# Easy AI How-To

> AI how-tos for everyone, beginner to advanced: plain-English, step-by-step guides for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and more, from your first prompt to APIs, MCP, RAG, and agents.

Easy AI How-To is an independent library of AI how-tos for everyone, beginner to advanced: from your first prompt to building agents. Every guide has a level (Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced) and a main tool (such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Grok), with numbered steps, a list of what you need, tips, and a FAQ. Beginner guides avoid jargon and usually work on a free plan. Advanced guides use code and explain each term the first time it appears. There are no user accounts on this site. Guides were checked on the date shown on each page. Button names inside AI products change.

The links below are the canonical HTML pages. Each HTML page also links a Markdown copy at `/guides/{slug}/llms.md` (`rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"`).

## Guides

- [Summarize a PDF in plain English](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/summarize-a-pdf) (Beginner, Gemini): Upload a PDF to free Gemini and get a short summary, the deadlines, and the parts worth double-checking.
- [Explain a bill or official letter](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/explain-a-bill-or-letter) (Beginner, Claude): Paste a bill or letter into free Claude and get plain English, the deadline, and what is actually being asked.
- [Write a clear email](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-a-clear-email) (Beginner, Claude): Tell free Claude who you are writing to and what you need. You get a short draft, and you send it yourself.
- [Plan a week of meals](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/plan-a-week-of-meals) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Give free ChatGPT your people, your time, and foods to skip. Get a 7-day plan and a shopping list you can edit.
- [Make a simple logo](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-simple-logo) (Beginner, Canva): Use Canva’s free plan to generate a simple logo, fix the spelling, and download a PNG without paying.
- [Transcribe a short recording](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/transcribe-a-short-recording) (Beginner, Gemini): Upload a recording under about 10 minutes to free Gemini and get a transcript with unclear words marked.
- [Translate text and keep the tone](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/translate-and-keep-the-tone) (Beginner, Gemini): Translate a note with free Google Translate, then ask Gemini to match the tone without adding new facts.
- [Turn messy notes into a to-do list](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/turn-notes-into-a-todo-list) (Beginner, Copilot): Paste rough notes into free Microsoft Copilot and get a checklist that does not invent tasks or due dates.
- [Rewrite resume bullets from real work](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/rewrite-resume-bullets) (Beginner, Claude): Ask free Claude for three resume bullets that use only the facts you provide, with blanks where a number is missing.
- [Make a study guide from your own notes](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-study-guide) (Beginner, Gemini): Add your notes to free Gemini Notebook and generate a study guide, then check the citations before you trust it.
- [Explain a topic in plain language](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/explain-a-topic-simply) (Beginner, Gemini): Ask free Gemini to explain one confusing topic with a daily-life example, then check a trusted source before you act.
- [Write a social media caption](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-a-social-caption) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Ask free ChatGPT for three short captions from what really happened, then post one yourself.
- [Compare two products before you buy](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/compare-two-products) (Beginner, Perplexity): Ask free Perplexity to compare two products with sources, then open those sources before you trust a price.
- [Make a message sound kinder](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-message-kinder) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Paste a blunt draft into free ChatGPT and get a kinder version that does not add apologies or new facts.
- [Build a packing list for a trip](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-packing-list) (Beginner, Gemini): Tell free Gemini where you are going, who is coming, and what you will do. Edit the list before you pack.
- [Cook from what you already have](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/cook-from-what-you-have) (Beginner, ChatGPT): List the food in your kitchen for free ChatGPT and get a meal that does not send you to the store.
- [Sketch a simple monthly budget](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/sketch-a-simple-budget) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Type your income and bills into free ChatGPT and get a plain monthly sketch. You check the math before you rely on it.
- [Shorten a long article](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/shorten-a-long-article) (Beginner, Claude): Paste an article you are allowed to use into free Claude and get a short summary plus the points worth reading in full.
- [Draft a thank-you note](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/draft-a-thank-you-note) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Give free ChatGPT one specific detail and who the note is for. You get a short thank-you you can send by hand or email.
- [Get started with Claude: your first useful chat](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-claude) (Beginner, Claude): Make a free Claude account, ask a clear first question, attach a file, and learn what to check before you trust the answer.
