The reference for the most widely used quantum SDK. The transpiler and primitives sections are where you will spend real time once you move past toy circuits.
Intermediate · 8 resources
Programming with Qiskit
IBM's open-source Python SDK for building, simulating, transpiling and running quantum circuits — including on IBM's real hardware.
Why it matters
Qiskit has the largest tutorial ecosystem and the lowest barrier to touching real quantum hardware, which makes it the default first SDK for most learners.
After this you will be able to
- Build, simulate and visualise circuits in Python
- Transpile a circuit for a specific backend
- Submit a job to real IBM quantum hardware and read the results
Start here
3 best places to start
Hand-picked and ordered. If you only have time for one, take the first.
IBM's free structured course platform and the successor to the old Qiskit Textbook. Mixes written lessons, videos and runnable notebooks, and takes you from 'what is a qubit' to running jobs on real hardware.
Coding tutorials, seminar talks and the complete recordings of the Qiskit Global Summer Schools — which are effectively free graduate-level lecture series on algorithms and error correction.
Also covering this
5 more resources
Free accounts get a graphical circuit composer and a monthly allowance of runtime on genuine superconducting quantum processors. Your first noisy histogram from real hardware is a rite of passage.
Qiskit on GitHub
IBM / open source
The source itself, plus an unusually welcoming contribution process with good-first-issue labels. Landing a Qiskit PR is one of the most credible entry-level signals in the field.
Qiskit Textbook (archived)
Qiskit community
The legendary original Qiskit Textbook, now archived in favour of IBM Quantum Learning. The notebooks still run and its algorithm chapters remain some of the clearest explanations written.
Quantum Computing Stack Exchange
Stack Exchange
Where to ask when you are stuck, and often where your question has already been answered by a working researcher. Search before posting — the back catalogue is deep.
Quantum Computing UK tutorials
Quantum Computing UK
Short, complete, copy-pasteable Qiskit tutorials for individual algorithms and protocols. Useful when you want one working example of a specific thing rather than a whole course.
Next
This unlocks
Topics that list Programming with Qiskit as a prerequisite.
Other SDKs: Cirq, PennyLane, Q#, Braket
Qiskit is not the only option: Cirq targets Google hardware, PennyLane specialises in differentiable quantum programming, Q# is a dedicated quantum language, and Braket gives one API across several vendors.
IntermediateRunning on real hardware
Several vendors give free or cheap cloud access to real quantum processors, where you meet queueing, calibration data, connectivity constraints and genuinely noisy results.
IntermediateVariational algorithms (VQE & QAOA)
Hybrid loops where a shallow parameterised quantum circuit produces expectation values and a classical optimiser tunes the parameters — the dominant paradigm for near-term hardware.
Advanced