9 free Claude courses from Anthropic, in order

9 free Claude courses from Anthropic, in order 🎓

From "what is Claude" to building with the API.

All nine are free on Claude Academy (academy.claude.com), Anthropic's own learning site. Sign in to save your progress. The first seven add up to about 16.5 hours. The last two are for people who want to build.

Start with #1. Don't skip ahead to Claude Code until you've done the first two, it'll make a lot more sense.

1. Claude 101 (2.5 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/claude-101

The basics. What Claude is, how to talk to it, what it's good at, and how to get useful answers instead of generic ones. If you've only ever used ChatGPT, this is where you learn how Claude is different.

• Take it if: you're new to Claude, or you use it but feel like you're not getting much out of it.

2. AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations (4 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/ai-fluency-framework-foundations

Anthropic's framework for working with AI well: how to delegate, how to describe what you want, how to judge the output, and when not to trust it. Not Claude-specific. These habits carry over to every AI you use.

• Take it if: you want to stop guessing at prompts and have a method.

3. AI Fluency for Small Businesses (3.5 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/ai-fluency-for-small-businesses

The framework from #2 applied to running a business: customer replies, marketing copy, admin, planning. Practical examples you can copy into your own workflow the same day.

• Take it if: you run a business, freelance, or wear many hats.

4. AI Fluency for Builders (3 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/ai-fluency-for-builders

Same framework, but for people who make things with AI: apps, automations, agents. How to design what the AI does and keep it reliable.

• Take it if: you're building (or want to build) something that uses Claude, even with no-code tools.

Claude Code is Anthropic's coding agent that works in your terminal. These three need a paid Claude plan (Pro or above) or an API key to follow along.

5. Claude Code 101 (1.5 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/claude-code-101

Install it, give it a task, watch it read your files and make changes. Covers the basic commands and how to work with it safely.

• Take it if: you've heard about Claude Code and want to try it without reading docs for a day.

6. Claude Code in Action (1 hr)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/claude-code-in-action

Real workflows: fixing bugs, adding features, working across a whole project. Where #5 shows you the tool, this one shows you how people actually use it daily.

• Take it if: you finished #5 and want to go from "it works" to "I'd use this every day".

7. Introduction to Agent Skills (1 hr)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/introduction-to-agent-skills

Skills are reusable instruction packs you give Claude so it does a task your way every time. Short course on what they are, how to write one, and how to load them.

• Take it if: you keep re-explaining the same thing to Claude and want it to just remember.

These two assume you can write some Python and have an Anthropic API key.

8. Introduction to Model Context Protocol (1 hr)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/introduction-to-model-context-protocol

MCP is how Claude connects to outside tools and data: your files, your database, other apps. This course explains the protocol and walks through building a simple connection.

• Take it if: you want Claude to do things, not just answer things.

9. Building with the Claude API (9 hrs)

Link: academy.claude.com/courses/building-with-the-claude-api

The full developer course. Calling the API, prompting properly, tool use, structured output, building an agent. This is the one to do if you want to ship a product on Claude.

• Take it if: you're serious about building with Claude and have a weekend.

Which path is yours? 🗺️

• Just want to use Claude better: 1 → 2, then 3 or 4
• Run a business: 1 → 2 → 3
• Want to try Claude Code: 1 → 2 → 5 → 6 → 7
• Want to build products on Claude: all nine, in order

Rules I'd follow 🔑

• Do them in order. Each one assumes the one before it.
• Sign in before you start. Progress only saves when you're logged in.
• Do the exercises. Watching is not the same as doing. Open Claude in another tab and try every example.
• Courses 5 to 9 need a paid plan or API key. The content is free, but you can't follow along on the free tier. Decide if you're ready before starting #5.
• Keep your API key out of chat windows. For #8 and #9, put it in an environment variable, never paste it into a prompt or commit it to a repo.

Links 🔗

• 1. Claude 101— 2.5 hrs — the basics
• 2. AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations— 4 hrs — works for every AI, not just Claude
• 3. AI Fluency for Small Businesses— 3.5 hrs — for business owners and freelancers
• 4. AI Fluency for Builders— 3 hrs — for people building with AI
• 5. Claude Code 101— 1.5 hrs — needs a paid plan or API key
• 6. Claude Code in Action— 1 hr — needs a paid plan or API key
• 7. Introduction to Agent Skills— 1 hr — needs a paid plan or API key
• 8. Introduction to Model Context Protocol— 1 hr — Python and an API key assumed
• 9. Building with the Claude API— 9 hrs — the full developer course