# How to Navigate Lessons in the AI-Engineering-from-Scratch Curriculum: 3 Methods Explained > Easily navigate the AI-Engineering-from-Scratch curriculum. Explore 3 methods: web table, repo browsing, or the CLI lesson runner for a seamless learning experience. - Repository: [Rohit Ghumare/ai-engineering-from-scratch](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-06-13 --- **You can navigate the AI-Engineering-from-Scratch curriculum using the web-based Contents table at aiengineeringfromscratch.com, by cloning the repository and browsing the hierarchical `phases/` directory structure, or by running the [`scripts/lesson_run.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/scripts/lesson_run.py) CLI helper to enumerate and validate lessons programmatically.** The rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch repository organizes over 500 lessons into a structured curriculum covering AI engineering from fundamentals to advanced transformers. Whether you prefer browsing documentation online, exploring code locally, or automating navigation through command-line tools, understanding the repository layout is essential for efficient learning. This guide covers three distinct approaches to navigate lessons in the ai-engineering-from-scratch curriculum, each backed by the actual source code implementation. ## Browse the Curriculum Online The simplest way to navigate lessons is through the rendered website or the **Contents** section of the repository README. Open the **Contents** table in the README: ```markdown [Contents](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/README.md#contents) ``` Click on any phase (e.g., *Phase 7 — Transformers Deep Dive*) to expand its lesson list. Each lesson entry links directly to the lesson folder, such as: ```markdown [Self-Attention from Scratch](phases/07-transformers-deep-dive/02-self-attention-from-scratch/) ``` According to the source code, the README’s *Contents* section is generated automatically by the [`site/build.js`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/site/build.js) script, ensuring it always reflects the current repository state. ## Navigate Locally via the File System For offline study or deep code inspection, clone the repository and explore the predictable directory hierarchy. Clone the repository to your local machine: ```bash git clone https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch.git cd ai-engineering-from-scratch ``` ### List Available Phases View all curriculum phases using standard directory listing: ```bash ls phases/ ``` ### Locate a Specific Lesson Lessons follow a strict path pattern: `phases/-/-/`. To open a specific lesson documentation: ```bash code phases/07-transformers-deep-dive/02-self-attention-from-scratch/docs/en.md ``` ### Standard Lesson Structure Every lesson directory in the ai-engineering-from-scratch curriculum follows a reproducible layout: ``` phases/-/-/ ├── code/ # Runnable implementations (Python, TypeScript, Rust, Julia) ├── docs/ │ └── en.md # Lesson narrative and explanations └── outputs/ # Generated artifacts (prompts, skills, agents, MCP servers) ``` This structure ensures you can navigate directly to implementation files or documentation without searching through unrelated content. ## Use the CLI Helper for Programmatic Navigation The repository ships with [`scripts/lesson_run.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/scripts/lesson_run.py), a Python utility that provides command-line access to the curriculum hierarchy. ### Run a Syntax Check Across All Lessons Validate the entire curriculum without executing heavy dependencies: ```bash python scripts/lesson_run.py ``` Example output: ``` lesson_run.py (syntax) — 503 lesson(s), 2140 python file(s): passed=503 failed=0 skipped=0 ``` ### Filter Lessons by Phase To navigate lessons within a specific phase only: ```bash python scripts/lesson_run.py --phase 07 ``` ### Execute Lesson Entry Scripts For lessons without external dependencies, run the implementations directly: ```bash python scripts/lesson_run.py --execute ``` **Implementation detail:** The script walks the `phases/` tree using regular expressions (`PHASE_DIR_RE` and `LESSON_DIR_RE`) to match directory patterns, gathers `.py` files, and reports status programmatically. ## Practical Code Examples ### Find a Lesson Documentation Path Programmatically Use this Python function to retrieve the absolute path to any lesson's [`en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/en.md) file: ```python from pathlib import Path def get_lesson_doc(phase: int, lesson: int) -> Path: """Return the absolute path to the lesson's Markdown documentation.""" root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent # assuming script lives at repo root pattern = f"{phase:02d}-*/*{lesson:02d}-*/docs/en.md" matches = list((root / "phases").glob(pattern)) if not matches: raise FileNotFoundError(f"No lesson found for phase {phase}, lesson {lesson}") return matches[0] # Usage: print(get_lesson_doc(7, 2)) # → phases/07-transformers-deep-dive/02-self-attention-from-scratch/docs/en.md ``` ### Identify Lessons with Skill Artifacts This bash one-liner lists all lessons that generate reusable skill artifacts: ```bash grep -rl "outputs/skill-" phases/*/*/outputs/ 2>/dev/null | \ sed -E 's|/outputs/skill-.*||' | sort -u ``` The command walks the `phases/` tree, locates `outputs/skill-*.md` files, and returns unique lesson directories containing these outputs. ## Summary - **Web navigation:** Use the *Contents* table in the README or visit aiengineeringfromscratch.com to browse lessons via clickable links. - **Local navigation:** Clone the repository and follow the `phases/-/-/` structure to locate [`docs/en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/docs/en.md), `code/`, and `outputs/` directories. - **Programmatic navigation:** Use [`scripts/lesson_run.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/scripts/lesson_run.py) to enumerate lessons, validate syntax across the curriculum, or execute entry scripts for specific phases. - **Consistent structure:** Every lesson follows the same directory layout, making it possible to construct paths predictably using the phase and lesson numbers. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How is the README Contents table generated? The *Contents* table is automatically generated by the [`site/build.js`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/site/build.js) script, which walks the repository structure and updates the README to reflect the current phases and lessons. This ensures the navigation links remain synchronized with the actual directory layout as the curriculum evolves. ### What files should I open first when exploring a lesson locally? Start with [`docs/en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/docs/en.md) for the narrative explanation, then examine the `code/` directory for implementations in your preferred language (Python, TypeScript, Rust, or Julia). Check the `outputs/` directory if the lesson produces artifacts like prompts, skills, or agents. ### Can I run lesson code without installing dependencies? Yes, for lessons that do not require external packages. Use `python scripts/lesson_run.py --execute` to run entry scripts, or use the `--phase` flag to limit execution to a specific phase. The script performs a syntax-only check by default, which validates code without running heavy ML dependencies. ### Where are the transformer and self-attention lessons located? The Transformers Deep Dive phase is located at `phases/07-transformers-deep-dive/`. Individual lessons like *Self-Attention from Scratch* follow the pattern `phases/07-transformers-deep-dive/02-self-attention-from-scratch/`, containing the documentation in [`docs/en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/docs/en.md) and implementations in the `code/` subdirectory.