Getting Started

New to AI engineering, or new to Bee? This short section gets you from zero to a working LLM call and points you at the right learning path.

The 3-step start

flowchart LR
    A[1. Set up<br/>your environment] --> B[2. Make your<br/>first LLM call] --> C[3. Follow a<br/>learning path]

• 1. Setup & Prerequisites

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  Python, a virtual environment, and an API key. Five minutes.

  Set up

• 2. Your First LLM Call

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  Send a prompt, get a response, understand every line.

  First call

• 3. Pick a Path

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  A sequence that takes you from fundamentals to shipping.

  Learning paths

What you need

• Basic Python — you can read and write functions, use pip/uv, and run scripts.
• A terminal — macOS, Linux, or Windows (WSL recommended on Windows).
• An API key from an LLM provider. The examples default to Anthropic, but the concepts apply to any provider.

No GPU required

Almost everything in Bee uses hosted APIs — no local GPU needed. The few sections that use local models say so explicitly and offer CPU-friendly options.

What you don't need

• ❌ A machine learning degree
• ❌ Deep math (we build intuition first; math is optional depth)
• ❌ Expensive hardware

Ready? Set up your environment →