Build AI Apps with Python: Multi-Turn Conversations — Chatbot with Memory | Episode 3

Build a chatbot that remembers what you said! In this episode, we create a conversation history list and send it with every API call — giving Claude memory across multiple turns. The key insight: Claude has no built-in memory. You create it by storing every message (user and assistant) in a list and passing the full history with each call. Three conversation turns prove it works — Claude remembers context without us repeating ourselves. Student code: https://github.com/GoCelesteAI/build-ai-apps-python/tree/main/episode03 Every keystroke is shown on screen with 3-second pauses so you can follow along at your own pace. What You'll Learn: • Conversation history as a Python list • The while True input loop for interactive chatbots • Appending user messages with role and content • Passing history as the messages parameter • Appending assistant responses to maintain context • Running interactive scripts with :sp | terminal python % • Testing memory across 3 conversation turns • Breaking out of the loop with a quit command Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:12 - What is Conversation History? (Preview) 0:44 - Creating chatbot.py 1:00 - Imports and setup 1:48 - history = [] — the key concept 2:28 - While True loop and input() 3:05 - Appending user messages to history 3:40 - API call with messages=history 4:32 - Printing and appending assistant response 5:18 - Save and run with terminal split 5:58 - Turn 1: "What is Python?" 6:18 - Turn 2: "What are its main uses?" — memory test 6:38 - Turn 3: "Which one should a beginner start with?" 7:18 - Code review 7:35 - Recap: 3 Key Takeaways 8:07 - End Screen Key Takeaways: 1. Conversation history is a list of messages with alternating user/assistant roles 2. Append both user and assistant messages to maintain full context 3. Claude sees the entire history each call — that's how it remembers This is Episode 3 of Build AI Apps with Python in Neovim — 32 episodes from API basics to production deployment, covering tool use, RAG, AI agents, and more. Taught by CelesteAI. Like & subscribe for more tutorials! Tags python ai chatbot, claude api conversation history, multi-turn chat, anthropic sdk, chatbot with memory, python chatbot tutorial, claude api python, ai memory, conversation context, input loop python, while true loop, terminal split neovim, build ai apps python, neovim tutorial, ai tutorial 2026, llm conversation, generative ai python, screenkey, code along