Free · A teen coding camp
Ship It.
An AI-first coding mini-course for teens — build and deploy a real web app, then understand every layer underneath it.
A free resource, offered as-is — by Paul Sapio.
(the build)
One site.
Five powers.
Every student picks their own club. The same real site grows one new capability per module — none of it faked.
A real student project — built with Claude Code
(the method)
Ship first.
Then open the hood.
Build something real on day one
A live website with a public URL — before a single line of theory. That's the hook that carries everything else.
Then peel back the layers
Database, backend, email, AI — one capability per module, each one visible the moment it works.
Always read what the AI wrote
The goal isn't teens who can prompt an AI. It's teens who can prompt it — and read the code it gives back.
(run it right)
Built to run compliantly.
Claude Code is an 18+ tool, so students never own the AI account — an adult does, and drives or supervises it. The course teaches the honest path (no faking ages), and every age rule and price is linked to its source and dated.
— No real personal data
Student databases hold made-up signups — never real people's names or emails.
— No secrets in code
API keys live in a .env file, never pushed to GitHub. If one leaks, you rotate it.
— Be kind in public
Anything live on the internet has your name on it. Build things you'd show a parent.
(the curriculum)
Ten modules.
Self-contained and modular. Run them in order, or remix them. Shipping beats finishing the syllabus.
- 00Read first
Before you start
Accounts, age & consent — the part most plans skip, handled first.
- —10 min
The mental model
You're the director. Claude is the crew. Watch the footage.
- 0160 min
Vibe coding
Make a computer do what you typed, in plain English.
- 0290 min
Ship on day one
A real website, live on the internet, with a URL you can text.
- 0345 min
How the web works
Requests, responses, and save points you can never lose (Git).
- 0490 min
Give it memory
A database, so the site remembers who signed up.
- 0575 min
The backend
A working signup form that actually saves to the database.
- 0660 min
Talk to humans
Send an automatic welcome email when someone joins.
- 0775 min
Make it think
Add a real, useful AI feature to the site.
- 0890 min
Capstone
Build & ship your own — then demo it to the room.