- [Get started with Grok: ask about what's happening now](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-grok) (Beginner, Grok): Open Grok on the web or in X, ask a first question, and use its live search to get current answers with sources you can check.
- [Get started with ChatGPT: your first useful chat](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-chatgpt) (Beginner, ChatGPT): Sign up for free ChatGPT, write a clear first request, refine the answer in the same chat, and check the result before you use it.
- [Get started with Gemini using your Google account](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-gemini) (Beginner, Gemini): Open Gemini with the Google account you already have, ask a first question, add a file or photo, and double-check the answer.
- [Set up a Claude Project so Claude always knows your context](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/set-up-a-claude-project) (Intermediate, Claude): Create a Claude Project, add instructions and reference files once, and get on-brief answers in every chat without pasting context again.
- [Build a custom GPT for a task you repeat](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-custom-gpt) (Intermediate, ChatGPT): Use the ChatGPT GPT builder to set instructions, add knowledge files, test in Preview, and share a custom GPT with your team.
- [Research real-time trends on X with Grok](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/research-real-time-trends-with-grok) (Intermediate, Grok): Use Grok's live X and web search to track a topic, compare opinions, and get a sourced summary you can verify before you act on it.
- [Five prompt patterns that get consistent results in any AI](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/prompt-patterns-that-work) (Intermediate, General): Reusable prompt patterns for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok: role and goal, examples, step limits, structured output, and self-checks.
- [Call the Claude API in Python and cut costs with prompt caching](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/call-the-claude-api-with-prompt-caching) (Advanced, Claude): Get an API key, make your first Claude Messages API call in Python, then add prompt caching so repeated long prompts cost less and run faster.
- [Build your first MCP server in Python and use it in Claude Desktop](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-an-mcp-server) (Advanced, Claude): Write a small Model Context Protocol server with the official Python SDK, expose a tool, and connect it to Claude Desktop so Claude can call it.
- [Build a simple RAG pipeline with the xAI Grok API](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-simple-rag-pipeline-with-grok) (Advanced, Grok): Answer questions from your own documents: split them into chunks, retrieve the best matches, and have Grok answer with citations via the xAI API.
- [Write simple evals to test your LLM app before you ship changes](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-evals-for-an-llm-app) (Advanced, General): Build a small eval set, score outputs with code checks and an LLM grader, and rerun it after every prompt or model change to catch regressions.
- [Get started with Claude Code: fix a bug from your terminal](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-claude-code) (Advanced, Claude): Install Claude Code, sign in, have it explain your project, plan and fix a real bug, and save project rules in CLAUDE.md so the next session starts smarter.
- [The Software Factory pattern: how a ticket becomes a reviewed PR](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-pattern-overview) (Advanced, Agents): A spec-driven, test-driven production line for AI coding agents: spec, then tests, then code, then validate, then review, then merge. An overview of the whole pattern.
- [Write an AGENTS.md Factory Manager that defines your whole SDLC](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-agents-md-factory-manager) (Advanced, Agents): Turn AGENTS.md into the Factory Manager: one file that defines the spec-first, test-first production line, its gates, the artifacts each stage leaves, and what agents may never do.
- [Create global sub-agents for every station of the Software Factory](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-global-sub-agents) (Advanced, Agents): Write reusable sub-agents for planning, exploring, research, coding, validation, tracker updates, code review, and PR fixes, each with one job and a compact handoff.
- [Connect Jira through the Atlassian MCP so tickets flow through the factory](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-jira-atlassian-mcp) (Advanced, Agents): Hook the Software Factory to Jira with Atlassian's Rovo MCP server: read a ticket, then post living Plan, Test Results, Execution Summary, and Handoff comments.
- [Read and write PR comments with the GitLab and Bitbucket MCP servers](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-pr-comments-gitlab-bitbucket-mcp) (Advanced, Agents): Let the factory's review agents post a structured code and security review, fix findings one at a time, and record a disposition on GitLab or Bitbucket, never merging.
- [The developer's new job: review the factory's artifacts before you merge](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-developer-review-before-merge) (Advanced, Agents): In the Software Factory, the developer is the final gate. A checklist for reviewing the spec trail, test evidence, review comments, and disposition report before merging.
- [Redact personal info from phone screenshots with ComfyUI and Qwen Image Edit on DGX Spark](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/redact-phone-screenshots-comfyui-qwen-image-edit-dgx-spark) (Intermediate, DGX Spark): A DGX Spark recipe by Greg Alton: run ComfyUI and Qwen-Image-Edit locally to scrub names, phone numbers, and emails from phone screenshots, on your own machine.

