Practical AI, taught by Justin Thompson

Learn to build
with Claude.

Free audio lessons. Clear explanations.
Something to try for yourself.

Start with independent Claude Certified Developer – Foundations exam prep. Learn the concepts, make the connections, and practice at your own pace.

See the first three lessons

A short path into the series

Start with these three.

Begin with the concepts, then connect them to the work of building an application.

Episode 01The concepts

Tokens, Sampling, Context and Thinking

Understand what goes into a model response.

Duration: 9:48Lesson details
Episode 02The connection

SDKs, REST and Communication Fundamentals

Follow a request from your application to an API.

Duration: 10:38Lesson details
Episode 03The problem

Requirements and the Systems Life Cycle

Define what a useful application needs to do.

Duration: 10:16Lesson details

Claude Certified Developer – Foundations: Independent Exam Prep. 21 of 24 planned episodes are published. Listen free on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

About this independent series

Independent educational material. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic. No exam result is guaranteed. Check the latest official guide before scheduling an exam.

View the official credential Exam guide · July 2026

Inside the learning / Episode 02

What happens
between a question
and a response?

You don’t need to memorize every moving part at once. Start with one request, follow it through, and ask what could go wrong.

Sketch a request traveling from your application to an API and back. Label the request, response, SDK, and error handling.
Explore the lesson
A small model of the idea

Follow one request.

  1. 01 / Your applicationAsk a question.

    Your code prepares a request and sends it to the model API.

  2. 02 / An optional SDKMake the call.

    A software development kit helps your code work with the API.

  3. 03 / The model APIReceive a response.

    The service returns a result, or the request encounters an error.

The response comes back to your application.

The SDK helps you talk to the model. It isn’t the model.

Try it: where would you handle a timeout?

Your application needs to handle the failure and tell the user what happened. An SDK can help with requests, but it doesn’t remove your application’s responsibility to handle errors.

An original reflection example for episode 02, not a transcript excerpt. The diagram shows a common pattern; an SDK is optional.

The listening collection

The full learning path.

All 21 episodes, in study order.
Open a lesson for its overview and reflection.

21 of 21 episodes

  1. 01–08

    8 episodes

    Foundations

    Episode 01

    Tokens, Sampling, Context and Thinking

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Start with the ideas behind a model response: how text is represented, how responses vary, and what fits in context.

    A reflection to try

    Try explaining the difference between a token and a word. Then consider what happens when a conversation outgrows its context window.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  2. Episode 02

    SDKs, REST and Communication Fundamentals

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Understand how an application talks to an AI model, and where an SDK fits alongside a direct API request.

    A reflection to try

    Sketch a request traveling from your application to an API and back. Label the request, response, SDK, and error handling.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  3. Episode 03

    Requirements and the Systems Life Cycle

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Begin with the problem, define what success looks like, and follow an AI application from idea to maintenance.

    A reflection to try

    Choose a small AI project. Write one user need, one measurable acceptance criterion, and one condition that requires human review.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  4. Episode 04

    Messages, Tools, Vision and Thinking

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Follow a structured Messages request through images, a read-only tool call, and a continuation that preserves the evidence.

    A reflection to try

    Sketch a tool request and its matching result. Mark where the application validates inputs, checks access, and decides what action is allowed.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  5. Episode 05

    Streaming, Batches and Provider Integration

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Separate streamed fragments from completed responses, compare interactive work with batches, and plan recovery across provider boundaries.

    A reflection to try

    Describe a stream that stops before the final event. What can you display, what can you commit to history, and what must you check before retrying?

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  6. Episode 06

    REST, JSON and Asynchronous Application Code

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Trace request contracts, JSON validation, and asynchronous work from an application request to a reviewed result.

    A reflection to try

    Sketch two independent reads followed by a draft that depends on both. Identify which work may overlap and which steps must wait.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  7. Episode 07

    Version Control, Review and Refactoring

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Follow a patch from edited files through staging, commits, merge conflicts and review. Distinguish a refactor from a deliberate behavior change.

