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Python Coding With AI

Learning PathSkills: Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, AI-Assisted Development

A person standing next to a brain under a dome representing artificial intelligence. The person is relaxed and supervising the AI doing work on the computer.

LLM-powered coding tools can write, review, and debug Python code alongside you. This learning path helps you pick the right assistant and make it part of your daily development workflow.

By completing this path, you’ll be able to:

  • Set up Claude Code as your terminal-based AI coding assistant
  • Use Cursor as an AI-powered code editor for Python projects
  • Run Google’s Gemini CLI for AI code assistance from the command line

This path is for Python developers who want to speed up their workflow with AI tools. You should be comfortable with Python basics.

You’ll start with a podcast on using LLMs for Python development, then pick from three AI coding tools and learn to use the one that fits your setup.

Python Coding With AI

Learning Path ⋅ 9 Resources

Why Use AI for Coding?

AI coding tools can speed up your development workflow by generating boilerplate, suggesting completions, explaining unfamiliar code, catching bugs, and even write significant parts of the code logic for you. The tutorials below help you pick the right tool and make it part of your daily practice.

Title image for Simon Willison: Using LLMs for Python Development (Real Python Podcast E236 Title Image)

Podcast

Simon Willison: Using LLMs for Python Development

What are the current large language model (LLM) tools you can use to develop Python? What prompting techniques and strategies produce better results? This week on the show, we speak with Simon Willison about his LLM research and his exploration of writing Python code with these rapidly evolving tools.

Map the Agent Landscape First

Before you install anything, build a mental model of how AI coding agents work. The next tutorial breaks down the four common workflows—IDE, terminal, pull request, and cloud—so you can match the right type of agent to the task at hand.

Title image for AI Coding Agents Guide: A Map of the Four Workflow Types (A person in overalls pointing at a four-piece puzzle map labeled IDE, Cloud, CLI, and PR/Repo, with a map info legend beside it and a Python logo.)

Tutorial

AI Coding Agents Guide: A Map of the Four Workflow Types

AI coding agents come in four types: IDE, terminal, PR, and cloud. Learn how each workflow fits into modern Python development.

Pick Your AI Coding Tool

Each tool below covers a different AI coding assistant. Browse them and pick one that fits your workflow best. Their capabilities are similar, so focus on getting comfortable with one tool first.

Title image for Getting Started With Claude Code (Getting Started With Claude Code)

Course

Getting Started With Claude Code

Learn to set up and use Claude Code for Python projects: install, run commands, and integrate with Git.

Title image for Tips for Using the AI Coding Editor Cursor (Cursor art)

Course

Tips for Using the AI Coding Editor Cursor

Learn Cursor fast: Use AI-powered coding with agents, project-aware chat, and inline edits to supercharge your VS Code workflow.

Title image for Getting Started With Google Gemini CLI (How to Use Google's Gemini CLI for AI Code Assistance)

Course

Getting Started With Google Gemini CLI

Learn how to use Gemini CLI to bring Google's AI-powered coding assistance into your terminal for faster code analysis, debugging, and fixes.

Title image for Use Codex CLI to Enhance Your Python Projects (A person standing next to a machine labeled Codex CLI that processes code through a conveyor belt, with a terminal screen, colorful blocks, and buttons labeled Add, Delete, and Clear All.)

Course

Use Codex CLI to Enhance Your Python Projects

Learn how to use Codex CLI to add features to Python projects directly from your terminal, without needing a browser or IDE plugins.

Title image for How to Use OpenCode for AI-Assisted Python Coding (A person in a hard hat and safety goggles with a clipboard stands beside a wall of panels labeled OpenCode, Analyze, Refactor, AI Models, Python Projects, LSP, Git UI, and Modes (Plan/Build).)

Tutorial

How to Use OpenCode for AI-Assisted Python Coding

Learn how to use OpenCode, an open-source AI coding assistant, with a free Gemini API key to analyze and refactor Python code in your terminal.

Title image for Gemini CLI vs Claude Code: Which to Choose for Python Tasks (A scientist comparing two coding terminals labeled Gemini and Claude on a balance scale with gauges for cost, speed, and quality, a Python-branded processor, and ink bottles.)

Tutorial

Gemini CLI vs Claude Code: Which to Choose for Python Tasks

Gemini CLI vs Claude Code: compare setup, performance, code quality, and cost to find the right Python AI coding tool for your workflow.

Want Live, Expert-Led Guidance?

Take your AI coding skills further with a structured, instructor-led course focused on Claude Code. You will build real Python projects over two hands-on days and walk away with a portable toolkit you can use right away.

Title image for Claude Code for Python Developers: Hands-On Agentic Coding Course (A person standing next to a brain under a dome representing artificial intelligence. The person is relaxed and supervising the AI doing work on the computer.)

Claude Code for Python Developers: Hands-On Agentic Coding Course

A two-day live course where you build entire Python projects with Claude Code. Get expert guidance, live Q&A, and a portable toolkit you can apply to your own projects immediately.

Congratulations on completing this learning path! You can now use Claude Code, Cursor, or Gemini CLI to write, review, and debug Python code with AI assistance.

If you want to go further and build your own AI-powered applications, check out:

Learning Path

LLM Application Development With Python

13 Resources ⋅ Skills: OpenAI, Ollama, OpenRouter, Prompt Engineering, LangChain, LlamaIndex, ChromaDB, MarkItDown, RAG, Embeddings, Pydantic AI, LangGraph, MCP

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Got feedback on this learning path?

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