Claude Code Mini Workshop

📋 Requirements

What You'll Need

Everything you need to hit the ground running from the first hour.

💻

Your Own Laptop

Bring a laptop you're comfortable with. Windows, Mac, or Linux all work.

🔑

Paid Claude Account

A paid Claude account is required to access Claude Code features.

🖥️

Basic Computer Skills

Basic familiarity with using a computer and navigating a terminal.

🚀 Workshop Overview

Build Real Software
With AI

This mini workshop teaches you how to build real, working software using Claude Code through hands-on, project-based learning.

You'll learn to interact with AI as a true coding collaborator — iterating through prompts, debugging issues, and refining your applications until they work exactly as intended.

Iterative prompt-based development workflow

Debugging and refining AI-generated code

Build and demo your own real application

🤖

📅 Schedule

Day Schedule

One intensive day — from zero to a working application you built yourself.

1

10:00 – 10:45 · 45 min · Foundations

Introduction & Setup

Introduction to Claude Code, environment setup, and your first AI interaction. Get comfortable with the tools and understand how the workflow fits together.

2

10:45 – 11:45 · 60 min · Core Skills

Prompting, Generating & Debugging

Learn essential prompting patterns. Practice generating, refining, and debugging code. Understand how to explain and reason about AI-generated output.

☕

11:45 – 12:00 · 15 min

Break

Stretch, grab a coffee, and get ready for the project phase.

3

12:00 – 13:30 · 90 min · Guided Project

Build a Personal Dashboard App

Follow along step-by-step to build a local web dashboard application — including notes, data display, and UI improvements — using iterative AI assistance.

4

13:30 – 14:15 · 45 min · Personal Project

Build Your Own Application

Define your own goal, draft and refine prompts, and iterate until you have a working solution. Apply everything you've learned to a project that matters to you.

5

14:15 – 14:45 · 30 min · Demos

Present & Share Insights

Each participant demos their project to the group. Share what you built, the prompts that worked, the obstacles you hit, and how you overcame them.

🛠️ Projects

What You'll Build

Two projects — one guided, one your own — to cement your skills.

📊

Guided Project

Personal Dashboard App

Build a local web dashboard application
Add notes, simple data display, and UI polish
Learn iterative development with AI assistance
Understand the full prompt → build → refine loop

🚀

Personal Project

Your Own Application

Define a goal for a local application
Draft and refine your prompts independently
Iterate until you reach a working solution
Prepare a live demo for the group

🎮 Demo Projects

Built With Claude Code

Real examples of applications that can be generated through iterative prompting — no prior coding experience required.

▶ LIVE DEMO

🎮 Retro Space Game

Cosmic Run

A complete horizontal space shooter with a parallax star field, procedural cave terrain, enemy AI, shooting mechanics, synthesised sound effects, and background chiptune music — generated entirely through iterative prompting.

Python Pygame NumPy

~800

Lines of code

5

Prompts to build

0

Manual coding

📊

Personal Dashboard

A local web app with sticky notes, task lists, and live data widgets. Built step-by-step in the guided session.

HTML CSS JavaScript

📁

File Organiser CLI

A command-line tool that scans a folder, categorises files by type, and generates a summary report automatically.

Python CLI

📈

CSV Data Visualiser

Drop in any CSV file and instantly get charts, summaries, and trend analysis rendered in the browser.

Python Pandas Chart.js

🎤 Demo Day

Demo Requirements

Every participant presents their project. Here's what to cover.

1

Project Goal

Explain what you set out to build and why you chose it.

2

Key Prompts

Show the most important prompts you used to generate your code.

3

Obstacles

Discuss the main challenges and blockers you encountered.

4

How You Solved It

Explain how you worked through and overcame each challenge.

5

Live Demo

Demonstrate the working application to the group.

✨ Key Takeaways

What You'll Walk Away With

Skills and mindset shifts that will change how you build software forever.

🤝

AI as Collaborator

Learn to think of AI not as a magic button, but as a genuine development partner you can direct and guide.

🔁

Prompt Iteration Loops

Understand the cycle of prompting, reviewing, and refining to systematically improve your code.

⚡

Build Fast

Gain the confidence and skills to build working software dramatically faster than traditional approaches.

🔍

AI-Assisted Debugging

Develop problem-solving techniques for identifying and fixing issues with the help of your AI collaborator.