Getting Started

Welcome to Agentic AI! This guide will help you set up your environment and run your first agent.

Quick Start Options

The fastest way to get started - no local setup required!

  1. Click any notebook link on the course homepage
  2. The notebook opens in Google Colab
  3. Add your API key in Colab secrets
  4. Run the cells!

Option 2: Local Development

For a full development environment on your machine.

Local Setup Guide

Step 1: Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

# Check Python version (need 3.11+)
python --version

# Check pip
pip --version

# Check git
git --version

Step 2: Clone the Repository 

git clone https://github.com/Digital-AI-Finance/agentic-artificial-intelligence.git
cd agentic-artificial-intelligence

Step 3: Create Virtual Environment 

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate on macOS/Linux
source venv/bin/activate

# Activate on Windows
.\venv\Scripts\activate

Step 4: Install Dependencies 

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 5: Configure API Keys

Create a .env file in the project root:

# .env file
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key-here

Never commit your .env file to version control!

Step 6: Verify Installation 

# test_setup.py
from openai import OpenAI
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()
client = OpenAI()

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o-mini",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say 'Hello, Agent!'"}],
    max_tokens=10
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Run the test:

python test_setup.py

You should see: Hello, Agent!

Getting API Keys

OpenAI

  1. Go to platform.openai.com
  2. Sign up or log in
  3. Navigate to API Keys section
  4. Create a new secret key
  5. Copy and save securely

Anthropic

  1. Go to console.anthropic.com
  2. Sign up or log in
  3. Navigate to API Keys
  4. Create a new key
  5. Copy and save securely

Both providers offer free credits for new accounts. Check their current offers.

Running Notebooks

Jupyter Lab (Local) 

# Install Jupyter
pip install jupyterlab

# Start Jupyter
jupyter lab

Navigate to any week’s notebook folder and open the .ipynb file.

VS Code

  1. Install the Python and Jupyter extensions
  2. Open the repository folder
  3. Open any .ipynb file
  4. Select your Python interpreter
  5. Run cells with Shift+Enter

Troubleshooting

API Key Not Found 

Error: OPENAI_API_KEY not found

Solution: Ensure .env file exists and contains your key, and you’re running from the project root.

Module Not Found 

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'langchain'

Solution: Activate your virtual environment and run pip install -r requirements.txt.

Rate Limit Errors 

Error: Rate limit exceeded

Solution: Wait a few seconds between API calls. Consider using time.sleep(1) between requests.

Connection Errors 

Error: Connection timeout

Solution: Check your internet connection. If using a VPN, try disabling it.

Next Steps

  1. Complete Week 1: Introduction to Agentic AI
  2. Read the ReAct paper
  3. Join the course GitHub Discussions

Getting Help

Ready to build your first agent? Let’s go!

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