LangChain Essentials: Build Generative AI Apps and Agents — PickAClass
★ 4.0 (3) ⏱ 3h 3m 📚 30 lessons

LangChain Essentials: Build Generative AI Apps and Agents

Learn to build intelligent Generative AI applications, conversational agents, and custom retrieval pipelines using the powerful LangChain framework.

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About this course

Generative AI is transforming how we build software, but connecting large language models to real-world data and external tools requires a structured approach. This text-based course guides you through mastering LangChain, the leading framework for building robust, context-aware AI applications. You will transition from understanding basic AI prompts to constructing sophisticated systems that can remember past interactions, query external databases, and execute complex workflows. Through clear written explanations and practical code walkthroughs, you will gain the skills needed to design, deploy, and monitor production-ready AI agents. What you'll learn: - Understand the core architecture of LangChain, including prompts, models, and parsers. - Build custom retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines to connect AI models with private vector databases. - Implement conversational memory to maintain context in chat-based applications. - Design autonomous agents that use custom tools to solve multi-step problems. - Master LangChain Expression Language (LCEL) and asynchronous execution for highly performant application flows. - Configure application monitoring and debugging using Langsmith to optimize performance. The journey begins with foundational AI concepts and environment setup, ensuring you understand how language models communicate. From there, you will progress through structured modules covering chains, memory systems, vector embeddings, and autonomous agent design. This course is designed for software developers, data enthusiasts, and tech professionals who want to build AI applications. No prior experience with LangChain or generative AI is required, though a basic understanding of Python is helpful. Start reading today to unlock the potential of intelligent AI orchestration.

Course contents

6 modules · 30 lessons · 3h 3m

1 Foundations of LangChain
Understand how LLMs communicate and set up the core LangChain architecture.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. How LLMs Communicate
    Understanding the request-response nature of Large Language Models.
    6 min
  2. Setting Up Your Environment
    Installing LangChain and configuring API keys for development.
    6 min
  3. LLMs vs. ChatModels
    Distinguishing between completion models and chat-optimized models.
    6 min
  4. The Power of Prompt Templates
    Creating reusable and dynamic prompts for consistent AI behavior.
    6 min
  5. Structured Output with Parsers
    Converting raw AI text into usable JSON or Python objects.
    6 min
2 Logic with LCEL and Chains
Master the LangChain Expression Language to build complex logic flows.
5 lessons · 31 min
  1. Intro to LCEL
    Using the pipe operator to compose components together.
    7 min
  2. Your First Chain
    Building a simple prompt-model-parser sequence.
    6 min
  3. Branching and Merging
    Creating complex workflows that split and join data.
    6 min
  4. The Runnable Interface
    Understanding invoke, batch, and stream methods in LCEL.
    6 min
  5. Handling Data Flow
    Using RunnablePassthrough and RunnableParallel to manage inputs.
    6 min
3 Conversational Memory
Enable AI applications to remember past interactions.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. Why Memory Matters
    The challenge of statelessness in LLM applications.
    5 min
  2. Buffer vs. Window Memory
    Choosing between full history and a sliding window of context.
    6 min
  3. Persistent Memory Storage
    Saving chat history to external databases for long-term use.
    6 min
  4. Injecting History into Chains
    Dynamically adding chat history to your LCEL prompts.
    7 min
4 RAG and Vector Databases
Connect AI to private data using Retrieval-Augmented Generation.
6 lessons · 36 min
  1. The RAG Architecture
    Overview of the Load-Transform-Embed-Store-Retrieve cycle.
    6 min
  2. Document Loaders and Splitters
    Ingesting PDFs and text files into manageable chunks.
    6 min
  3. Understanding Embeddings
    How text is converted into mathematical vectors for search.
    6 min
  4. Working with Vector Stores
    Setting up and querying a private vector database like Chroma.
    6 min
  5. Advanced Retrieval Strategies
    Improving search results with multi-query or reranking.
    6 min
  6. The Complete RAG Chain
    Assembling the final pipeline from document to answer.
    6 min
5 Autonomous Agents
Design agents that can use tools and solve multi-step problems.
5 lessons · 32 min
  1. What are Agents?
    Moving from fixed chains to LLM-driven decision making.
    6 min
  2. Using Built-in Tools
    Giving your agent access to Google Search or Wikipedia.
    6 min
  3. Creating Custom Tools
    Wrapping your own Python functions as tools for the agent.
    7 min
  4. Agent Executors and ReAct
    How agents think, act, and observe to reach a goal.
    6 min
  5. Solving Multi-step Tasks
    Guiding agents through complex, non-linear problem solving.
    7 min
6 Production and Monitoring
Optimize performance and monitor applications with LangSmith.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. Asynchronous Execution
    Scaling your app with non-blocking async calls.
    6 min
  2. Streaming Responses
    Improving UX by showing AI output as it's generated.
    6 min
  3. Debugging with LangSmith
    Tracing every step of your chain to find bottlenecks.
    7 min
  4. Monitoring and Optimization
    Using feedback loops to improve prompt performance.
    6 min
  5. Course Wrap-up
    Reviewing the path to building production-ready AI.
    5 min
Final project

The Intelligent Knowledge Assistant

Build a context-aware assistant that can answer questions from a private document library, remember the user's name and preferences, and use a custom tool to fetch real-time data.

What you'll get

  • 📜 Certificate of completion
    Add it to your LinkedIn profile
  • 💬 Personal AI tutor
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  • ♾️ Lifetime access
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  • 📱 Phone or computer
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  • 💸 14-day refund
    No questions asked
  • ⚡ Short & focused
    3h 3m of practical content

Certificate of completion

Every course you complete on PickAClass issues a credential like this — original, with its own code, verifiable by URL, and detailed about what was actually demonstrated.

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Certificate of Mastery
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has successfully demonstrated mastery of
LangChain Essentials: Build Generative AI Apps and Agents
Skills demonstrated
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Behavioral pattern analysis
Foundational
1.2 hrs
✓
Decision-architecture frameworks
Proficient
1.4 hrs
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A/B test design
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1.7 hrs
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LangChain Essentials: Build Generative AI Apps and Agents
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Performance detail
Coursework summary
Lessons completed 14 / 14
Practice questions 26 / 28
Assignments submitted 4 (avg 4.5 / 5)
Capstone project Reviewed — 4.6 / 5
Total practice 6.2 hrs
Performance benchmark
Cohort rank Top 12% of 1,625
Time to completion 11 days (median: 22)
Mastery score 91 / 100
Practice-question score 94%
Skill verification Verified Skill Path
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Issued under the academic standards of PickAClass. Skill levels reflect assessed performance against the course's competency rubric. This is an original credential of this platform.

Reviews (3)

Léa Pelletier MC
★ 3 · October 15, 2026

Hmm, I'm not sure this is for absolute beginners. It assumes a bit of prior knowledge that wasn't explicitly taught. Some examples were confusing.

José Antonio García CO Verified learner
★ 5 · August 15, 2026

Really enjoyed the flow of this. The practical applications discussed were spot on. Great course!

أحمد بن عبدالله السالمي OM
★ 4 · July 16, 2026

I gained a lot from this. The structure made sense, and the examples were relevant. Just needed a little more explanation on a couple of topics.

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