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Square1 Ai
On demandRecorded by an instructor, graded by Nova

Building with the Claude API

Tool use, streaming, caching, batches, and a shipped application.

Building with the Claude API is a self-paced online course: 12 hours of recorded sessions across 8 modules, with 7 graded by Nova, Square 1's AI tutor. The founding price is A$45, down from A$90. Start any time and keep your own pace.

Taught with
ClaudePythonTypeScriptVercel
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Module by module
  1. Module 1The API and the SDKs60 min · graded
  2. Module 2Messages, system prompts and context60 min
  3. Module 3Tool use120 min · graded
  4. Module 4Streaming and the UI90 min · graded
  5. Module 5Prompt caching and batches90 min · graded
  6. Module 6Files, vision and documents90 min · graded
  7. Module 7Evals and safety90 min · graded
  8. Module 8Project: ship it120 min · graded
recorded hours
12
modules, in order
8
deployed projects
4
graded checkpoints
7

Who it is for, and what you receive.

Developers in Python or TypeScript who want to ship a production application on the Claude API.

Before you start

Python or TypeScript.

Skills
Claude APItool usestreamingcachingevals
  1. 1

    The recorded sessions

    Taught by an instructor, taken in order at your own pace, yours for twelve months.

  2. 2

    Graded work after every module

    Exercises and projects marked by Nova against a rubric you can read, with what you did well and what to fix.

  3. 3

    The projects

    Deployed and graded, each one on your record with its repository.

  4. 4

    Your hiring plan

    The same six-part plan the bootcamps use, run with the career agent.

  5. 5

    The record and the certificate

    Every grade at square1ai.com/u/{handle}; a credential ID that resolves at square1ai.com/verify.

  6. 6

    Nova as your tutor

    Help that is about your actual work, because it has read all of it.

The content plan, module by module.

12 recorded hours from an instructor, taken in order at your own pace. Nova grades the work at the end of each module.

  1. Keys and clients

    A first request

    Errors and retries

The projects.

Each is deployed and graded by Nova against a rubric you can read before you start.

  1. Project 1

    A tool-using assistant

    A fictional regional bike-hire shop wants an assistant that checks availability, quotes a price and books a slot. Build it on the Claude API with three defined tools, a tool loop, and validation that rejects bad arguments.

    You hand in
    • Assistant repository
    • Three tool definitions
    • Test set of requests
    • Test results
    The rubric requires

    All three tools are called correctly on the test set.

  2. Project 2

    A streaming interface

    Put a chat interface in front of the bike-hire assistant that streams replies over server-sent events. Customers on slow mobile connections must see text arrive at once and be able to cancel a reply mid-stream.

    You hand in
    • Chat UI
    • Streaming backend
    • Recorded demo of cancellation
    The rubric requires

    Tokens stream to the interface and cancellation stops the reply.

  3. Project 3

    A document feature

    Let staff upload the shop's PDFs and photos, such as hire terms, safety guides and handwritten repair sheets, and ask questions of them. Every answer must cite where it came from, and say so when the documents do not cover it.

    You hand in
    • Upload flow
    • Question answering endpoint
    • Answers with citations
    The rubric requires

    Answers cite the document they draw on.

  4. Project 4

    A deployed application

    Ship the bike-hire assistant with its tools, streaming and document features to a public URL. Add an eval suite, guardrails and logging, turn prompt caching on, and report what a month of expected traffic would cost.

    You hand in
    • Deployed app URL
    • Eval suite
    • Cost report with caching
    The rubric requires

    The app is deployed with a passing eval suite.

What you can do at the end.

A production application on the Claude API and four graded projects on your record.

  1. 1

    Make requests with the SDKs with proper error handling.

  2. 2

    Design messages, system prompts and context windows.

  3. 3

    Build tool-using assistants and streaming interfaces.

  4. 4

    Use prompt caching and batches to cut cost.

  5. 5

    Handle files, images and documents.

  6. 6

    Evaluate and ship an application safely.

Roles this prepares you for
AI engineerFull-stack engineer (AI)

No placement rate is shown, because there are no graduates to count yet. The roles above are what the projects are built for.

Your record at the end.

Every exercise and project is graded by Nova against a rubric you can read, and every grade is kept on one page an employer can open and run. This is what the programme writes to it.

Graded, line by line
Nova reads every submission against the brief and the rubric and returns a score, what you did well and what to fix.
Module by module
Each module ends in graded work; the next opens when you are ready, on your own schedule.
Nova remembers
Help is about your actual work, because the tutor has every submission and every failed exercise of yours.
One page an employer can run
Every grade and project at /verify. An employer opens it and runs the code.
Record, Building with the Claude APIExample
  1. Project

    A tool-using assistant

    All three tools are called correctly on the test set.

    Graded
  2. Project

    A streaming interface

    Tokens stream to the interface and cancellation stops the reply.

    Graded
  3. Project

    A document feature

    Answers cite the document they draw on.

    Graded
  4. Project

    A deployed application

    The app is deployed with a passing eval suite.

    Graded

The entries, not the grades: those are yours to earn. The page lives at /verify and an employer needs no account to open it.

6 entries, at your own pace. Reserving a spot holds the founding price.

Pre-order

How we help you find a job.

Proof, not a certificate: the projects you deployed are the thing you show, and the tools below are yours to use.

The course booklet

The whole plan on a few pages: the parts, the projects, the gates and the price. We email it to you.

Get the booklet
  1. 1

    Your hiring plan

    The same six-part plan the bootcamps use: target roles, the gap map, the proof to send, weekly actions, an interview log, the outcome. You run it with the career agent.

  2. 2

    A record an employer can run

    Your graded projects on /verify. An employer opens it and runs the code.

  3. 3

    The career agent

    Paste a real job posting at /career and it maps the role to your graded work and what to do next.

  4. 4

    The roles directory

    Every role we prepare people for, what it pays and what it asks, at /roles.

  5. 5

    A path to the live cohort

    If you want the instructor, the gates and the hiring sprint, the bootcamp on the same subject is one waitlist away.

Questions people ask.

About Building with the Claude API, answered from the plan on this page.

Further reading
Related programmes

Founding spots are open. Hold yours.

Recorded by an instructor who does this work, graded by Nova. Spot holders hear the opening date first, and nothing is charged before you confirm.

  • A production application on the Claude API
  • Four graded projects on your record
A$45A$90
Pre-order

About a minute. No account, no card, and nothing is charged until you confirm.

Pre-order · A$45Skill check