How to Navigate the Subdirectories of the AI For Beginners Repository

You can navigate the AI For Beginners subdirectories using command-line navigation, VS Code's Explorer pane, or GitHub's web interface to access the 12-week curriculum, runnable Python examples, and the Vue-based quiz application.

The Microsoft AI For Beginners repository organizes a comprehensive artificial intelligence curriculum into a hierarchical folder structure. Understanding how to navigate its subdirectories—from the lessons/ folder containing weekly coursework to the examples/ directory with executable scripts—is essential for locating and executing course materials. This guide provides the exact file paths and navigation methods for exploring the repository both locally and online.

Understanding the Top-Level Structure

The repository root contains eight primary directories and configuration files that organize the learning path:

• lessons/ – Contains the complete 12-week curriculum organized by topic: 0-course-setup, 1-Intro, 2-Symbolic, 3-NeuralNetworks, 4-ComputerVision, 5-NLP, and subsequent weeks.
• examples/ – Houses runnable Python scripts including 01-hello-ai-world.py, simple neural networks, image classifiers, and text-sentiment analyzers.
• etc/quiz-app/ – Stores the Vue 2.x quiz application with package.json and build scripts for testing your knowledge.
• translations/ – Contains multi-language translations of lesson README files and lab instructions, such as translations/zh-CN/lessons/5-NLP/15-LanguageModeling.
• binder/ – Configuration files for Binder online Jupyter environments, including postBuild.sh scripts that run after environment setup.
• environment.yml – Conda environment definition specifying TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, and OpenCV dependencies.
• .github/workflows/ – CI/CD automation including Scorecard and CodeQL workflows.

Navigating via Command Line

Local navigation requires cloning the repository and using standard terminal commands to traverse the directory tree.

Clone the repository and enter the root directory:

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners.git
cd AI-For-Beginners

List the top-level directories to view the structure:

ls -F

# Output: lessons/  examples/  etc/  translations/  binder/  environment.yml  README.md

Access specific lesson content by navigating the numbered subdirectories. For example, to reach the Computer Vision lesson on Convolutional Neural Networks located at lessons/4-ComputerVision/07-ConvNets:

cd lessons/4-ComputerVision/07-ConvNets

Execute lesson materials using Python or Jupyter:

# Run a Python script directly

python pytorchcv.py

# Or launch the Jupyter notebook

jupyter notebook 07-ConvNets.ipynb

Run standalone examples from the examples/ directory:

cd examples
python 01-hello-ai-world.py

Navigating with VS Code

VS Code provides graphical navigation through the repository hierarchy without requiring terminal commands.

1. Open the repository: Select File → Open Folder… → AI-For-Beginners to load the project root.
2. Use the Explorer pane: The left sidebar displays the full directory tree, allowing you to expand lessons/ and click through weekly folders like 3-NeuralNetworks or 5-NLP.
3. Quick file search: Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on macOS) and type file paths directly, such as lessons/3-NeuralNetworks/03-Perceptron/Perceptron.ipynb, to jump immediately to specific notebooks.

Navigating on GitHub (Browser)

You can explore all subdirectories without cloning by using GitHub's web interface.

Access the root repository view at:

https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/tree/main

Navigate directly to specific folders:

• Lessons root: https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/tree/main/lessons/4-ComputerVision
• Specific notebook: https://github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/blob/main/lessons/4-ComputerVision/07-ConvNets/07-ConvNets.ipynb

This method allows viewing Markdown files and notebook previews immediately, though you cannot execute code without launching Binder or GitHub Codespaces.

Locating Key Components

Lesson Materials

The lessons/ directory follows a numbered prefix system where 0-course-setup contains environment instructions and 1-Intro through the later weeks map to specific topics. Each lesson folder typically contains Jupyter notebooks (.ipynb), images/ assets, and lab/ subdirectories with hands-on exercises.

Example Scripts

Located in examples/, these standalone Python files demonstrate core concepts without full lesson context. The entry point 01-hello-ai-world.py provides a minimal first execution test to verify your environment.

Quiz Application

The Vue 2.x application resides in etc/quiz-app/. To launch it locally:

cd etc/quiz-app
npm install
npm run serve

The npm install command reads dependencies from etc/quiz-app/package.json, while npm run serve starts the development server.

Translations

Multi-language content follows the pattern translations/[language-code]/lessons/[topic]/. For instance, Chinese simplified NLP materials appear at translations/zh-CN/lessons/5-NLP/15-LanguageModeling/, containing localized README files and lab instructions.

Environment Configuration

The environment.yml file in the root defines the Conda environment. Create your local environment with:

conda env create -f environment.yml

This installs TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, OpenCV, and other dependencies required by the curriculum examples.

Summary

• The AI For Beginners repository organizes content into lessons/ (curriculum), examples/ (runnable scripts), etc/quiz-app/ (Vue application), and translations/ (localized content).
• Use cd lessons/4-ComputerVision/07-ConvNets to access specific weekly materials, or cd examples for standalone scripts like 01-hello-ai-world.py.
• VS Code's Ctrl+P search and Explorer pane provide graphical navigation without terminal commands.
• GitHub's web interface allows immediate viewing of all files at github.com/microsoft/AI-For-Beginners/tree/main.
• The environment.yml file configures the necessary Python environment, while etc/quiz-app/package.json manages the quiz application's Node.js dependencies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the weekly lesson materials stored in the repository?

The weekly curriculum resides in the lessons/ directory, organized by topic with numbered prefixes such as 1-Intro, 2-Symbolic, 3-NeuralNetworks, 4-ComputerVision, and 5-NLP. Each folder contains Jupyter notebooks, lab exercises in subdirectories like lab/, and supporting media specific to that week's artificial intelligence concepts.

How do I access translated content in AI For Beginners?

Translated materials are located in the translations/ subdirectory, organized by language code (e.g., zh-CN for Chinese simplified, es for Spanish). Navigate to translations/[language-code]/lessons/ to find localized versions of the README files and lab instructions, mirroring the structure of the main lessons/ folder.

What command launches the interactive quiz application?

Navigate to etc/quiz-app/ and execute npm install followed by npm run serve. This installs the Vue 2.x dependencies defined in etc/quiz-app/package.json and starts the development server, typically accessible at localhost:8080. The quiz app tests your knowledge of AI concepts covered in the curriculum.

Can I run the examples without cloning the repository?

While you can view the source code for examples like 01-hello-ai-world.py directly on GitHub, you must clone the repository locally and install the dependencies specified in environment.yml (or use GitHub Codespaces/Binder) to execute the Python scripts. The binder/ directory contains configuration for launching the entire repository in an online Jupyter environment without local installation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}