LLMs are transforming how we write code, build tools, and analyze data, but getting started with directly working with LLM APIs can feel daunting. This workshop will introduce participants to programming with LLM APIs in R using ellmer, an open-source package that makes it easy to work with LLMs from R. We’ll cover the basics of calling LLMs from R, as well as system prompt design, tool calling, and building basic chatbots. No AI or machine learning background is required—just basic R familiarity. Participants will leave with example scripts they can adapt to their own projects.