People sell "master Claude Code" courses for tens of thousands — while Anthropic published their official courses for free, with certificates 🎓 That "Claude Code 101" from the viral posts is real, takes about an hour and genuinely costs 0 ₽.
Step 1 — Sign up for Anthropic Academy
Anthropic Academy is Anthropic's official learning hub (anthropic.com/learn). The courses themselves live on the Skilljar platform: anthropic.skilljar.com. As of July 2026 the catalog has 21 courses: from "Claude 101" for non-technical people to the ~8-hour "Building with the Claude API".
- Open anthropic.skilljar.com and pick a course — they're all marked FREE, no card needed.
- Hit Register and create a Skilljar account (email + password) — you don't need an Anthropic account to enroll.
- Learn at your own pace: there are no deadlines or timers, and your progress is saved.
How to tell it's OK: the course shows up in your dashboard, the lessons open, the progress bar moves.
Common mistakes:
- Googling "Anthropic Academy" and landing on a third-party paid "certification" site. The official courses are only at anthropic.skilljar.com (entry via anthropic.com/learn or claude.com/resources/courses).
- Waiting for a Russian version: all the courses are in English. A life hack — keep Claude next to you and ask it to translate/explain the confusing parts (prompt at the end of this card).
Step 2 — Take Claude Code 101 (the course everyone means)
Claude Code 101 — 12 lessons, ~1 hour, beginner level. Five modules: what Claude Code and the agent loop are (context window, tools, permissions); installing it everywhere — terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, Claude Desktop, web; the daily Explore → Plan → Code → Commit workflow with Plan Mode and confirmation modes; customization — CLAUDE.md, subagents, skills, MCP, hooks; a final quiz.
Requirements from the course description: basic familiarity with a code editor and the command line + a Claude account (Pro/Max/Enterprise) or an API key — so you can follow along hands-on.
How to tell it's OK: you're running the Explore → Plan → Code → Commit loop on your own project and you've started a CLAUDE.md, rather than just watching the videos to the end.
Common mistakes:
- Watching it like a TV series, hands off: an hour of theory with no practice evaporates within a day. Repeat every technique in the terminal right away.
- Confusing "a free course" with "free Claude Code": the course is 0 ₽, but practicing needs a Pro/Max/Enterprise subscription or an API key with a balance.
Step 3 — Branch out: MCP, Agent Skills, subagents
The catalog covers the whole stack around Claude Code (all FREE):
- Introduction to Model Context Protocol — 16 lessons,
1 hour: you write an MCP server and client in Python, tools/resources/prompts, testing with Inspector. Requires basic Python and an understanding of JSON/HTTP. The sequel is "Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics" (1 hour). - Introduction to agent skills — 6 lessons, 30 minutes: SKILL.md from scratch, allowed-tools, how a skill differs from CLAUDE.md/hooks/subagents, how to share skills through repositories and plugins.
- Introduction to subagents — 4 lessons, 20 minutes: delegating tasks and saving context.
- Claude Code in Action — 15 lessons, ~1 hour: embedding Claude Code into a real workflow.
- Building with the Claude API — 84 lessons, ~8 hours: the full API course, if you're going to write your own agents.
How to tell it's OK: after the MCP course your own server runs in Inspector; after the skills course Claude picks up your SKILL.md by itself at the right moment.
Common mistakes:
- Starting with "Building with the Claude API" without needing it — that's ~8 hours; for vibe coding the chain 101 → agent skills → subagents → MCP is enough.
- Confusing "Introduction to MCP" with "connecting a ready MCP server": the course is about WRITING servers in Python. To just connect something ready-made, see the "Connect MCP" guide in the qvib database.
Step 4 — Claim your certificate
For finishing a course completely the platform issues a completion certificate — progress, lessons and quizzes are tracked automatically. It isn't a separate proctored exam, it's proof of completion, but as an artifact from the creators of Claude Code themselves it works fine for a resume and LinkedIn.
How to tell it's OK: the course is at 100%, the final quiz is passed, the certificate is available in your dashboard.
Common mistakes:
- Dropping out at 90%: the certificate is only issued for full completion, quiz included.
- Claiming an exam-grade "Anthropic certification" — on a resume it's more honest to write "course completion certificate, Anthropic Academy".
🆘 Rescue prompt
I'm taking the free Anthropic Academy course "Claude Code 101" (anthropic.skilljar.com).
MY LEVEL: <beginner / backend / frontend>. MY GOAL: <why I need Claude Code>.
I'M STUCK ON: <lesson topic / an English term / an error>.
What to do:
1) Explain the topic in plain words, with an example for my stack <stack>.
2) Give me a 10-minute mini-exercise in Claude Code to lock it in (exact commands).
3) Tell me which course from the Anthropic catalog to take next for my goal
(MCP / agent skills / subagents / Claude API) and why.
💎 Depth and value
- The primary source instead of retellings. Paid retelling-courses lose their point when the tool's author gives you the same thing for free and keeps the material current.
- An hour on 101 pays off on day one: Plan Mode, CLAUDE.md and the Explore → Plan → Code → Commit loop are exactly the habits that separate "I type prompts" from "I direct an agent".
- The catalog is a skill map for agentic development: 101 → skills → subagents → MCP → API. Work through the branch over a couple of evenings and you've got a stack other people charge money for.