Today we’re excited to introduce a new hands-on course designed for .NET developers who want to explore the world of Generative AI.

Our focus in this course is code-first, to teach you what you need to know to be confident building .NET GenAI applications today.

What is this course about?

As generative AI becomes more accessible, it’s essential for developers to understand how to use it responsibly and effectively. To fill this need, we created a course that covers the basics of Generative AI for the .NET ecosystem, including how to set up your .NET environment, core techniques, practical samples, and responsible use of AI. You’ll learn how to create real-world .NET AI-based apps using a variety of libraries and tools including Microsoft Extensions for AI, GitHub Models and Codespaces, Semantic Kernel, Ollama, and more.

We’ve included several lessons and they all include:

• Short 5–10 minute videos explaining each concept.
• Fully functional .NET code samples ready to run and explore.
• Integration with GitHub Codespaces and GitHub Models for quick, convenient setup.
• Guidance on using GitHub Models and local models with Ollama for flexibility and privacy.

Lessons Overview

These lessons provide a guided roadmap, starting with core generative AI concepts for .NET developers and how to configure your environment to access AI models in the cloud or locally via Ollama. You’ll then explore techniques that go beyond text processing, such as assembling practical solutions with chatbots including adding video and real-time audio to chat. You’ll also learn about the world of AI Agents, or autonomous intelligent agents that act on the user’s behalf. Finally, you’ll learn about the importance of responsible AI use, ensuring your applications remain ethical and secure.

Here’s an example of the semantic search feature you’ll build:

And here’s what that real-time voice chat looks like:

Getting Started

All that’s required is some .NET experience and a desire to learn!

You can clone the repo and start working all locally.

Even better, we’ve done our best to reduce all of the friction from getting started! You can run everything in GitHub Codespaces and use GitHub Models to access the various LLMs we’ll use in the course – all for free.

Check out the course repository, and explore the lessons at your own pace.

Watch an overview on the .NET AI Community Standup

Check out the .NET AI Community Standup where we gave a sneak peek into the Generative AI for Beginners .NET course, showcasing how .NET developers can harness the power of Generative AI in real-world scenarios.

Contribute and Connect

Join us on GitHub, contributions are welcome! Submit issues, add new code samples, or create pull requests.

You can also join the Azure AI Community Discord to connect with other AI enthusiasts.

We look forward to seeing what you build with us! Get started right away and discover how simple it can be to bring AI into your .NET projects.