Microsoft quietly dropped a bombshell on GitHub—a 36.3k-starred 'AI Agents for Beginners' course. These 12 hands-on lessons outshine most paid courses on the market.


### Key Highlights

- **Zero-fluff实战**: From agent framework selection to production deployment, each lesson comes with Python code and video demos

- **Design Patterns Decoded**: Hands-on drills for 7 patterns including Tool Use, Multi-Agent Collaboration, and Metacognition

- **Microsoft Ecosystem Integration**: Industrial-grade toolchains like Azure AI Foundry, Semantic Kernel, and AutoGen

- **30+ Language Support**: Chinese documentation is synced, even accounting for regional terminology differences (e.g., Hong Kong/Taiwan variants)

### Counterintuitive Insight

The juiciest bit? Lesson 11—Agent Protocol实战. Microsoft open-sourced its internal MCP/A2A communication protocol, an enterprise solution typically reserved for high-priced consulting projects.

### Recommended Learning Path

1. Complete the [Generative AI Fundamentals](https://aka.ms/genai-beginners) primer

2. Follow lessons sequentially (don’t skip the 'Trustworthy Agents' chapter)

3. Focus on modifying code examples from Lessons 05/08/11

The course is completely free, but fork the repo first—Microsoft’s servers have crashed multiple times recently.


**GitHub Repo**:

https://github.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners

For troubleshooting, ping engineers directly on their [Discord channel](https://aka.ms/ai-agents/discord). The fact that this caliber of content isn’t paywalled shows Microsoft’s playing the long game.