    A reflection to try

    A formatter extraction also changes who may read a repair record. Identify what must remain stable, what behavior changed, and which checks and approval the change needs.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  8. Episode 08

    Instructions Across Claude Interfaces

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Trace instruction sources across Claude chat, projects, Claude Code and API applications. Keep reference evidence separate from guidance and enforced permissions.

    A reflection to try

    Move one assistant task between two Claude interfaces. Record which instructions and evidence actually loaded, then explain which controls enforce approval before an action.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  9. 09–14

    6 episodes

    Working with Claude

    Episode 09

    Schemas, Session Hygiene and Plugin Design

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Design schema contracts, keep repair-case sessions separate, and choose a maintainable plugin boundary. Includes three original retrieval questions.

    A reflection to try

    Design a fictional assistant. Name one structural check, one evidence check, and one session boundary. Explain when its reusable procedure needs a standalone skill or a plugin.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  10. Episode 10

    Configuration: Models, Prompts and Dependencies

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Trace effective configuration across model identifiers, API and SDK versions, prompts, settings, and resolved dependencies. Includes three original decision questions.

    A reflection to try

    A teammate says the prompt is unchanged, so the system is unchanged. Name three other configuration details you would inspect and one observed check that would support your conclusion.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  11. Episode 11

    Prompt Placement, Examples and Constraints

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Improve a failing prompt through observable requirements, correct placement, diverse examples, usable constraints, and separate evaluation cases. Includes three original questions.

    A reflection to try

    Rewrite “summarize professionally” for a fictional workflow. Add a rule and example for missing information, a separate evaluation case, and one requirement enforced outside the prompt.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  12. Episode 12

    Context Pruning, Compaction and Isolation

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Preserve decisive evidence and valid state while using targeted retrieval, pruning, compaction, and isolated investigations. Includes three original questions.

    A reflection to try

    Choose a long-running task. Explain what you would prune, what a summary must retain, and what you would delegate. Write a continuation question that would reveal a lost fact.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  13. Episode 13

    Structured Output and Defensive Validation

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Follow an invented delivery record through completion, parsing, structural checks, evidence validation, and authorization. Practice three original decisions about missing fields, truncation, and permission checks.

    A reflection to try

    Walk an invented delivery record through completion, parsing, structure, and evidence checks. Explain which failures need correction, a bounded retry, or human review.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  14. Episode 14

    Model Tradeoffs, Tokens and Cache Economics

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Compare model configurations by acceptable-result quality, end-to-end latency, compatibility, and total cost. Use fictional token prices to calculate retries and cache reuse, then connect configuration, prompting, context, and output handling in a cumulative checkpoint.

    A reflection to try

    Compare two fictional workloads. Define acceptable results, a latency measure, and a token budget. Explain when cache reuse would save money and what evidence would change your model choice.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  15. 15–21

    7 episodes

    Agents & tools

    Episode 15

    Workflows, Agents and Supervisors

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Design a predictable packing workflow and an adaptive investigation for a fictional museum. Choose routing, parallel checks, single-agent investigation, or supervised delegation, and define concrete completion, limits, and human handoffs.

    A reflection to try

    Sketch a predictable workflow and an evidence-dependent investigator. Identify who chooses each step, what can run independently, who reconciles findings, and two stopping conditions.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  16. Episode 16

    Agent Patterns, Memory and Framework Choices

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Trace a tool-use loop, distinguish active context, checkpoints, and long-term memory, and compare framework abstractions. Use original scenarios to reason about denied tools, scoped preferences, durable review pauses, and recovery evidence.

    A reflection to try

    Design the smallest useful assistant for a fictional workshop. Distinguish active context, a checkpoint, and long-term memory, then name one framework capability you would verify.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  17. Episode 17

    Constructing Agents and Choosing Deployment Ownership

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Compare a custom Messages API loop, a process-operated Claude Agent SDK harness, and Claude Managed Agents. Follow Maple Room through execution ownership, conversation and working state, self-hosted tool sandboxes, hooks, and recovery after an uncertain write. Includes original retrieval questions and an ownership teach-back.

