Learn Claude for Free: The 5 Official Courses, in Order
Anthropic gives away its own Claude courses for free. Here are the 5 I'd take, in order, and one prompt that turns them into a 2 week plan for your business.
Most people learn Claude from random videos.
They end up with a pile of tricks and no system. They know 20 prompts and still don't know how to hand Claude a real job.
Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, gives away its own courses for free. You sign up with your email and that's it.
Here are the 5 I'd take, in this order. Then one prompt turns them into a 2 week plan built around your business.
Step 1. Take the 5 courses in this order
All 5 are free on Anthropic's course site: anthropic.skilljar.com
1. AI Fluency for Small Businesses. Start here. It's about how to work with AI well before you touch a single tool: what to hand it, what to keep, and how to check its work. Open the course
2. Claude Code 101. How to use Claude Code day to day. Claude Code is the version of Claude that works inside a folder on your computer, so it can read your files and make new ones. Open the course
3. Introduction to agent skills. A skill is a saved set of instructions Claude follows every time a certain job comes up, like "write my emails this way." This is where Claude starts doing your jobs your way. Open the course
4. Introduction to subagents. How Claude Code hands parts of a big job to helpers, so your main chat stays clean and focused. Open the course
5. Claude Code in Action. Longer jobs that run without you babysitting them: how to steer it, set it up and check the work. Open the course
Keep the official Claude Code docs open while you learn. When a course mentions a feature, look it up there: code.claude.com/docs
What I skipped, and why: Claude 101 is about the Claude chat app, and this guide is about Claude Code. The Model Context Protocol course is for people writing code in Python. Take them later if you want them.
Step 2. Make your 2 week plan
Courses only stick when you use them on your own business right away. So you study a little, then do one real job with it.
Make a new folder on your computer called Learning Claude. Open the Claude desktop app, switch from Chat to Code at the top, and pick that folder. Paste this:
I'm learning Claude Code with Anthropic's free courses. Be my study coach. The 5 courses, in this order: 1. AI Fluency for Small Businesses 2. Claude Code 101 3. Introduction to agent skills 4. Introduction to subagents 5. Claude Code in Action First, ask me these ONE at a time, and wait for each answer: 1. What is my business, and who do I sell to? 2. What is the one job in my business I most want Claude Code to help with? 3. How many minutes a day can I study, and which days? 4. Have I already done any of the 5 courses? Then write a file called LEARNING-PLAN.md with a 14 day plan: - Which course to work on each study day, in the order above. Skip any I already did. - Size each day to my minutes. You don't know how long each course takes, so don't guess. Tell me to check the course page and move the next day if one runs long. - After each course, one small real task from MY business to try with what I just learned. Use my answers, not a generic example. - Day 14: one bigger job, my answer to question 2, done with everything I learned. Then show me the plan in short lines and tell me how to use you after each study session. After each study session, I'll paste my notes. When I do: 1. Quiz me with 3 short questions on my notes, one at a time. 2. Tell me plainly what I got right and what I missed. 3. Give me one task to do in my business today with what I learned. 4. Add one line to LEARNING-PLAN.md: the date, what I learned, and the task. Rules: - Plain words. If you use a tech word, explain it in one line. - Only teach what's in my notes or on the official course pages and docs. If you're not sure what a course covers, say so. Never make up course content. - Never make up facts about my business. If you need one, ask me.
It asks you 4 questions, one at a time, then writes your plan into a file you can open any time.
Step 3. Paste your notes after every session
After each study session, open the same folder in Claude Code and paste this, with your notes:
Read LEARNING-PLAN.md. Here are my notes from today's session: [paste your notes here] Quiz me, then give me today's task.
You get 3 quiz questions, a straight answer on what you missed, and one real task. Then your plan file gets a new line, so you can see your progress in one place.
The limitations you should know
- The courses change. Anthropic adds and renames them, so if a link doesn't open, look for the same name on anthropic.skilljar.com.
- The courses don't list how long they take. Your plan is a starting point. Move days when life happens.
- Claude Code 101 and Claude Code in Action are made for people who use Claude Code every day. Some parts get technical. Skim those parts and come back later.
- The quiz is only as good as your notes. Write down what you learned in your own words.
- The courses are free. Claude Code itself runs on a Claude plan, so check what yours includes before you start.
Want the next guide? Follow @zachcrawford.ai