What it is
Generative AI for Beginners is a free course from Microsoft Cloud Advocates, now in its third version. It has 21 lessons plus a setup lesson, split into "Learn" lessons on concepts (prompting, responsible AI, security, the application lifecycle) and "Build" lessons with code (chat, search with embeddings, image generation, function calling, RAG, agents, open models on Hugging Face).
Code samples come in Python and TypeScript where possible. The README lists four ways to run them: Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry Models, the OpenAI API, or Foundry Local for fully offline use. It also notes that GitHub Models, which some lessons were written around, retired at the end of July 2026. Sister editions cover .NET, Java and JavaScript.
The repository has no releases but is actively maintained: maintainers merged fixes on 22 October 2026, including a correction to the lesson 15 RAG notebook and clean-up of retired Llama model references.
Our review
Generative AI for Beginners, with about 122,000 GitHub stars, earns its following through breadth at a gentle pace. Twenty-one short lessons take a developer from what an LLM is to function calling, RAG and fine-tuning, each with a video, a written lesson and runnable code.
The Microsoft tilt is real but manageable. Samples are written for Azure OpenAI and Foundry, with OpenAI API variants alongside, and every link carries a Microsoft campaign tag. Foundry Local, added as an offline option, removes the need for any cloud account, which matters for classrooms and for learners without a company card.
Some lessons have aged faster than the maintainers can patch them. The lesson 17 AutoGen example still uses the old AssistantAgent and llm_config style, while AutoGen's own README now says it is in maintenance mode and moving to archive; the same lesson does point new projects to Microsoft Agent Framework. Notebooks that targeted GitHub Models need repointing since that service retired in July 2026, and the newest lessons, on small models, Mistral and Meta models, still say "Video Coming Soon".
Upkeep is better than most course repos. In the week to 22 October 2026 maintainers fixed a RAG notebook that sent only the question to the model, marked retired Llama 3.1 references and merged dependency bumps, and only 16 issues and pull requests were open. Compared with Maxime Labonne's LLM Course, which maps the whole field including training, this one stays on the application side and holds the reader's hand far more.
Where it earns its place
A bootcamp instructor teaching 20 career-switchers over ten evenings
Give the class a free, structured path into building LLM apps
Assign two lessons a week and have students run the Build notebooks against the OpenAI API or Foundry Local. The course costs nothing; the only bill is API tokens, which Foundry Local removes entirely at the cost of weaker local models.
A Python backend developer at an insurer asked to prototype policy-document search
Learn embeddings and RAG well enough to build a credible demo
Lessons 8 and 15 cover embedding search and RAG with a vector database, and lesson 13 covers threats to AI systems and how to secure them. Expect to rewrite the Azure-specific client code if the company runs on another provider.
An L&D manager at a 300-person Azure consultancy
Upskill consultants on generative AI without buying a training licence
The MIT-licensed lessons can be adopted as an internal curriculum, and the Azure defaults match the client work. The cost is staff time and Azure credits; the agent lesson should be supplemented with Agent Framework material.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Fork or sparse-clone the repo, follow lesson 00 to configure a Python or Node environment and an API key; Foundry Local removes the need for a cloud account.
- Integrations
- Samples target Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry Models, the OpenAI API and Foundry Local; individual lessons also use Hugging Face, Mistral and Meta models.
- Data and privacy
- MIT licence. The course itself sends nothing anywhere, but every prompt in a Build lesson goes to the provider you configure; Foundry Local keeps it on the device.
- Cost at scale
- Free to use and to adopt internally. Running the samples costs provider tokens; the fine-tuning lesson warns that a deployed custom model on Azure bills hourly and is removed after 15 days idle.
- Limits
- No releases, so lessons change under you; some notebooks still reference retired GitHub Models or Llama 3.1, and the AutoGen sample predates AutoGen moving into maintenance mode.
What's good
- 21 lessons, each with video, text and code
- Python and TypeScript samples for most Build lessons
- Foundry Local option runs lessons offline with no cloud account
- Maintainers still merging fixes weekly in October 2026
What's not
- Samples default to Azure OpenAI and Foundry
- Agent lesson teaches the old AutoGen API
- Lessons 19 to 21 have no videos yet
- Little on model internals or training from scratch
Best for
Developers new to generative AI who want to build their first applications.
Alternatives
Generative AI for Beginners: common questions
- Is Generative AI for Beginners worth it?
- A sound first syllabus for developers building with LLM APIs, provided they read the agent lessons as history and swap Azure for whatever provider they already pay for. We rate it 4.2 out of 5.
- How much does Generative AI for Beginners cost?
- Free and open source under the MIT licence. Running the Build lessons needs an OpenAI or Azure account, or Foundry Local on your own machine.
- What are the downsides of Generative AI for Beginners?
- Samples default to Azure OpenAI and Foundry; agent lesson teaches the old AutoGen API; lessons 19 to 21 have no videos yet; little on model internals or training from scratch.
- Who is Generative AI for Beginners best for?
- Developers new to generative AI who want to build their first applications.
- How much does Generative AI for Beginners cost for a team or in production?
- Free to use and to adopt internally. Running the samples costs provider tokens; the fine-tuning lesson warns that a deployed custom model on Azure bills hourly and is removed after 15 days idle.
- Is Generative AI for Beginners safe for company data?
- MIT licence. The course itself sends nothing anywhere, but every prompt in a Build lesson goes to the provider you configure; Foundry Local keeps it on the device.
- What are the best Generative AI for Beginners alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are LLM Course and Prompt Engineering Guide.
Answers checked Oct 23, 2026.
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