AI Tools

How and when to use AI in this course

The course policy

The course runs a phased AI policy, and the rules are different in each part.

  • Part I (Sessions I–V): no AI. You learn to read, write and debug Python yourself. The only assistant you may use is the course chatbot (the widget in the sidebar), and in Part I it deliberately explains and hints rather than handing you finished code.
  • Part II (Sessions VI–IX): AI is allowed and taught. From Session VI we work with AI on purpose. Checkpoints 4 and 5 explicitly allow AI.
  • Part III (Sessions X–XIII): AI is encouraged, with disclosure. Use what makes you productive on your project.

The disclosure rule. Every submission that used AI says so. In Parts I–II that is a one-line note on the submission saying what the AI was used for. For example: “Used AI to explain a KeyError and to draft the docstring for load_data().” In Part III it lives in a short section of your project repo’s README: which tools you used, what for, and what you verified yourself. This is not about catching anyone out. Being able to say clearly what a tool did for you is part of using it well.

The rest of this page shows you how to get a working, zero-cost AI setup. You need at least one. The Mistral path below is the guaranteed-free baseline; everything after it is optional.

Menu paths and program terms on this page are current as of July 2026.

The guaranteed free setup: Mistral

This path costs nothing and needs no credit card. Do this one first.

1. Create a free Le Chat account

Go to chat.mistral.ai and sign up. Le Chat is Mistral’s chat assistant (the equivalent of ChatGPT or Claude in your browser). The free tier is enough for asking questions, explaining errors and drafting code.

2. Get a free La Plateforme API key

If you later want AI inside your editor (see the Zed section below), you need an API key.

  1. Go to console.mistral.ai and sign in with the same account.
  2. Choose the free “Experiment” tier when prompted.
  3. Open the API Keys page and create a new key.
  4. Copy the key somewhere safe. You will paste it into Zed later. The key is shown only once, right when you create it, and cannot be displayed again. If you miss it, you have to generate a new one.

Free-tier data is used for training by default. On the free Experiment tier, your API inputs and outputs may be used to improve Mistral’s models unless you opt out. To opt out:

  1. Open the Admin Console at admin.mistral.ai.
  2. Click Privacy in the left-hand menu.
  3. Find the “Anonymous improvement data” section and turn the toggle off.

Do this before you paste real coursework into the API. The free Le Chat tier also uses your conversations for training by default; you can turn that off in the Admin Console under Vibe → Privacy (on the mobile app: Settings → Data & Account Controls).

Zed + AI

Zed is the editor we use from Session X on, but you install it before then, as part of the Session IX pre-work. Download it from zed.dev (there are builds for macOS, Windows and Linux), run the installer, and open it once to confirm it launches. This section only covers the AI-provider side, connecting an AI model to Zed.

The education program

If you are an enrolled student, Zed gives you its paid plan for free:

The 12 months expire. After 12 months the Student plan automatically downgrades to the free plan. It is a great head start, not a permanent free ride, so don’t build a habit that depends on the credits lasting forever. This is exactly why the Mistral path above matters: it stays free.

Which subscription actually works in Zed?

This is the part that surprises people. Having a paid AI subscription does not automatically mean you can use it inside Zed. Here is the truth table:

You have Works in Zed? How
ChatGPT Plus / Pro Yes Sign in with your OpenAI account directly in Zed. No API key needed.
Claude Pro / Max No (not via the built-in Anthropic provider) Zed’s built-in Anthropic provider needs separate Anthropic API credits, which a Pro/Max subscription does not include.
Mistral (free API key) Yes Paste the free La Plateforme key from the section above.

Claude Pro/Max is the common trap. A Claude Pro or Max subscription is for the Claude apps and websites. It is not the same as Anthropic API credits, and Zed’s built-in Anthropic provider bills against API credits. So a Claude subscription alone will not power the assistant in Zed. If your only paid plan is Claude, use the free Mistral key for in-editor AI instead.

Fallback: OpenRouter free models

OpenRouter is a second zero-cost option. Sign up with an email (no credit card), create an API key, and you can call a set of free models. It is OpenAI-compatible, so any tool that accepts an OpenAI-style key plus a server address (the “base URL”) can use it. Treat this as a backup if the Mistral path ever gives you trouble.

What about Copilot?

You may have heard of GitHub Copilot. Since April 2026, GitHub has paused new sign-ups for its paid Copilot plans indefinitely, with no announced reopening date. If you already had Copilot set up before then, you may keep using it. If not, don’t count on it for this course. Use one of the free paths above.

The course chatbot

The chat widget in the sidebar stays available in Part II as well. The difference: in Part I it hints and explains; in Part II it will give you full code on request, because by then working with AI-generated code is part of what you are learning. It knows the course material, so it is often the fastest way to get an answer that fits what we have actually covered.

Recap

You now have:

  1. A free Le Chat account for questions and explanations.
  2. A free La Plateforme API key (with the training opt-out done) for AI inside your editor.
  3. Optionally, a Zed education application and an OpenRouter fallback key.
  4. The one habit that applies everywhere: a one-line AI-disclosure note on every submission that used AI.

Bring your Mistral API key to Session X. That is where we plug it into Zed.