    A reflection to try

    Compare a custom API worker, an Agent SDK worker, and a hosted harness with self-hosted tools. Name who runs the loop, executes tools, stores state, and verifies recovery, including which data travels.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  18. Episode 18

    Tool Schemas, Dispatch, Errors and Approvals

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Follow a proposed repair-note operation through schema design, registered dispatch, business validation, access checks, approval, execution, and matched results. Original questions cover forbidden but well-formed inputs, parallel lookup results, and recovery after a write timeout.

    A reflection to try

    Trace a proposed repair note through dispatch, validation, access, approval, execution, and its matched result. Explain how you would handle an unauthorized record, refused approval, and lost acknowledgment.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  19. Episode 19

    MCP Servers, Resources, Prompts and Transports

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    A compact MCP lesson: identify host, client, and server; distinguish resources, prompts, and tools; select compatible protocol and transport behavior; and test clear errors and denied access. Current2026-07-28 request semantics are explicitly separated from older initialization-based revisions.

    A reflection to try

    Sketch an MCP host, client, and server for a fictional repair workflow. Distinguish a manual resource from a lookup tool, then identify the transport and compatible protocol revision.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  20. Episode 20

    Choosing Built-in Tools, Custom Tools, Skills or MCP

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Build Maple Room's handover workflow by matching existing operations, a custom repair integration, reusable Skill guidance, an MCP connection, and optional plugin packaging. Learn why these components can compose, how execution and permissions differ by surface, and which maintenance responsibilities each introduces.

    A reflection to try

    Separate a workflow’s existing capabilities, missing business operation, and reusable procedure. Justify whether MCP or a plugin adds enough value, and name one component you would leave out.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.
  21. Episode 21

    Claude Code Components, Sessions and Modes

    Duration:

    Lesson overview & reflection

    Choose Claude Code components, inspect loaded project guidance, resume sessions carefully, and distinguish output modes from permission and isolation controls.

    A reflection to try

    Resume a fictional coding task with a missing tool connection and an interrupted ticket request. Name the evidence needed to continue, and distinguish conversation state, permissions, and isolation.

    Original reflection exercise. Episode notes and teaching coverage require review against the recordings.

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Episodes 01–03 / First edition

The foundations,
on paper.

Episode notes, original questions, and a 25-skill checklist that distinguishes covered and future topics.

Free written study companion
Episodes 04–06 / Listening companion

A little further
into the ideas.

Notes, original practice questions, and proposed offline exercises for the next three episodes.

Free written study companion

Listen. Make a few notes. Try something.

Keep the useful
parts close.

Revisit an explanation, work through a question, and give an idea time to settle. The free companions are there for the learning you do after the audio ends.

Get the free companions

No real exam questions or copied gated-course material. The first-edition checklist remains a snapshot of episodes 1–3.

From a lesson to a small project

Find something
to practice with.

Browse all 153 ideas
People & workflows

RescueLine

What happens when automation needs a person? Sketch a recovery queue for missed calls.

Workflow design · Escalation
Context & clarity

MakeItPop

Turn a fictional creative brief into a page plan. Separate the requirements from the assumptions.

Requirements · Structured output

Public previews and original GitHub source to explore. Use synthetic examples for your own exercises. Guided learning starters are planned; full plans use the existing library’s account access.

Justin Thompson, the educator behind AI with JTJustin Thompson / The person behind the lessons

A note from Justin

Understanding grows
when you have
something to try.

That’s the idea behind AI with JT. I break technical concepts into manageable pieces, explain how they connect, and leave you with a next step you can work through yourself.

Start with the Claude Foundations series. Beginner building tutorials will have their own place here as they’re created.

Microsoft Certified AI Engineer
U.S. Marine veteran

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