Stage 0 — Foundations

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⏱ Time estimate: 1-2 weeks (~5-15 hours, can skip if you have these)

💡 Don't recognize a term? Check resources/glossary.en.md for a 30-second definition. Stage 0 doesn't lean on much jargon, but the next stages do. 🗺️ Want the big picture of the agent landscape first (why some agents live in a terminal, some in Telegram, some on a Jetson board)? → resources/agent-paradigms.en.md (5 agent paradigms, ~10 min read)

📋 Structure of this chapter: skip-check → environment setup steps → on to Stage 1 (a foundation stage, so it has no "learning goals / prerequisites" frame)
🔑 Key terms: see resources/glossary.en.md (every term each stage uses is collected there)

When to skip this stage

If you can:

• Write a Python function that calls a public API and parses JSON response
• Use git to clone, commit, push, and resolve a basic merge
• Use the command line on your OS (cd, ls, mkdir, run a script)
• Read a YAML / JSON file without confusion

→ Skip directly to Stage 1.

If you can't, work through this stage. Don't skip — every later stage assumes these.

📌 Learning Goals

• Write Python: functions, classes, async/await basics
• Use git: clone, branch, commit, push, basic conflict resolution
• Use REST APIs: send GET/POST, parse JSON, handle auth headers
• Read & write YAML and JSON

🛠 Hands-on Exercises

• Exercise: Python — write a Python script that calls https://api.github.com/users/torvalds and prints follower count
• Exercise: git — clone any public repo, make a commit, push to your fork
• Exercise: CLI — make a small directory tree with the command line (macOS / Linux: mkdir project && cd project && mkdir src tests docs; Windows PowerShell: New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path project,project\src,project\tests,project\docs), run a Python script, redirect output to a file
• Exercise: YAML — read a .yaml config file in Python, modify a value, write it back
• Exercise: API auth — at github.com/settings/tokens generate a personal access token (minimal scope: read:user), call the auth-required https://api.github.com/user endpoint, observe 401 (no token) vs 200 (with token). Note: real production agents always use API auth — do this exercise

🎯 Curated Resources (not full projects, just learning material)

Five prereq topics, 18 resources, one table. Pick your entry point from "Who it's for", then follow the link to the repo / site when you want to go deeper.

Topic	Resource	Who it's for	Why recommended / Notes
Python	Python Crash Course	Learning Python from scratch	Book + exercises; the book is paid, the exercises are free
	Real Python tutorials	Know the basics, want to go deep on one topic	High-quality free articles; they turn up in Google searches all the time
	Corey Schafer YouTube	Learners who like English video	Beginner to advanced, very clear delivery
	Boot.dev	Want interactive practice	Partially free; the paid tier includes a full backend track
	runoob.com Python tutorial	Chinese readers looking up syntax fast	Chinese-language Python intro reference
Git	Pro Git book	Want to understand Git properly	Free, full-length reference; the official recommendation
	Atlassian Git Tutorials	Want to learn workflows (branch / merge / rebase)	Workflow-focused, good visuals
	Oh Shit, Git!?!	First aid when things go wrong	"I screwed up X, how do I undo?" cheat sheet
	git-flight-rules	Want a deeper recovery manual	Popular cheat sheet, covers more scenarios
CLI / Shell	The Art of Command Line	Want to learn the command line systematically	★ 160k+, multi-language, covers beginner to advanced
	Learn Shell	Like interactive practice	Interactive Bash tutorial, runs in the browser
	explainshell.com	Debugging shell commands	Breaks down any shell command (debug life-saver)
REST API	MDN — HTTP	Want to understand the HTTP protocol	Mozilla's web platform reference docs
	Postman Learning Center	Exploring APIs through a GUI	API exploration tool, good visuals
	HTTPie	Prefer the CLI, find curl ugly	Friendlier-than-curl command-line HTTP client
YAML / JSON	YAML official site	Need to look up the syntax spec	The YAML spec document
	JSON crash course	First time meeting JSON	Official quick guide
	jq	Processing JSON on the command line	Heavy use in agent work; essential for handling API responses

Why this stage exists

Most "AI agent" tutorials assume you already have these. If you don't, you'll get blocked at random places (tools requires async; configs are YAML; SDK setup needs git). One week investing here saves 10+ weeks of frustration later.

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✅ Done with Stage 0? Next, Stage 1 — LLM Fundamentals takes 5-8 hours to walk you through your first LLM API call, the meaning of token / context window / temperature, and how to estimate real task cost via per-token pricing. Keep going →