## Markdown copies

- [Summarize a PDF in plain English (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/summarize-a-pdf/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Explain a bill or official letter (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/explain-a-bill-or-letter/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Write a clear email (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-a-clear-email/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Plan a week of meals (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/plan-a-week-of-meals/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Make a simple logo (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-simple-logo/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Transcribe a short recording (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/transcribe-a-short-recording/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Translate text and keep the tone (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/translate-and-keep-the-tone/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Turn messy notes into a to-do list (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/turn-notes-into-a-todo-list/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Rewrite resume bullets from real work (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/rewrite-resume-bullets/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Make a study guide from your own notes (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-study-guide/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Explain a topic in plain language (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/explain-a-topic-simply/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Write a social media caption (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-a-social-caption/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Compare two products before you buy (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/compare-two-products/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Make a message sound kinder (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/make-a-message-kinder/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Build a packing list for a trip (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-packing-list/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Cook from what you already have (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/cook-from-what-you-have/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Sketch a simple monthly budget (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/sketch-a-simple-budget/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Shorten a long article (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/shorten-a-long-article/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Draft a thank-you note (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/draft-a-thank-you-note/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Get started with Claude: your first useful chat (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-claude/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Get started with Grok: ask about what's happening now (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-grok/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Get started with ChatGPT: your first useful chat (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-chatgpt/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Get started with Gemini using your Google account (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-gemini/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Set up a Claude Project so Claude always knows your context (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/set-up-a-claude-project/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Build a custom GPT for a task you repeat (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-custom-gpt/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Research real-time trends on X with Grok (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/research-real-time-trends-with-grok/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Five prompt patterns that get consistent results in any AI (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/prompt-patterns-that-work/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Call the Claude API in Python and cut costs with prompt caching (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/call-the-claude-api-with-prompt-caching/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Build your first MCP server in Python and use it in Claude Desktop (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-an-mcp-server/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Build a simple RAG pipeline with the xAI Grok API (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/build-a-simple-rag-pipeline-with-grok/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Write simple evals to test your LLM app before you ship changes (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/write-evals-for-an-llm-app/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Get started with Claude Code: fix a bug from your terminal (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/get-started-with-claude-code/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [The Software Factory pattern: how a ticket becomes a reviewed PR (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-pattern-overview/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Write an AGENTS.md Factory Manager that defines your whole SDLC (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-agents-md-factory-manager/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Create global sub-agents for every station of the Software Factory (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-global-sub-agents/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Connect Jira through the Atlassian MCP so tickets flow through the factory (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-jira-atlassian-mcp/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Read and write PR comments with the GitLab and Bitbucket MCP servers (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-pr-comments-gitlab-bitbucket-mcp/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [The developer's new job: review the factory's artifacts before you merge (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/software-factory-developer-review-before-merge/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.
- [Redact personal info from phone screenshots with ComfyUI and Qwen Image Edit on DGX Spark (Markdown)](https://easyaihowtos.com/guides/redact-phone-screenshots-comfyui-qwen-image-edit-dgx-spark/llms.md): Plain-text copy of the same guide.

## Series

- [The Software Factory](https://easyaihowtos.com/series/software-factory): A pattern by [Greg Alton](https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-alton-ios). Six advanced guides on running AI coding agents as a spec-driven, test-driven production line: spec, then tests, then code, then validate, then review, then merge.

- [DGX Spark recipes](https://easyaihowtos.com/dgx-spark): Story-driven recipes by [Greg Alton](https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-alton-ios) for running AI locally on NVIDIA DGX Spark. Theme: learn by doing.

## Browse

- [Guides by level](https://easyaihowtos.com/levels): Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.
- [Guides by tool](https://easyaihowtos.com/tools): Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and more.

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