Introduction: What You'll Learn

Course Overview

This course teaches command-line automation through building five practical scripts that integrate AI APIs. By the end, students will have working automation tools that save 30+ minutes per week on recurring tasks across economics, software engineering, and business domains.

What You'll Build

This course delivers five complete automation projects with production-ready code and documentation.

Why This Matters

Command-line automation creates immediate productivity gains. The five scripts built in this course automate tasks that currently consume 30+ minutes of manual work each week. Beyond time savings, this course builds foundational skills for Tier 2 automation: building reusable tools, managing secrets securely, and integrating external APIs.

Practical Applications:

Economics students automate data collection from public APIs and generate formatted reports. Software engineers batch-process code files and automate documentation generation. Business professionals integrate AI-powered text analysis into daily workflows.

The scripts become personal productivity tools that continue delivering value long after course completion. The function library serves as a starting point for future automation projects.

Learning Objectives

Core Skills Covered:

Master shell scripting fundamentals including bash and zsh syntax, control flow, and functions. Learn to call AI APIs from the command line using curl and Python CLI tools. Develop file operation skills for reading, writing, and processing text files.

Configuration Management:

Implement environment variable handling for API keys and configuration settings. Build secure secrets management using dotenv files and environment validation. Create reusable configuration systems that work across multiple scripts.

Script Engineering:

Design reusable function libraries with error handling and logging. Parse command-line arguments for flexible script execution. Build modular code that separates concerns and enables testing.

Prerequisites

Required Knowledge:

Completion of Tier 1 courses: T1.1 Prompt Engineering, T1.2 AI Model Interaction, and T1.3 Tool Integration. Basic command-line familiarity including ability to navigate directories, execute commands, and read terminal output.

Technical Requirements:

Understanding of environment variables and how to set them in shell configuration. Access to a terminal application: Terminal.app on macOS, Windows Terminal on Windows, or any Linux terminal emulator.

Helpful But Not Required:

Basic Python knowledge helps with understanding API integration examples. Familiarity with JSON format assists with API response processing. Prior experience with any scripting language accelerates learning curve.

Success Criteria

Technical Validation:

All five automation scripts execute successfully from command line without errors. Scripts accept command-line arguments and process them correctly. Error handling catches common failures and provides actionable error messages. Logging output shows execution progress and debugging information.

Productivity Metrics:

Scripts save 30+ minutes per week on recurring tasks when integrated into daily workflow. Each script completes target task faster than manual execution. Students can identify new automation opportunities and build scripts independently.

Code Quality:

Scripts follow shell scripting best practices including proper quoting, error checking, and function design. Configuration files use secure patterns for secrets management. Documentation enables other users to install and run scripts without assistance.

Time Commitment

Course Structure:

Quick Start section delivers first working script in 15 minutes, demonstrating immediate automation value. Core Build section develops the five main automation scripts over 50 minutes of hands-on coding. Domain Applications explore economics, software, and business use cases over 45 minutes total.

Total Duration:

Expect 90 minutes of hands-on work to complete core deliverables. Extension Patterns add 15 minutes for advanced techniques. Troubleshooting reference materials support self-paced problem solving.

Learning Pace:

The course supports incremental learning. Complete Quick Start first to validate setup and build confidence. Return to Core Build sections across multiple sessions. Domain Applications chapters work independently and can be completed in any order.

Course Navigation

Next Steps:

Proceed to Quick Start for immediate hands-on practice with first automation script. Review Prerequisites chapter if command-line fundamentals need reinforcement. Check Troubleshooting section for environment setup issues.

Course Structure:

Introduction (current chapter) establishes objectives and deliverables. Quick Start builds confidence with 15-minute first automation. Core Build develops all five production scripts. Domain Applications demonstrate real-world use cases. Extension Patterns teach advanced techniques. Troubleshooting provides FAQ and error solutions. Resources chapter links to documentation and related courses.