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.
通过微软 Cloud Advocates 出品的这套 21 课时综合课程，学习构建生成式 AI 应用的基础知识。
🌱 Getting Started
This course has 21 lessons. Each lesson covers its own topic so start wherever you like!
课程共 21 课，每一课各自独立成题，可以从任何一课开始。
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.
课程分为两类：讲解生成式 AI 概念的「Learn」课，以及兼顾概念讲解与代码示例的「Build」课；示例尽可能同时给出 Python 与 TypeScript 两个版本。
For .NET Developers checkout Generative AI for Beginners (.NET Edition)!
.NET 开发者可以查看《Generative AI for Beginners（.NET 版）》。
Each lesson also includes a "Keep Learning" section with additional learning tools.
每一课还附有「Keep Learning」小节，提供可继续深入的学习工具与资料。
What You Need
To run the code of this course, you can use either:
Azure OpenAI Service - Lessons: "aoai-assignment"
Microsoft Foundry Models - Lessons: "githubmodels" (GitHub Models is retiring at the end of July 2026 - use Microsoft Foundry Models instead)
OpenAI API - Lessons: "oai-assignment"
Foundry Local - 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 and TypeScript courses
A GitHub account to fork this entire repo to your own GitHub account
具备 Python 或 TypeScript 的基础知识会更容易上手；完全零基础可以先看课程附带的 Python 与 TypeScript 入门课。此外需要一个 GitHub 账号，以便把整个仓库 fork 到自己名下。
We have created a Course Setup lesson to help you with setting up your development environment.
我们准备了「课程环境配置」一课，帮你把开发环境搭好。
🧠 Ready to Deploy?
If you are looking for more advanced code samples, check out our collection of Generative AI Code Samples in both Python and TypeScript.
如果你在找更进阶的代码示例，可以查看生成式 AI 代码示例合集，Python 与 TypeScript 版本都有。
📂 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
每课内容包括：一段简短的主题视频导览；README 中的文字课程；支持 Azure OpenAI 与 OpenAI API 的 Python、TypeScript 代码示例；以及可以继续深入的学习资源链接。
🗃️ Lessons
| # | Lesson Link | Description | Video | Extra Learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Course Setup | Learn: How to Setup Your Development Environment | Video Coming Soon | Learn More |
| 01 | Introduction to Generative AI and LLMs | Learn: Understanding what Generative AI is and how Large Language Models (LLMs) work. | Video | Learn More |
| 02 | Exploring and comparing different LLMs | Learn: How to select the right model for your use case | Video | Learn More |
| 03 | Using Generative AI Responsibly | Learn: How to build Generative AI Applications responsibly | Video | Learn More |
| 04 | Understanding Prompt Engineering Fundamentals | Learn: Hands-on Prompt Engineering Best Practices | Video | Learn More |
| 05 | Creating Advanced Prompts | Learn: How to apply prompt engineering techniques that improve the outcome of your prompts. | Video | Learn More |
| 06 | Building Text Generation Applications | Build: A text generation app using Azure OpenAI / OpenAI API | Video | Learn More |
| 07 | Building Chat Applications | Build: Techniques for efficiently building and integrating chat applications. | Video | Learn More |
| 08 | Building Search Apps Vector Databases | Build: A search application that uses Embeddings to search for data. | Video | Learn More |
| 09 | Building Image Generation Applications | Build: An image generation application | Video | Learn More |
| 10 | Building Low Code AI Applications | Build: A Generative AI application using Low Code tools | Video | Learn More |
| 11 | Integrating External Applications with Function Calling | Build: What is function calling and its use cases for applications | Video | Learn More |
| 12 | Designing UX for AI Applications | Learn: How to apply UX design principles when developing Generative AI Applications | Video | Learn More |
| 13 | Securing Your Generative AI Applications | Learn: The threats and risks to AI systems and methods to secure these systems. | Video | Learn More |
| 14 | The Generative AI Application Lifecycle | Learn: The tools and metrics to manage the LLM Lifecycle and LLMOps | Video | Learn More |
| 15 | Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Vector Databases | Build: An application using a RAG Framework to retrieve embeddings from a Vector Databases | Video | Learn More |
| 16 | Open Source Models and Hugging Face | Build: An application using open source models available on Hugging Face | Video | Learn More |
| 17 | AI Agents | Build: An application using an AI Agent Framework | Video | Learn More |
| 18 | Fine-Tuning LLMs | Learn: The what, why and how of fine-tuning LLMs | Video | Learn More |
| 19 | Building with SLMs | Learn: The benefits of building with Small Language Models | Video Coming Soon | Learn More |
| 20 | Building with Mistral Models | Learn: The features and differences of the Mistral Family Models | Video Coming Soon | Learn More |
| 21 | Building with Meta Models | Learn: The features and differences of the Meta Family Models | Video Coming Soon | Learn More |