AI guides and practical learning paths
Browse 34 source-checked guides covering AI foundations, advanced workflows, and hands-on projects. New readers can follow a roadmap in order; experienced readers can choose a specific problem below.
Start with the foundations
Learn the vocabulary, limits, tool-selection habits, prompting methods, and verification checks every AI user needs.
Build stronger AI systems
Move from isolated prompts to grounded files, custom assistants, image and video workflows, agents, automation, and a personal AI stack.
Ship a working prototype
Follow project-based tutorials for PDF summarisation, browser extensions, debugging, credential safety, and responsible deployment.
Latest guides
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![[Step 1-A-3/4] Chunking, Token Limits & Surviving Timeouts (Developer Edition)](https://lifetechhack.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/expert-420-chunks.png)
[Step 1-A-3/4] Chunking, Token Limits & Surviving Timeouts (Developer Edition)
Learn how to chunk long PDF text for AI summarization, estimate token limits, prevent context-window errors, and survive API timeouts with retries and exponential backoff.
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![[Step 1-A-2/4] Extract Text From PDFs — Detect Scans and Encoding Problems (Developer Edition)](https://lifetechhack.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/expert-415-extract.png)
[Step 1-A-2/4] Extract Text From PDFs — Detect Scans and Encoding Problems (Developer Edition)
Learn how to extract text from PDFs with Python, detect scanned or garbled output, validate the result, and use OCR when a file has no searchable text layer.
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![[Step 1-A-1/4] Build an AI PDF Summarizer — Environment Setup & Your First API Call (Developer Edition)](https://lifetechhack.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/expert-411-setup.png)
[Step 1-A-1/4] Build an AI PDF Summarizer — Environment Setup & Your First API Call (Developer Edition)
Build an AI PDF summarizer with Python: create a secure project, store your API key safely, test the connection and diagnose common errors step by step.
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The Expert Workflows Curriculum Roadmap: From Learner to Shipper (Level 3)
This is the master roadmap for Expert Workflows — the hands-on, project-based track that follows AI Essentials and AI Deep Dive.
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Step 8: Capstone — Build Your Personal AI Stack and Apply It Responsibly
Build a personal AI stack, choose a realistic income path, document your skills and plan your first 30 days with practical privacy and verification guidance.
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Step 7: Vibe Coding — Build Your First Real Tool Without a CS Degree
Learn how beginners can use AI-assisted coding to build, test and review a small personal tool safely, with practical limits for security, privacy and maintenance.
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Step 6: AI Agents & Automation — Delegate Whole Workflows, Safely
AI agents acts. The moment AI can click, send, buy, and delete on your behalf, “you sign the work” stops being a good habit.
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Step 5: AI Video & Voice — From Script to Screen Without a Studio
The people producing great AI video aren’t finding a magic prompt; they’re writing in shots, generating in pieces, and assembling like editors.
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Step 4: AI Image Generation — Prompt Like an Art Director
Welcome to the Creation Studio — Phase 2 of the AI Deep Dive. For three lessons you’ve bent text to your will: engineering context, grounding in your files,…
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Step 3: Build Your Own AI Assistant — Custom GPTs, Claude Projects & Gemini Gems (No Code)
A custom AI assistant is hiring them once — instructions and knowledge baked in — so they show up every day already knowing you…
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Step 2: Feed the Machine — Your Files, Your Data & RAG (No Code Required)
Learn how file uploads, knowledge bases, and RAG help beginners ground AI answers in their own documents—without code.
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Step 1: Advanced Prompting & Context Engineering — From Formulas to Systems
A great prompt is a sentence. A prompt system is a machine. Level 1 taught you to brief the AI beautifully once
How these guides are prepared
Life Tech Hack is edited by G. Troy. Guides are checked against official documentation and primary sources where facts can change. Practical limits—including privacy, API credentials, costs, copyright, and AI hallucinations—are identified before readers act. AI tools may assist drafting or organisation, but the final article is reviewed and edited before publication.
See About Life Tech Hack for the editorial approach, or report a correction.