Course · Beginner · 8 lessons · Free
Devin Fundamentals
Eight short lessons that take you from “what is Devin?” to running, reviewing and budgeting real work with it. Each lesson has a video, a written version and a quick knowledge check.
By Trevor Lowing, Devin Ambassador
Checked against Devin's documentation on 2026-11-12
Start with lesson 1.1Module 1 Meet Devin
What Devin is, and the places it runs.
- 1.1 What Devin is, and what it is not Devin is an AI software engineer that writes, runs and tests code on its own machine. This lesson covers what that means in practice and what still stays with you. Video · Written lesson · 3-question check
- 1.2 Cloud, Desktop and CLI: where Devin runs Devin comes as a cloud agent, a desktop editor and a command-line tool. This lesson explains what each one is and how to pick a starting point. Written lesson · 3-question check
Module 2 Your first session
Set up the environment, plan in Ask mode, and hand Devin a task it can finish.
- 2.1 Set up Devin's environment before your first task Connect your repository, let Devin propose its own setup, and understand the snapshot every session starts from. This is the step that decides whether Devin can check its own work. Written lesson · 3-question check
- 2.2 Plan in Ask mode, then run in Agent mode Devin has two modes. Ask explores your code and builds a plan without changing anything. Agent does the work. This lesson walks through using them in that order. Written lesson · 3-question check
- 2.3 Write a task Devin can finish When a session goes wrong, the task is usually the cause. This lesson covers the size, detail and finish line that Cognition's docs recommend. Written lesson · 3-question check
Module 3 Make it part of the team
Teach Devin your way of working, review its pull requests, and keep the bill predictable.
- 3.1 Teach Devin your way of working with Skills Skills are files that teach Devin reusable procedures. This lesson covers where they live, how Devin finds and uses them, and what is happening to Playbooks and Knowledge. Written lesson · 3-question check
- 3.2 Review pull requests with Devin Review When an agent writes more of the code, review becomes the bottleneck. This lesson shows how to open a pull request in Devin Review, what it adds, and how to turn on automatic reviews. Written lesson · 3-question check
- 3.3 Plans and usage: keep the bill predictable Devin is sold as a plan plus usage. This lesson covers the self-serve plans, what counts toward usage, and the habits that keep spending down. Written lesson · 3-question check