The Complete AI Workshop

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PART 0 · YOUR FIRST STEPS

What you need before you start

What you'll be able to do
Know exactly what you need to have to hand to follow the handbook, what it really costs, and how to bring that cost down.
A tidy desk with an open laptop, a mug, a notebook and a pencil.
Nothing exotic: a computer, an internet connection, and something to take notes with.

Accounts and equipment

The handbook has you driving four tools. Here is the bare minimum you need to follow them all.

  • A paid Claude account (Pro plan or above): the free plan lets you chat, but it includes neither Claude Design nor Claude Code.
  • A Higgsfield account for images and videos (ideally on the Ultra plan so you can do everything).
  • A browser for Claude, Design and Higgsfield; a computer for Claude Code (a small guided install, when the time comes).
Tip
No need to open everything at once. Start with Claude alone: that is what the whole of Part 0 is about. You'll open Higgsfield at the start of Part II, and you'll install Claude Code in Part IV.

What it costs, and how to bring it down

Let's be upfront: the handbook is a one-off purchase, but the subscriptions are paid every month. That is the real cost of learning all this, and it's what makes most beginners hesitate.

There is a simple way to bring the bill down: the referral programme. You get a personal code, and every person who buys the handbook with your code:

  • pays €40 instead of €50, so you're doing them a favour;
  • earns you €10, which you can put towards your own subscriptions.

The programme is open to everyone, no conditions attached. You can create your code from your referral dashboard.

One person hands a book to another; a coin comes back to them along a dotted arc.
You recommend it, the other person pays less, and a share comes back to you.
i
Note
This is not a promise of income, and this handbook is not a money-making method. It is simply a way to cut your costs if you like the handbook enough to tell people about it. If you tell no one, you lose nothing.

The seven words you'll come across

Seven words come up throughout the handbook. You don't have to memorise them now: come back here whenever a term escapes you.

➤ Prompt: your written request to the AI. "Prompting well" = putting what you want into clear words.
➤ MCP: the standard "remote control" that lets Claude drive an outside tool (like Higgsfield) for you.
➤ Credit: Higgsfield's currency: every image or video you generate uses a little of it.
➤ The terminal: an app already on your computer, where you type text commands. It's where Claude Code lives. Mac: the "Terminal" app; Windows: the "PowerShell" app.
➤ A project folder: an ordinary folder that holds a project's files. Claude Code always works INSIDE a folder.
➤ Git / commit: a project's version history / a "dated save" in that history. Claude Code takes care of it for you.
➤ Iterate: generate, look, correct, generate again. The normal way of working with any AI.
Warning
Only one thing gets used up as you go: Higgsfield credits, spent on every image or video you generate. Keep an eye on your balance at first, while you find your feet.
Key takeaways
  • A paid Claude account and a Higgsfield account are enough to follow everything; Claude Code also needs a computer.
  • You only open each account when it becomes useful. For now, Claude alone is enough.
  • The real cost is the monthly subscriptions. The referral programme helps bring them down: €10 for every person who buys with your code.
  • Seven words to know: prompt, MCP, credit, terminal, project folder, git / commit, iterate.
← ContentsWelcome, and how to use this handbook →

The rest of the handbook covers Claude, Higgsfield, Claude Design and Claude Code, with 11 recipes and a 30-day programme.

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