How to program in Python with AI

Python is the programming language we’ll use. It’s free.

1. Go to https://python.org/downloads
2. The big yellow button downloads the latest version for your system.

To check it worked: open PowerShellthe Terminal and type:

python --version

python3 --version

If you see a number like Python 3.12.0, you’re set!

You have several options, all work well for learning Python:

To start free today: open https://claude.ai in your browser and ask for Python code right in the chat, no extra setup needed.

For the full in-editor experience: install VS Code and add GitHub Copilot (Step 3). The free Copilot plan covers learning perfectly.

VS Code is the most popular code editor and GitHub Copilot integrates directly with it. The free Copilot plan includes 2,000 completions and 50 chats per month (confirm current limits at https://github.com/features/copilot/plans).

1. Install VS Code from https://code.visualstudio.com (free).
2. Open VS Code, go to the Extensions panel (Ctrl + Shift + XCmd + Shift + X) and search for GitHub Copilot. Install the official GitHub extension.
3. A window will open to sign in with your GitHub account (create one free at https://github.com if you don’t have one).
4. When you sign in, Copilot activates the free plan automatically.

Now, when you open a .py file and start typing, Copilot will show suggestions in gray. Press Tab to accept.

Want Claude integration instead of Copilot? See the tutorial How to connect Claude to Visual Studio Code.

The basic flow for programming Python with AI is always the same: describe to the AI what you want, copy the code, and run it.

Option A: by chat (Claude.ai or ChatGPT)

1. Open https://claude.ai in your browser.
2. Type, for example: “Write a Python script that greets me by name and tells me what day it is.”
3. Claude returns the code. Copy it.
4. Open NotepadTextEdit, paste the code, and save it as saludo.py (on your Desktop, for example).

Option B: in VS Code with Copilot

1. Create a new file in VS Code and save it as saludo.py.
2. Type a comment describing what you want: # Script that greets by name and shows today's date
3. Copilot suggests the code below. Press Tab to accept it.

Whether by chat or autocomplete, the AI generates the code for you: your job is to describe clearly what you want and run it.

1. Open PowerShellthe Terminal.
2. Navigate to where you saved the file. If you saved it on the Desktop:

cd $HOME\Desktop

cd ~/Desktop

3. Run the script:

python saludo.py

python3 saludo.py

You should see the greeting message on screen. You just ran your first Python program with AI!

If you see an error, don’t close it: copy the full message and paste it into Claude or ChatGPT. Ask: “I get this error running my Python script, what’s wrong?”. You’ll learn more from the error than from perfect code.

Finding errors is normal, even for programmers with years of experience. With AI, debugging is much faster:

1. When a script fails, the terminal shows an error message (starts with Traceback or Error:).
2. Copy the entire message.
3. Open Claude or ChatGPT and write: “I get this error running my Python script: [paste error here]. What’s wrong and how do I fix it?”
4. The AI explains the cause and gives you the corrected code.

You can also share the full script with the error so the AI has more context: “Here’s my code: [code]. I get this error: [error]. Help me fix it.”

For more AI debugging techniques, see the tutorial How to debug code errors with AI.

Once you have Python and an AI tool, the possibilities are enormous. Start small and grow:

• Custom calculator: a script that adds, subtracts, and multiplies with terminal menus.
• File organizer: moves files from one folder to others based on type (photos, documents, videos).
• CSV reader: reads a spreadsheet and shows sorted data.
• Word counter: analyzes a text and shows how often each word appears.
• Reminder bot: shows a message on screen when run, ideal to automate with the task scheduler.

For larger projects, like apps with a graphical interface or a database, see the tutorial How to create an app with artificial intelligence (no coding).