The Hands-On Context Engineering Course That Ends With a Working System

Hands-on in this course means you write real Python code throughout the entire 6-hour session. Every concept introduced by Denis Rothman is immediately implemented: you build the semantic blueprint generator, implement the MCP server interfaces, write the context routing logic, set up the RAG pipeline, and configure the Glass-Box logging layer. You are not watching someone code — you are coding alongside the instructor, with your own working system at the end.

You will write approximately 500 to 800 lines of Python during this course: the Semantic Blueprint Generator class with blueprint template management, the MCPOrchestrator with task decomposition and routing logic, the RAGPipeline with retrieval, re-ranking, and citation tracking, the MemoryManager with working and episodic memory layers, the ContextRouter with budget-aware context assembly, and the GlassBoxLogger with structured logging and trace management. Each component is written incrementally with testing at each step.

The 6 hours are structured as six 60-minute hands-on modules with brief concept introductions before each build phase: Module 1 builds the Glass-Box logging infrastructure, Module 2 builds semantic blueprints and the blueprint generator, Module 3 builds the RAG pipeline with citations, Module 4 builds MCP agent servers and the orchestrator, Module 5 builds safeguards and validation, and Module 6 connects all components into the complete Glass-Box Context Engine and prepares it for production deployment.

The instructor paces the session to keep everyone building together, with consolidation points at the end of each module where stragglers can catch up. All participants receive the session recording immediately after the live session, so any code sections missed live can be implemented by following the recording. A reference implementation of the complete Glass-Box Context Engine is also provided to all participants as a comparison point.

The best preparation is to ensure your development environment is ready: Python 3.10 or later installed, a virtual environment tool configured, and familiarity with your preferred code editor. The instructor sends a setup guide with the exact dependencies to install before the session. Reading the first chapter of Denis Rothman's context engineering book (if available) provides useful background but is not required.

After completing this hands-on course you can build: new specialised agents for your specific domain by implementing MCP servers with appropriate tools, customised semantic blueprints for your use cases using the blueprint template system, custom RAG pipelines connected to your own document repositories, Glass-Box dashboards tailored to your monitoring requirements, and production deployments of the complete context engine adapted to your infrastructure. The course gives you both the working code and the architectural understanding to extend it.