---
type: concept
title: "Learn by Building"
description: "Learning AI engineering by building real projects, forking open source, and rebuilding from docs rather than passive study."
tags: [learning, projects, open-source]
videos: [i-built-a-safer-openclaw-alternative-using-claude-code, how-id-learn-ai-agents-fast-if-i-had-to-start-over-full-roadmap, code-100x-faster-with-ai-heres-how-no-hype-full-process, the-glow-up-every-ai-agent-needs, use-open-webui-with-your-n8n-ai-agents-voice-chat-included, i-forked-boltnew-and-made-it-way-better, get-qualified-leads-while-you-sleep-with-ai, the-only-ai-developer-roadmap-you-need-in-2024]
created: 2026-07-21
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# Learn by Building

Learn by building is Cole's conviction that you actually understand AI engineering only by making things with it, not by passively consuming tutorials. "I'm a very hands-on learner. And honestly, I believe pretty firmly that everyone is," he says, because "I always learn a lot more when I actually do something... you want to learn by doing." The claim is not just pedagogical taste; it is that building is what produces real understanding and control over what your systems do.

The strongest version of the idea is the build-it-yourself principle. Rather than adopting a powerful open-source assistant wholesale, "the balance we should strike here is we should learn from these powerful open-source assistants that are out in the wild, but build something ourself so we truly understand and control the solution." The payoff is ownership: "I'm a proponent of building your own solution because then you truly understand and control what your agent is doing and you can customize it to the exact level of control that you need." This is also why so many of Cole's projects are subpar-tool replacements, "most of these platforms are straight up just not good, so you might as well just build the agent yourself."

Forking is the on-ramp. Open source lets you learn by taking something real and changing it, "it is also open source, so going to the GitHub right here you can download all of the code... what makes it even better is you can extend this application because you have access to all the source code," and "it's a really cool lesson for you to see how you can change applications when you fork them." Cole models this by forking the local AI starter kit and adding his own services to it. The other engine of learning-by-building is docs and examples: give the coding assistant "a lot of documentation and examples," including "a link to a GitHub repo that has an already existing implementation... using this example kind of as documentation," and learn to read SDK documentation directly "instead of relying on YouTube videos to teach you how to do any basic thing." Follow a structured path of real builds and "you're going to be comfortable creating any AI application you could possibly dream of."

## Builds on

- [Rapid Prototyping](./rapid-prototyping.md) - fast, hands-on builds are how the learning actually happens.
- [Open-Source & Local AI Coding](./open-source-ai-coding.md) - forking real projects is a primary way to learn by building.

## Related

- [Community-Driven Development](./community-driven-development.md) - learning alongside others, in public, on shared projects.
- [Capabilities Over Tools](./capabilities-over-tools.md) - building teaches the durable, tool-transcending skills.
- [Provider Independence](./provider-independence.md) - understanding your own build is what frees you from any one vendor.
- [Reduce Assumptions](./reduce-assumptions.md) - building surfaces the gaps that passive study hides.
- [Second Brain](./second-brain.md), [RAG](./rag.md), [MCP](./mcp.md), [Local & Self-Hosted AI](./local-ai.md) - representative projects to learn by building.
- [Agent as an API Endpoint](./agent-as-api-endpoint.md) and [Agent Protocols](./agent-protocols.md) - patterns best internalized by implementing them.
- [AI Agent Business Niches](./ai-agent-business-niches.md) - building your own beats adopting weak off-the-shelf platforms.
- [Visual Workflow Builder](./visual-workflow-builder.md) - a lower-code surface for hands-on building.
- [AI Agent Learning Roadmap](./ai-agent-learning-roadmap.md) - Cole's ordered path for learning to build AI agents, from Python and LLM fundamentals through no-code prototyping, coded agents, RAG, and multi-agent architectures.

## Tools

- [bolt.new](../entities/tools/bolt-new.md) - open source, so you can download, run, fork, and extend it to learn.
- [Claude Code](../entities/tools/claude-code.md) - used to build a safer, self-understood alternative to an existing open-source assistant.

## Sources

- [How I'd Learn AI Agents FAST if I Had to Start Over (Full Roadmap)](../sources/how-id-learn-ai-agents-fast-if-i-had-to-start-over-full-roadmap.md) - "[0:07:04] I always learn a lot more when I actually do something... You want to learn by doing."
- [I Built a Safer OpenClaw Alternative Using Claude Code](../sources/i-built-a-safer-openclaw-alternative-using-claude-code.md) - "[0:01:08] we should learn from these powerful open-source assistants that are out in the wild, but build something ourself so we truly understand and control the solution."
- [I Built a Safer OpenClaw Alternative Using Claude Code](../sources/i-built-a-safer-openclaw-alternative-using-claude-code.md) - "[0:04:42] I'm a proponent of building your own solution because then you truly understand and control what your agent is doing and you can customize it to the exact level of control that you need."
- [I Forked Bolt.new and Made it WAY Better](../sources/i-forked-boltnew-and-made-it-way-better.md) - "[0:02:40] what makes it even better is you can extend this application because you have access to all the source code"
- [Code 100x Faster with AI, Here's How (No Hype, FULL Process)](../sources/code-100x-faster-with-ai-heres-how-no-hype-full-process.md) - "[0:18:15] I'm just giving it a link to a GitHub repo that has an already existing implementation of a Python MCP server. So it's using this example kind of as documentation."
- [The ONLY AI Developer Roadmap You Need in 2024](../sources/the-only-ai-developer-roadmap-you-need-in-2024.md) - "[0:07:50] learn how to learn from SDK documentation, so instead of relying on YouTube videos to teach you how to do any basic thing"
- [Use Open WebUI with Your N8N AI Agents - Voice Chat Included!](../sources/use-open-webui-with-your-n8n-ai-agents-voice-chat-included.md) - "[0:03:34] I just forked the local AI starter kit and added my own flavor into it"
- [Get Qualified Leads While you Sleep with AI](../sources/get-qualified-leads-while-you-sleep-with-ai.md) - "[0:00:34] most of these platforms are straight up just not good so you might as well just build the agent yourself with something like n8n or LangChain instead"
- [The GLOW-UP Every AI Agent Needs](../sources/the-glow-up-every-ai-agent-needs.md) - "[0:15:45] this is the big empty space for you to fill in with all the logic for your agent"
