Setup

R + Python

  1. Clone this repository: https://github.com/chendaniely/2025-06-05-llm
git clone https://github.com/chendaniely/2025-06-05-llm.git
git clone git@github.com:chendaniely/2025-06-05-llm.git
  1. Use the provided requirements.txt and renv.lock file to create the virtual environments
    • R: you can use the setup-r Makefile target
    • Python: if you have uv installed (https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) you can also use the setup-python target
    • There is a convenience make setup target that combines both for you
make setup

IDE

I’m using Positron: https://positron.posit.co/, but feel free to use VS Code and/or RStudio

GitHub Models

You will need to create a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT). It does not need any context (e.g., repo, workflow, etc).

General instructions from the GitHub docs on creating a PAT: https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-personal-access-token-classic

Instructions from the GitHub Models docs: https://github.com/Azure-Samples/python-ai-agent-frameworks-demos/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#configuring-github-models

Local LLM: Ollama

  1. Download Ollama: https://ollama.com/
  2. Pick one of the many llama models on their model page from: https://ollama.com/search.
    • UBC has a restriction on DeekSeek
    • Pick any random model that will fit on your computer
    • You can pick multiple models if you’d like, we will compare results during workshop.
    • Here are a few example models with their download sizes you can try:
Model Download Size URL Install Command
qwen3:0.6b 523MB https://ollama.com/library/qwen3 ollama run qwen3:0.6b
qwen 5.2GB - ollama run qwen3
Phi 4 mini 3.2GB https://ollama.com/library/phi4-reasoning ollama run phi4-mini-reasoning
devstral 14GB https://ollama.com/library/devstral ollama run devstral
llama4 67GB https://ollama.com/library/llama4 ollama run llama4
llama4:128x17b 245GB - ollama run llama4:128x17b

(Optional): Chat provider with API

If you pay for Claude, OpenAI, etc access with their web/desktop application, this is a separate purchase for the API key. Depending on your usage, you may even find that paying for the API key could be cheaper!

Anthropic Claude

  1. Sign up at https://console.anthropic.com.
  2. Load up enough credit so you won’t be sad if something goes wrong.
  3. Create a key at https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys

Google Gemini

  1. Log in to https://aistudio.google.com with a google account
  2. Click create API key & copy it to the clipboard.

OpenAI ChatGPT