What This Course Is
The Claude Certified Developer — Foundations course prepares you to design, build, and operate production Claude integrations. It covers the full developer stack: how Claude processes tokens and context, how to structure prompts and tools reliably, how to use Claude Code and MCP servers in real workflows, how to run evals and harden against security threats, and how to choose and deploy Claude across platforms.
This is a practitioner-level course for developers who are building with Claude, not just using it. Every module connects theory to code.
Who This Is For
- Developers building Claude integrations for production
- Engineers preparing for the Claude Certified Developer certification
- Technical leads evaluating Claude for enterprise adoption
- Anyone who has shipped something with Claude and wants to close the conceptual gaps
Prerequisites: You should be comfortable reading Python or TypeScript and have made at least one Claude API call. This course is not an introduction to prompting — it starts one level deeper.
Five Modules
| Module | Topic | What You'll Learn |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | MSO Foundations | Tokens, context window, sampling, model family, reasoning, SDK vs REST |
| M2 | Production Prompting, Agents & Tool Use | System prompts, XML, few-shot, extended thinking, tool-use loop, agent patterns, memory, streaming |
| M3 | Claude Code, MCP & Integration | Permission modes, CLAUDE.md, hooks, subagents, MCP servers, enterprise auth |
| M4 | Production Engineering, Evals & Security | Evals, testing, failure handling, model selection, cost, prompt injection, ZDR |
| M5 | Accelerators, IP & Deployment | Packaging accelerators, contributing back, platform comparison, model versioning, trust boundaries |
Plus: a practice exam (53 questions) with a second practice set for a fresh run, domain-by-domain practice quizzes so you can drill your weakest area specifically, and a rapid-reference cheatsheet.
How to Use This Course
Read in order. Each module builds on the previous. M2 assumes you know M1's context-window mechanics. M3's hook examples assume you've read M2's tool-use loop.
Follow the code. Every code block is production-ready. Don't skim them — the exam tests whether you understand the implementation details, not just the concepts.
Use the callouts. [!NOTE] callouts flag exam-critical distinctions. [!TIP] callouts give practical rules of thumb. [!WARNING] callouts flag traps that produce plausible but wrong answers.
Take the practice exam last. Work through all five modules, then take the 53-question quiz. For every wrong answer, find the relevant section in the module and re-read it.
Certification Notes
The Claude Certified Developer exam tests:
- Conceptual accuracy — can you explain why a design decision is correct, not just that it is?
- Diagnostic thinking — given a symptom (wrong output, tool not called, context overflow), which fix applies?
- Boundary awareness — what is Claude's responsibility vs the application layer's?
- Security judgment — which design is safe? Which one has a structural flaw?
The exam does not test memorised facts. It tests whether you have built the right mental model.
This is a multi-session plan, not a single sitting. Reading all five modules takes a solid chunk of time on its own, and between the 53-question exam, the eight domain-specific practice quizzes, and the second full mock exam, there's several more hours of practice material — plan on spreading this across a week of evening sessions rather than one sitting.