Claude Projects
A project is a workspace for one goal: its instructions, knowledge files and chats stay together, so every chat starts from what you already gave it.
One workspace for one goal
Projects are self-contained workspaces, each with its own chat history and knowledge base.
Projects work on every plan, including Free. A Free account can make up to 5 projects.
Open my projects on claude.ai (new window)What is inside a project
Project
One workspace for one goal
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Instructions
How should answer in this project — a role, a tone, the rules to follow. They apply to every chat in the project.
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Knowledge files
Documents, text and you upload. Claude uses them as in every chat in the project.
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Chats
The conversations you start inside the project. Each chat begins with the instructions and the knowledge.
Instructions and knowledge reach every chat. What you say in one chat does not carry to the next chat — unless you add it to the knowledge.
Make your first project — a study project for one course
Example: a project for your biology course. The syllabus and your notes become the knowledge, and Claude becomes a tutor that knows your course.
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1Create the project
Open Projects on claude.ai and press the button. Give it a name such as "Biology — Fall term". Claude cannot see the name or description; they are only for you.
Button on screen: + New Project
Open Projects (new window) -
2Add the syllabus as knowledge
Press + in the knowledge area on the right of the project page and upload the syllabus, your lecture notes and the reading list.
Button on screen: +
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3Write the instructions
Tell Claude how to help in this project, then press Save instructions. You can copy this example:
Button on screen: Set project instructions
You are my biology tutor. Explain in simple words, use examples from the syllabus, and end each answer with one short quiz question.
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4Start a chat in the project
Open the project and start a chat. Claude already knows the syllabus and your rules. Try:
Make a short quiz on chapter 3 of the syllabus, then check my answers.
How knowledge grows
- Small knowledge: Claude reads it all within the
- Knowledge nears the limit
- Paid plans: turns on by itself and searches only the parts it needs
At first Claude reads all the project knowledge at once, inside its context window. On paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise), when the knowledge nears that limit, Claude switches to RAG mode by itself: it uses a project knowledge search tool to pull out only the parts it needs. There is nothing to set up.
Share with your team — Team and Enterprise
On Team and Enterprise plans you can share a project with people in your organization. Each person gets one of two roles.
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Can view
Can see the contents, knowledge and instructions and can chat in the project, but cannot edit it.
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Can edit
Can change the instructions and knowledge, manage members and remove other members.
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Share project
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Add a name or email
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Choose a role
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Share
A project can be private (only invited members) or public to your whole organization. Even in a public project, your chats stay private unless you share them.
The new Projects: one conversation, many cloud threads
A new of projects began rolling out with . Here a project is one ongoing conversation, and Claude splits the work into threads that run in the .
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You
Paste tasks, bug reports or a whole list
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Project conversation
Claude coordinates and starts a thread for each task
Threads running in parallel (example tasks)
- Fix a bug in the login page
- Add tests for the payment code
- Summarize a folder of support tickets
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Each thread is usually a cloud session — Claude Code running in the cloud, not on your computer. Cloud threads keep going after you close your laptop, and you can check on them from your phone.
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Set context once: every new thread starts with the project instructions, , and files.
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A thread that changes code works on its own and can open a .
The Overview pane sorts threads by state, for example:
- Working
- Waiting on you
- Ready for review
- Resolved
Who can use it: it is a beta for select Pro and Max users and is rolling out step by step. Team and Enterprise do not have it yet. If Projects is not in the sidebar of claude.ai/code (also check under More), you can join the waitlist.
It draws from your plan usage, and several threads at once use it faster. Check Thread model and Thread effort in Project settings, and start with a few threads.
Some existing Pro and Max projects are being moved to the new version. Nothing is deleted.
| Classic project | New Projects (beta) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Claude chat (claude.ai) | Claude Code (claude.ai/code, desktop app, mobile app) |
| Who does the work | You chat with Claude, one chat at a time | Claude starts threads and runs them in parallel |
| What every chat or thread starts with | Instructions and knowledge files | Instructions, memory, repositories and files |
| Plans | Every plan (Free: up to 5 projects) | Select Pro and Max users |
Tips and cautions
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Never upload secrets
No passwords, or private keys. Knowledge is read in every chat, and on Team plans also by the people you share with.
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The name is not an instruction
Claude cannot see the project name or description. Put what Claude must know into the instructions or the knowledge.
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Chats do not remember each other
If one chat produced a good summary, add it to the knowledge so later chats can use it.
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Give Can edit carefully
Members who can edit change the instructions and knowledge for everyone. Give it only to people who need it.
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Watch your usage
Large knowledge and many parallel threads use your plan faster. Keep only the files the goal needs.
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Check against the source
Claude can still make mistakes. Compare important answers with the syllabus or the textbook.
Official sources
Checked against the official help on 2026-10-26. Plans and screens change, so read the official pages too.
- Claude Help Center — What are projects? (new window)
- Claude Help Center — How can I create and manage projects? (new window)
- Claude Help Center — Retrieval augmented generation (RAG) for projects (new window)
- Claude Help Center — Project visibility and sharing (new window)
- Claude Code Docs — Let Claude coordinate ongoing work with Projects (new window)
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