EpochZero Python

A free, 12-week course that teaches Python by building real things, and runs on your own computer. It starts at print() and ends with a working Pac-Man, ghost AI included.

Everything happens in one browser tab: the lessons, a code editor, a real terminal, tests, quizzes and your progress. Claude Code is your tutor in that terminal. It reads your code, asks the questions that get you unstuck, and records what you've achieved. It won't write your solutions for you.

What you'll build

• Weeks 1–4, foundations: a calculator that can't be crashed, a terminal menu app, a flashcard engine with spaced repetition, a desktop habit tracker, a file organizer and log analyzer, a trivia game on a live web API, and a pandas sales report with charts.
• Weeks 5–6, graphics: animated generative art, then a platformer with levels, coins and enemies.
• Weeks 7–8, machine learning and the web: a handwritten-digit recogniser, a health predictor with a tuned scikit-learn pipeline, and a FastAPI web service that serves it.
• Weeks 9–12, the arcade classics: Pong, Breakout, Snake, Tetris, Space Invaders, Asteroids, and finally Pac-Man.

Every item needs proof before you can tick it: passing tests, a quiz score of 4/5, a design document, or a check by the tutor. Projects start with a design interview where you make the decisions.

What you need

• Linux or macOS.
• git and uv (uv installs Python for you).
• Claude Code for the tutor, which needs a Claude account. Without it you can still read every lesson, run the tests and take the quizzes.

Get started

git clone https://github.com/vitrus74dr/epochzero-python.git
cd epochzero-python
uv run epochzero

The course opens in your browser. Open the workbench's terminal, run claude, and say hi. The README covers the rest, including updates (git pull, which never touches your own code or progress).