Where to Find Documentation for AI Agents for Beginners: Complete Guide

The AI Agents for Beginners repository contains comprehensive documentation embedded directly in the source code, with the root README.md serving as the primary entry point and 16 lesson-specific READMEs covering setup, core concepts, and advanced topics.

All documentation for the AI Agents for Beginners course from Microsoft lives inside the repository itself. This self-contained approach ensures you always have synchronized, version-matched guidance whether you browse on GitHub, clone locally, or work in Jupyter notebooks. The documentation spans installation, conceptual overviews, framework-specific guides, and translations into over 30 languages.

Primary Documentation Entry Points

Root README: Your Starting Point

The README.md at the repository root provides the executive summary of the entire learning path. Located at https://github.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners/blob/main/README.md, this file covers:

• Course structure and learning objectives
• Prerequisites and environment requirements
• Virtual environment setup and Python package installation
• How to navigate the lesson notebooks

Course Setup Guide

For detailed environment configuration, refer to 00-course-setup/README.md. This guide walks through:

• Cloning the repository
• Creating and activating a Python virtual environment
• Copying .env.example to .env and configuring Azure credentials
• Installing dependencies from requirements.txt

Lesson-by-Lesson Documentation

Each of the 16 lessons contains its own README.md with specific objectives, required Azure services, and step-by-step instructions. The lessons follow this structure:

Lesson	Directory	Focus Area
00	00-course-setup	Environment and prerequisites
01	01-intro-to-ai-agents	Core agent concepts and first notebook
02	02-explore-agentic-frameworks	Agent framework comparison
03	03-agentic-design-patterns	Design pattern fundamentals
04	04-tool-use	Tool integration and function calling
05	05-agentic-rag	Retrieval-Augmented Generation
06	06-building-trustworthy-agents	Safety and reliability
07	07-planning-design-pattern	Planning and execution strategies
08	08-multi-agent	Multi-agent orchestration
09	09-metacognition	Self-reflection and improvement
10	10-ai-agents-in-production	Deployment and monitoring
11	11-semantic-kernel	Microsoft Semantic Kernel integration
12	12-autogen	AutoGen framework deep-dive
13	13-llamaindex	LlamaIndex for agent construction
14	14-microsoft-agent-framework	Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF)
15	15-browser-use	Browser automation agents

Each lesson's README.md includes the lesson.ipynb notebook path and any lesson-specific setup requirements.

Framework-Specific Documentation

Microsoft Agent Framework Guide

The 14-microsoft-agent-framework/README.md provides the most detailed framework documentation, covering:

• Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) architecture overview
• AzureAIProjectAgentProvider configuration and usage
• Integration patterns with Azure AI Project
• Links to official MAF SDK documentation

This is the definitive reference for production agent development using Microsoft's native tooling.

Translated Documentation

The repository includes comprehensive translations under the translations/ directory. With coverage for 30+ languages, you can find localized versions of:

• Root README.md (course overview)
• Individual lesson READMEs
• Setup instructions

Example translation paths:

• translations/zh-TW/README.md — Traditional Chinese
• translations/ms/README.md — Malay
• translations/de/README.md — German

All translations maintain parity with the English source, ensuring consistent learning outcomes across languages.

Programmatically Accessing Documentation

Since all documentation is Markdown, you can fetch and process it programmatically. Here's a Python example for retrieving the root README:

import requests

README_URL = (
    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners/main/README.md"
)

def fetch_readme(url: str) -> str:
    """Download a Markdown README from GitHub."""
    response = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.text

if __name__ == "__main__":
    root_readme = fetch_readme(README_URL)
    print("\n".join(root_readme.splitlines()[:20]))

To fetch any lesson's documentation, construct the raw URL pattern:

lesson_url = (
    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners/"
    "main/05-agentic-rag/README.md"
)

Key Documentation Files Reference

File Path	Purpose	Direct Link
README.md	Course overview, prerequisites, getting started	View
00-course-setup/README.md	Environment setup, Azure configuration	View
01-intro-to-ai-agents/README.md	Core agent concepts introduction	View
14-microsoft-agent-framework/README.md	MAF and AzureAIProjectAgentProvider guide	View
translations/<lang>/README.md	Localized course documentation	Example (zh-TW)

Summary

• All documentation for AI Agents for Beginners lives in the repository itself — no external documentation site required
• Start with the root README.md for course overview and prerequisites
• Follow 00-course-setup/README.md for detailed environment configuration
• Each lesson has its own README.md with specific instructions and Azure service requirements
• 14-microsoft-agent-framework/README.md provides the definitive MAF production guide
• 30+ language translations are available under translations/ for localized learning

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the official documentation for AI Agents for Beginners?

The official documentation is embedded directly in the GitHub repository at microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginners. There is no separate documentation website. All guides, from the root README to individual lesson instructions, are maintained as Markdown files alongside the source code and notebooks.

How do I access the documentation in my native language?

Navigate to the translations/ directory in the repository root. Each subdirectory contains a complete translation of the course documentation, including the root README and lesson READMEs. For example, Traditional Chinese speakers can use translations/zh-TW/README.md, while Malay speakers can use translations/ms/README.md.

What documentation should I read before running any notebooks?

Read 00-course-setup/README.md before attempting any lesson notebooks. This file contains essential environment setup steps: creating a Python virtual environment, installing dependencies from requirements.txt, copying .env.example to .env, and configuring your Azure AI credentials. Skipping this setup will cause authentication and import errors in the notebooks.

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