Getting Started with Llama 3 and Hugging Face

Large language models are transforming how we build software, but getting started with open-weights models can feel intimidating. This text-based course demystifies the setup process, guiding you from absolute beginner to confidently running your first prompts. You will transition from understanding basic AI concepts to actively configuring and interacting with Llama 3. By reading clear explanations and working through practical code snippets, you will gain a solid foundation in modern open-source workflows. What you'll learn: - Understand foundational large language model concepts, tokenization, and the Hugging Face ecosystem - Request access to gated open-weights models securely and configure your user access token - Load Llama 3 using the Python transformers library and manage environment variables - Apply basic prompt engineering techniques to generate clean and structured model outputs - Configure key generation parameters like temperature and top-p to control text creativity The course begins with essential terminology and the mechanics of open-weights models. You will then progress step-by-step through requesting model access, setting up your development environment, and writing Python code to prompt the model. This course is designed for developers, tech enthusiasts, and beginners looking to take their first steps into open-source AI. No prior experience with Hugging Face or machine learning is required. Start reading today to unlock the power of Llama 3 for your own applications.