π¨βπ» Developer Path
L100 L200 L300 L400
You write Python or C# and want to build AI agents with full code control β from a simple chatbot to a production multi-agent system.
Your Journey
L100: Learn the basics L200: Build real agents L300: Production patterns L400: Expert
GitHub Models (free) β MCP servers, RAG, Agent β Observability, security, β Multi-agent, capstone
Foundry Local (free) Framework, guardrails deploy, evaluation architecture
Recommended Sequence
Phase 1 β Foundations (free, no Azure needed)
| Order |
Lab |
Title |
Level |
Time |
| 1 |
Lab 004 |
How LLMs Work |
L50 |
~20 min |
| 2 |
Lab 013 |
GitHub Models β Free LLMs |
L100 |
~25 min |
| 3 |
Lab 078 |
Foundry Local β Run Models Offline |
L100 |
~45 min |
| 4 |
Lab 017 |
Structured Output & JSON Mode |
L100 |
~25 min |
| 5 |
Lab 018 |
Function Calling & Tool Use |
L100 |
~30 min |
Phase 2 β Build Real Agents
| Order |
Lab |
Title |
Level |
Time |
| 6 |
Lab 076 |
Microsoft Agent Framework |
L200 |
~75 min |
| 7 |
Lab 020 |
Build an MCP Server in Python |
L200 |
~45 min |
| 8 |
Lab 022 |
RAG with GitHub Models |
L200 |
~50 min |
| 9 |
Lab 072 |
Structured Outputs β Guaranteed JSON |
L100 |
~45 min |
| 10 |
Lab 082 |
Agent Guardrails |
L300 |
~75 min |
Phase 3 β Production Patterns
| Order |
Lab |
Title |
Level |
Time |
| 11 |
Lab 049 |
Agent Tracing with OpenTelemetry |
L300 |
~75 min |
| 12 |
Lab 037 |
CI/CD for AI Agents |
L300 |
~45 min |
| 13 |
Lab 036 |
Prompt Injection Defense |
L300 |
~40 min |
| 14 |
Lab 038 |
AI Cost Optimization |
L300 |
~45 min |
Phase 4 β Expert
| Order |
Lab |
Title |
Level |
Time |
| 15 |
Lab 074 |
Foundry Agent Service |
L300 |
~120 min |
| 16 |
Lab 055 |
A2A + MCP Capstone |
L400 |
~120 min |
| 17 |
Lab 084 |
Capstone β OutdoorGear Agent |
L400 |
~180 min |
Total: 17 labs Β· ~17 hours Β· From zero to production-ready agent builder