Practical Claude and Claude Code: Build AI Agents and Automate Development

Artificial intelligence is transforming how software is written, but truly leveraging these tools requires moving beyond basic chat interfaces. To build resilient, automated workflows, developers must understand how to connect language models directly to their codebases and external tools. This text-based course guides you from the fundamental concepts of Claude and Claude Code to building autonomous AI agents. You will learn to read and write robust integration code, manage context efficiently, and automate repetitive coding tasks securely. What you'll learn: - Understand the core architecture of Claude, Claude Code, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). - Configure local development environments to safely run AI-driven command-line tools. - Build custom skills, plugins, and subagents to handle complex, multi-step programming tasks. - Apply advanced prompt engineering techniques and structured JSON outputs for reliable API integration. - Implement automated testing and validation strategies for AI-generated code and agent actions. - Secure your API keys, manage rate limits, and establish guardrails to prevent unintended agent behavior. The course begins with foundational terminology, setup procedures, and basic API interactions. You will then progress through structured text lessons covering tool use, agentic workflows, headless automation, and real-world security practices. This course is designed for software developers and tech enthusiasts who want to integrate AI into their workflow, requiring only a basic understanding of programming concepts and command-line tools. Start reading today to build smarter, more autonomous development workflows with Claude.