Free · 12 lessons · about 45 minutes

Most devs install Claude Code and quietly drop it. Here is what they are missing.

A free 12-lesson course on the workflow that stops Claude Code feeling like a chat window. Install it, ship a feature the Explore, Plan, Code, Commit way, and wire up the five things (CLAUDE.md, subagents, skills, MCP, hooks) that turn it into a power tool your team actually keeps using.

Taught by Edwin Ashdown. Founder of AIFirstPartner, 12 production AI systems shipped. He also builds TranscriptIQ and AI IQ, two session analysis tools for Claude Code.

Who this is for

You have installed Claude Code. You have typed a few prompts. Honestly, it still feels like Claude.ai in a terminal. This course is for you. You will leave with an opinionated workflow, a working CLAUDE.md, and a feel for when to reach for subagents, skills, MCP, or hooks.

Not for you if: you have never used a terminal. If you want a deep dive on the Claude Code SDK and GitHub automation, try Claude Code in Action instead.

What You'll Learn

Course Modules

Claude Code 101

Free

Twelve lessons from install to the five extension mechanisms. By lesson 5 you have shipped a feature with the Explore, Plan, Code, Commit workflow. By lesson 12 you have a CLAUDE.md, a reviewer subagent, a skill for your team's PR format, and a Prettier hook that cannot be skipped.

12 lessons

About the instructor

Edwin Ashdown founded AIFirstPartnerand has shipped 12 production AI systems for clients in government, legal, and enterprise. He is fractional CTO at Speculo, a cyber risk software company, and manages cloud and data platform engineering for a large Australian government department supporting 20+ agencies across the portfolio.

He publishes his build process at 150days.aifirstpartner.com. This course is the playbook he uses when onboarding a team onto Claude Code.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why this and not the free Claude Code docs?

The docs are excellent reference once you know what you are looking for. This course is the 45 minutes where you install Claude Code, ship a feature with the Explore, Plan, Code, Commit workflow, and wire up CLAUDE.md, subagents, skills, MCP, and hooks in a single pass. If you would rather piece that together from the docs yourself, they are free.

Do I need prior experience with AI coding tools?

No. This course starts from scratch: what Claude Code is, how it works, and how to install it. If you have used GitHub Copilot or Cursor, you will move faster through the basics but still pick up Claude Code-specific patterns.

Is this course really free?

Yes. All 12 lessons, no signup, no catch. I built it to answer the question I kept getting on LinkedIn. If you want depth beyond the fundamentals, Claude Code in Action is the follow-up.

What do I need to follow along?

A Claude account (Pro, Max, or Enterprise) or an Anthropic API key. Node.js installed for the terminal version. A real project to practise on: the exercises are designed around your own codebase, not hypothetical examples.

How long does the course take?

About 45 minutes to read the 12 lessons. Add 30-40 minutes if you run the hands-on exercises against your own project, which I recommend.

What's the difference between this and 'Claude Code in Action'?

Claude Code 101 teaches the fundamentals: what Claude Code is, how to use it, and the core workflow. Claude Code in Action goes deeper into advanced topics like coding-assistant architecture, custom commands, the Claude Code SDK, and GitHub integration workflows.

Is this affiliated with Anthropic?

No. Claude Code 101 is independent. This course is not an Anthropic product and has not been reviewed or endorsed by them.

The first lesson is short.

By the end of it you will know whether the rest of the course is worth your time.

Start lesson 1