# How to Fork and Clone the AI-For-Beginners Repository

> Fork and clone the AI-For-Beginners repository easily. Get the complete AI curriculum locally for your personal projects and learning with this quick guide.

- Repository: [Microsoft/AI-For-Beginners](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-11

---

**Fork the Microsoft AI-For-Beginners repository through the GitHub web interface, then clone your personal copy using `git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/AI-For-Beginners.git` to obtain the full curriculum locally.**

The Microsoft AI-For-Beginners repository provides a comprehensive 12-week curriculum covering artificial intelligence fundamentals through hands-on lessons. To customize the coursework, contribute improvements, or work offline, you need to fork and clone the AI-For-Beginners repository to create your own manageable copy. This guide walks through the exact steps documented in the official [`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md) while optimizing for different storage and bandwidth constraints.

## Forking the Repository on GitHub

Creating a personal fork is the first step toward customizing the curriculum. According to the repository's [`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md) (lines 47-49), you must create a copy under your own GitHub account before cloning.

### Creating Your Personal Copy

Navigate to the microsoft/AI-For-Beginners repository page. Click the **Fork** button located in the upper-right corner of the interface. This action creates a private copy of the entire repository—including all lesson notebooks, the Vue quiz application, and 50+ language translations—under your personal GitHub account.

## Cloning Your Fork Locally

Once forked, you can download the repository to your local machine using Git. The standard method pulls the complete repository, including all translation files.

### Standard Clone Method

Run the following command in your terminal, replacing `<your-username>` with your actual GitHub username:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/AI-For-Beginners.git

```

This command downloads the full repository structure, including the `lessons/` directory, [`environment.yml`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/environment.yml), and all translation assets as specified in [`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md) (lines 49-50).

### Sparse Checkout for Smaller Downloads

If you only need the core English curriculum without the 50+ language translations, use a sparse checkout to reduce download size significantly. The repository documentation ([`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md), lines 35-44) provides specific commands for Unix-based systems and Windows.

For Bash (macOS/Linux):

```bash
git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners.git
cd AI-For-Beginners
git sparse-checkout set --no-cone '/*' '!translations' '!translated_images'

```

For Windows CMD:

```cmd
git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners.git
cd AI-For-Beginners
git sparse-checkout set --no-cone "/*" "!translations" "!translated_images"

```

This approach uses `--filter=blob:none` to avoid downloading translation blobs initially, then excludes the `translations` and `translated_images` directories from the working tree.

## Configuring Your Development Environment

After cloning, you must configure the Python environment to run the lesson notebooks. The repository includes specific setup instructions in [`lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md).

Create the Conda environment using the provided specification file:

```bash
conda env create --name ai4beg --file environment.yml
conda activate ai4beg

```

The [`environment.yml`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/environment.yml) file defines all required dependencies including TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, and OpenCV. For alternative execution methods—such as running in VS Code, GitHub Codespaces, or deploying the Vue quiz app documented in [`etc/quiz-app/README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/etc/quiz-app/README.md)—refer to [`lessons/0-course-setup/how-to-run.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/0-course-setup/how-to-run.md).

## Summary

- **Fork first**: Click the Fork button on GitHub to create a personal copy under your account, as documented in [`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md).
- **Clone second**: Use `git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/AI-For-Beginners.git` to download your fork locally.
- **Optimize storage**: Use sparse checkout (`--filter=blob:none --sparse`) to exclude the `translations/` and `translated_images/` directories if you only need the English curriculum.
- **Configure environment**: Run `conda env create -f environment.yml` to install dependencies and follow [`lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md) for complete environment configuration.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I need to fork the repository before cloning?

No, you can clone the original microsoft/AI-For-Beginners repository directly using `git clone https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners.git`. However, forking creates a personal copy under your GitHub account, enabling you to push changes, create pull requests, and customize the curriculum without affecting the original repository.

### How much storage space does the full repository require?

The complete repository including all 50+ language translations and media assets requires significantly more space than the core curriculum alone. The `translations/` directory contains localized versions of all lessons, while `translated_images/` stores language-specific graphics. Use the sparse checkout method documented in [`README.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/README.md) (lines 35-44) to download only the English content and reduce storage requirements.

### Can I clone the repository without installing Git?

While Git is the standard tool for cloning repositories, you can download the repository as a ZIP file from the GitHub web interface by clicking **Code** > **Download ZIP**. However, this method does not preserve Git history, and you will need to manually initialize a repository if you want to track changes or contribute back to the project.

### What should I do after cloning to start the lessons?

After cloning, navigate to [`lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/0-course-setup/setup.md) and follow the instructions to create the Conda environment using the [`environment.yml`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/environment.yml) file. Once dependencies are installed, launch Jupyter Lab with `jupyter lab` and navigate to the `lessons/` directory to begin with module 1. For browser-based execution without local installation, see [`lessons/0-course-setup/how-to-run.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/0-course-setup/how-to-run.md) for GitHub Codespaces instructions.