Free programme

SQL in the Age of AI

Learn SQL from scratch, then learn to trust the SQL an AI writes for you.

No experience needed - you write your first query by hand in lesson one.

Start the first course Register for the next cohort

3 courses - Free - Runs locally, no account needed

The programme

Three courses. Start with the first - it is live now.

01 Live

Ask the Data

Write SQL by hand, then audit the SQL an AI agent writes for you.

15 lessons~153 minBeginner

Start course

02 Coming soon

Design the Model

Turn vague questions into defensible queries and models an agent can reason about.

15 lessons~152 minIntermediate

03 Coming soon

Run the Pipeline

Build, test, and operate a SQL pipeline with an agent as a collaborator.

15 lessons~168 minAdvanced

See the 15 lessons inside "Ask the Data" Preview lesson one

1. Set up the workspace

SQL, databases, and agents in plain words
What you can and cannot delegate
Set up the project with one prompt
Meet the warehouse

2. Write your own SQL

Ask one table a question
Count, sum, and group
Join two tables without breaking the number
Name your steps with CTEs

3. Bring in the agent

Ask the agent for a query
Audit what it wrote
Interrogate the logic
Fix the context, not the prompt

4. Make it stick

Save a query as an asset
Capstone: find the six wrong queries
Recap and next steps

Self-paced

Free, start now

Open the first course and start. No account, no signup, no email.

Start the first course

Next cohort

Free, register

Same lessons, plus a private Slack channel, office hours, and a certificate. Dates are shared after you register.

Why & how

Agents write most SQL now. Your job is to trust it - or catch it.

A query that errors costs you a minute. A query that runs and quietly returns the wrong number can cost far more. This programme makes you fluent enough to read SQL, then teaches one loop for checking the SQL an agent writes.

AskReadInterrogateVerifyDecide

Runs locally

One command builds a small dataset on your machine. No cloud, no credentials.

Messy on purpose

Missing values, duplicate keys, and broken links are planted so you learn to find them.

Portable skills

They transfer to dbt, Dataform, SQLMesh, or any stack. Bruin is just the environment.

See a real "silent failure"

agent - duckdb-default

# you: total revenue across all orders?

SELECT SUM(order_total) AS revenue
FROM orders o
JOIN order_items oi ON o.order_id = oi.order_id;

Runs fine. 2.4x too high. order_total is counted once per line item, not once per order.

The audit catches it. Correct total: 604,065.00.

Frequently asked

Questions people ask first

Do I need to know SQL already?
No. The first course starts from SELECT and has you writing queries by hand before any agent is involved.
What do I need to start?
A terminal you are willing to type into, and an AI coding tool - Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex. No prior SQL, no database, no cloud account, and no credit card. If you can copy and paste one command, you are ready; the agent handles the intimidating parts, including Git.
Why not just ask the agent to double-check its own SQL?
Because it checks with the same assumptions it wrote with. If the first query used the wrong join, the self-check usually repeats it. The course teaches you to verify with a genuinely different method, which is what catches a wrong number.
What is the difference between self-paced and the cohort?
The lessons are identical and fully open either way - nothing is gated. The cohort adds a private Slack channel, regular office hours, and a certificate on completion. Cohort dates are announced in the community channel after you register.
Do I need a cloud account or a warehouse?
No. One command generates a small retail dataset on your machine in about a tenth of a second. An optional MotherDuck path exists if you want a cloud warehouse.
How long does it take?
The first course is 15 lessons and about 153 minutes of reading. How long it actually takes depends on how much you practise - most people spend a few hours to a few days per course.

Write your first query today.