypeScript](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners/typescript?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) courses - A GitHub account to [fork this entire repo](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners/github?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) to your own GitHub account We have created a **[Course Setup](./00-course-setup/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst)** lesson to help you with setting up your development environment. Don't forget to [star (🌟) this repo](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/exploring-projects-on-github/saving-repositories-with-stars?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) to find it easier later. ## 🧠 Ready to Deploy? If you are looking for more advanced code samples, check out our [collection of Generative AI Code Samples](https://aka.ms/genai-beg-code?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) in both **Python** and **TypeScript**. ## 🗣️ Meet Other Learners, Get Support Join our [official Microsoft Foundry Discord server](https://aka.ms/genai-discord?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) to meet and network with other learners taking this course and get support. Ask questions or share product feedback in our [Microsoft Foundry Developer Forum](https://aka.ms/azureaifoundry/forum) on Github. ## 🚀 Building a Startup? Visit [Microsoft for Startups](https://www.microsoft.com/startups?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) to find out how to get started building with Azure credits today. ## 🙏 Want to help? Do you have suggestions or found spelling or code errors? [Raise an issue](https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners/issues?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) or [Create a pull request](https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners/pulls?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) ## 📂 Each lesson includes: - A short video introduction to the topic - A written lesson located in the README - Python and TypeScript code samples supporting Azure OpenAI and OpenAI API - Links to extra resources to continue your learning ## 🗃️ Lessons | # | **Lesson Link** | **Description** | **Video** | **Extra Learning** | | --- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 00 | [Course Setup](./00-course-setup/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** How to Setup Your Development Environment | Video Coming Soon | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 01 | [Introduction to Generative AI and LLMs](./01-introduction-to-genai/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** Understanding what Generative AI is and how Large Language Models (LLMs) work. | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson-1-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 02 | [Exploring and comparing different LLMs](./02-exploring-and-comparing-different-llms/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** How to select the right model for your use case | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson2-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 03 | [Using Generative AI Responsibly](./03-using-generative-ai-responsibly/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** How to build Generative AI Applications responsibly | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson3-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 04 | [Understanding Prompt Engineering Fundamentals](./04-prompt-engineering-fundamentals/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** Hands-on Prompt Engineering Best Practices | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson4-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 05 | [Creating Advanced Prompts](./05-advanced-prompts/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** How to apply prompt engineering techniques that improve the outcome of your prompts. | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson5-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 06 | [Building Text Generation Applications](./06-text-generation-apps/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** A text generation app using Azure OpenAI / OpenAI API | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson6-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 07 | [Building Chat Applications](./07-building-chat-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** Techniques for efficiently building and integrating chat applications. | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lessons7-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 08 | [Building Search Apps Vector Databases](./08-building-search-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** A search application that uses Embeddings to search for data. | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson8-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 09 | [Building Image Generation Applications](./09-building-image-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** An image generation application | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson9-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 10 | [Building Low Code AI Applications](./10-building-low-code-ai-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** A Generative AI application using Low Code tools | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson10-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 11 | [Integrating External Applications with Function Calling](./11-integrating-with-function-calling/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** What is function calling and its use cases for applications | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson11-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 12 | [Designing UX for AI Applications](./12-designing-ux-for-ai-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** How to apply UX design principles when developing Generative AI Applications | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson12-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 13 | [Securing Your Generative AI Applications](./13-securing-ai-applications/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The threats and risks to AI systems and methods to secure these systems. | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson13-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 14 | [The Generative AI Application Lifecycle](./14-the-generative-ai-application-lifecycle/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The tools and metrics to manage the LLM Lifecycle and LLMOps | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson14-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 15 | [Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Vector Databases](./15-rag-and-vector-databases/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** An application using a RAG Framework to retrieve embeddings from a Vector Databases | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson15-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 16 | [Open Source Models and Hugging Face](./16-open-source-models/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** An application using open source models available on Hugging Face | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson16-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 17 | [AI Agents](./17-ai-agents/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Build:** An application using an AI Agent Framework | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson17-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 18 | [Fine-Tuning LLMs](./18-fine-tuning/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The what, why and how of fine-tuning LLMs | [Video](https://aka.ms/gen-ai-lesson18-gh?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 19 | [Building with SLMs](./19-slm/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The benefits of building with Small Language Models | Video Coming Soon | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 20 | [Building with Mistral Models](./20-mistral/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The features and differences of the Mistral Family Models | Video Coming Soon | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | | 21 | [Building with Meta Models](./21-meta/README.md?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | **Learn:** The features and differences of the Meta Family Models | Video Coming Soon | [Learn More](https://aka.ms/genai-collection?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) | ### 🌟 Special thanks Special thanks to [**John Aziz**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john0isaac/) for creating all of the GitHub Actions and workflows [**Bernhard Merkle**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernhard-merkle-738b73/) for making key contributions to each lesson to improve the learner and code experience. ## 🎒 Other Courses Our team produces other courses! Check out: <!-- CO-OP TRANSLATOR OTHER COURSES START --> ### LangChain [LangChain4j for Beginners](https://aka.ms/langchain4j-for-beginners) [LangChain.js for Beginners](https://aka.ms/langchainjs-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=m365-94501-dwahlin) [LangChain for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/langchain-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=m365-94501-dwahlin) --- ### Azure / Edge / MCP / Agents [AZD for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/AZD-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Edge AI for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/edgeai-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [MCP for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/mcp-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [AI Agents for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) --- ### Generative AI Series [Generative AI for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Generative AI (.NET)](https://github.com/microsoft/Generative-AI-for-beginners-dotnet?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Generative AI (Java)](https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-for-beginners-java?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Generative AI (JavaScript)](https://github.com/microsoft/generative-ai-with-javascript?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) --- ### Core Learning [ML for Beginners](https://aka.ms/ml-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Data Science for Beginners](https://aka.ms/datascience-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [AI for Beginners](https://aka.ms/ai-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Cybersecurity for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/Security-101?WT.mc_id=academic-96948-sayoung) [Web Dev for Beginners](https://aka.ms/webdev-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [IoT for Beginners](https://aka.ms/iot-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [XR Development for Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/xr-development-for-beginners?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) --- ### Copilot Series [Copilot for AI Paired Programming](https://aka.ms/GitHubCopilotAI?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Copilot for C#/.NET](https://github.com/microsoft/mastering-github-copilot-for-dotnet-csharp-developers?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) [Copilot Adventure](https://github.com/microsoft/CopilotAdventures?WT.mc_id=academic-105485-koreyst) <!-- CO-OP TRANSLATOR OTHER COURSES END --> ## Getting Help If you get stuck or have any questions about building AI apps. Join fellow learners and experienced developers in discussions about MCP. It's a supportive community where questions are welcome and knowledge is shared freely. [Microsoft Foundry Discord](https://discord.gg/nTYy5BXMWG) If you have product feedback or errors while building visit: [Microsoft Foundry Developer Forum](https://aka.ms/foundry/forum)
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