What do you want to learn?
Say what you already know and what you want to learn. Your path starts there, then your answers decide what comes next.
An example step
Summing each customer's latest shipped order
Your shop wants the total value of every customer's most recent shipped order, and a teammate wrote a query with ROW_NUMBER inside a CTE to get it.
Read the orders table and the query. Type the one number the query returns.
| customer | order_date | status | amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada | 2024-01-05 | shipped | 40 |
| Ada | 2024-02-10 | shipped | 70 |
| Ada | 2024-03-01 | cancelled | 200 |
| Ben | 2024-01-20 | shipped | 30 |
| Ben | 2024-02-25 | shipped | 90 |
| Cy | 2024-03-03 | cancelled | 50 |
| Dee | 2024-02-02 | shipped | 60 |
WITH ranked AS (
SELECT customer,
amount,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (
PARTITION BY customer
ORDER BY order_date DESC
) AS rn
FROM orders
WHERE status = 'shipped'
)
SELECT SUM(amount)
FROM ranked
WHERE rn = 1;These are real steps from paths on AZ.dev. On a path, the feedback is written for the answer you give.
What happens after a miss
These are steps 7 to 12 of a real path on shell commands. The answer to step 7 was wrong, so the path served a lesson on that mistake, then three more steps on the same idea. The first of those is the Fix it on the Shell tab above. After them, the path went back to an earlier concept.
- Step 7PredictCounting log-rule lines in a notes fileNot yet
- Step 8LessonThe Shell Expands *.log Before Your Command Ever Sees It
- Step 9Fix itFix the log-rule lookup in the backup rulesGot it
- Step 10CritiqueReview: Priya's billing-logs check scriptGot it
- Step 11Fix itFix the exclude-list lookupGot it
- Step 12Choice with a reasonCounting config files without the permission noiseGot it
Ten kinds of step
SQL, shell commands and regexes run on the server against the step's own data. Written answers and reasons are checked against a rubric for the concept.
Code that runs
- PredictSay what a query or a shell command returns before it runs.
- Editor labWrite SQL, a shell command or a regex, and run it against the lab's data.
Short answers
- Fill in the blankType the missing term or clause.
- Put in orderPut the steps of a procedure in the order that works.
- Write the missing partFinish work that has one decision left out.
Judgment
- Choice with a reasonPick an option and say why. The reason is what gets checked.
- Fix itCorrect work that has a mistake in it.
- CritiqueFind what's wrong in someone else's work.
Talk and write
- Persona conversationTalk a situation through with a persona and find out what they care about.
- Written answerExplain it in your own words.
More with an account
An account keeps everything you start, with its results. It also lets you rehearse a conversation you describe and build a path from your own material.
Learn from your own material
Upload a PDF, Word, Markdown or text file, pick the sections you want, and press Learn from this. You get a path built from those sections, where each step links back to the section it came from.
Uploading your own sources is Premium.
- Paging and escalation
- Rolling back a deploy
- Postmortem template
Free includes 100 credits a month. A new concept on a path costs 10. Scenario rehearsals and spoken replies spend credits too. See pricing
Learn by solving a mystery
Each game is a mystery in twelve nights, where you solve each night with the skill it teaches.
- SQLNight ClerkWork the night shift at a small-town records office and query the town ledger.Play
- ShellSorting OfficeWork a sorting office's night desk with ls, grep, sort, uniq, cut, pipes and redirects.Play
- JavaScriptWeigh HouseKeep a harbor's night slips with filter, map, sort, reduce, grouping and joins.Play
- NumbersCopy DeskCheck a newspaper's figures against the town's records: percents, averages and rates.Play
Questions
Anything else: support@az.dev
Do I need an account?
Not to try it. Without an account you can try one thing: a path's first 7 steps or five minutes with the voice coach. A rehearsal needs an account. To keep going, enter your email and use the sign-in link we send you. What you started moves into your account with its results, and the account has no password unless you add one. If you don't sign up, what you started is deleted after 30 days.
Does it only teach programming?
No. A path can be about anything you can describe. The example steps on this page come from software paths.
What conversations can I rehearse?
Any conversation you can describe, such as a mock job interview, asking for a raise, giving hard feedback, a sales call or a talk with your kid's school. An AI persona plays the other person, like a partner in a role-play, and answers what you say, typed or out loud. When you're done, you get a score and advice on what to do better. You can run the same rehearsal again, like a conversation simulator, and each attempt gets its own score.
What can I learn by voice?
Any topic you can learn by listening and answering out loud, such as speaking a language you're learning, the ideas in a book you just finished, or an oral exam you're preparing for. The voice coach is an AI voice tutor. It teaches you in spoken lessons and asks you to explain things in your own words, and your answers decide what it teaches next.
What does it cost?
Each new concept on a path costs 10 credits, which covers its teaching, practice and every review. Credits also pay for scenario rehearsals, spoken replies and voice coach sessions. Free includes 100 each month. On Free, your first two voice coach sessions each month spend no credits. Unused monthly credits roll over, up to 2× your monthly grant, and you can top up anytime. Uploading your own sources is Premium.
How is this different from video courses or asking an AI?
A video course gives everyone the same lectures, and a general AI answers the questions you think to ask. On a path, you answer the questions. Every concept opens with a quick check of what you already know, so you skip the lesson when you pass it. After a wrong answer, you get a step on that mistake. Concepts come back for review after a gap.
How is my next step chosen?
From your goal and your answers so far. A fixed rule reads the result of each checked step and picks the next one. A concept you've passed is skipped, one you haven't gets more practice, and a wrong idea your answer showed gets a step of its own.
How does a concept count as retained?
A concept counts as practiced once you've answered a graded step on it. It's retained when you pass it twice and were sure of your answer both times. The second pass counts only once its review is due. Your latest answer on it has to be right, and no wrong idea about it can still be open. A clear miss between the two passes starts the count over, unless you'd said you weren't sure. The path is complete when every concept on it is retained.
Can I learn from my own material?
Yes, with Premium. In Sources, upload a PDF, Word, Markdown or text file, pick the sections you want and press "Learn from this". You get a path built from those sections, with each step linking back to the section it came from.
Start from what you already know
Type what you want to learn.