⚡ Key takeaways
- A project is a home for ongoing work: reference files, saved instructions, and related chats in one place.
- Free includes up to five projects. Everything in this guide works without Pro.
- Files go in project knowledge, rules go in instructions. Keep the two apart so you can update facts without rewriting rules.
- Chats in a project don’t see each other. Only what you put in the project knowledge carries over.
Every month you start a new chat for your book club’s newsletter, paste the same brief, and type the same rules again: US English, keep it short, don’t make up a date. A Claude project lets you save the brief and the rules once. Every new chat inside the project starts with both. In this guide you set up that project, test it with a fresh chat, and learn how to keep it current.
When should you use Claude Projects?
Use a project when several conversations need the same background: a newsletter, a course, a job search, or a recurring report. Anthropic’s Projects lesson recommends them for reference material you use again and again and for rules every answer should follow. A one-off rewrite can stay in a normal chat.
Step 1: Create the project
The project guide describes these controls in Claude Desktop and on claude.ai.
- Click Projects in the sidebar.
- Click + New Project.
- Type Neighborhood reading newsletter as the name.
- Type a short description, such as Monthly invitations and book suggestions.
- Click the button that creates the project.
The name and description are only labels for you. Anthropic says Claude does not see them, so the working facts go in the next two steps. Some Pro, Max, and Ultra accounts are moving to a new Projects beta; if your screens look different, the same ideas apply.
Step 2: Add a reference file
Open Notepad, paste the brief below, and save it as newsletter-brief.txt. The open details are on purpose: they make it easy to spot when Claude fills in something it shouldn’t.
Neighborhood reading newsletter Audience: Adult neighbors interested in a monthly reading discussion. Purpose: Invite neighbors to join the discussion and suggest books. Meeting format: A 45-minute group discussion. Meeting date and time: Not decided. Meeting location: Not decided. Next book: Not selected. Call to action: Ask readers to suggest a book.
Add it to the project, not to a single chat:
- Open the newsletter project.
- Click + in the project knowledge area on the right.
- Select newsletter-brief.txt.
- Check that the file now shows in the project.
A file you attach to one chat stays in that chat. A file in project knowledge is available in every chat of the project. For file types and size limits, see our guide to uploading files and images to Claude.
Step 3: Save the project instructions
The brief holds the facts. The instructions tell Claude how to work with them. Keeping them apart means you can change a date without touching your style rules.
- Click Set project instructions on the project page.
- Paste the instructions below.
- Click Save instructions.
Write in US English for adult neighbors. Keep newsletter drafts concise and welcoming. Use only the event facts in newsletter-brief.txt. Mark missing event details as "To confirm". Do not invent a date, location, or book.
Step 4: Test it in a fresh chat
A new chat is the real test, because it has nothing to go on except what the project holds.
- Start a new chat inside the project.
- Send: “Draft a short invitation for this month’s meeting.”
- Check the draft against your brief.
It passes if the date, location, and book all say “To confirm” and the tone follows your rules. You didn’t mention the brief or the rules in your message, so a pass shows the project did the work. If Claude invents a date, reply “Follow the project instructions” and check the next version.
Step 5: Keep the brief current
When the group picks a date, update the brief in the project, not only the copy on your PC. Edit newsletter-brief.txt, upload the new version to the project knowledge, and remove the old copy so Claude never sees two versions. Then run the Step 4 test once more.
From my own use
I planned my last trip step by step in one project, with a separate chat for each part of it. The final plan was spot on, but not because Claude got it right on its own. It got there because I kept steering it, chat after chat.
Projects and memory
Chats inside a project don’t share their conversations with each other. Decisions you want Claude to use later belong in the brief.
Memory is separate. According to Anthropic’s memory documentation, each project has its own memory and also uses your account memory. To keep a project fully separate, open Memory on the project page and turn off Use account memory.
Sharing a project (Team and Enterprise only)
On Free and Pro you can stop here: project sharing is a Team and Enterprise feature. On those plans, a shared project gives colleagues the same files and instructions. Members with Can view can read and chat in the project. Members with Can edit can also change the instructions, the files, and who has access. Start everyone on Can view and give edit rights only to people who maintain the project.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when a project gets very large?
On paid plans, Claude switches to searching the project knowledge when it nears its limit, and pulls in only the relevant parts. A short brief like this one never gets close.
Should my writing style go in the brief or the instructions?
In the instructions. Put stable rules, such as US English and a friendly tone, there. Keep changing facts, such as the meeting place, in the brief.
Next: Claude artifacts, where Claude turns the same brief into a page, a document, or a deck you can edit. This is part 2 of Claude beyond the basics; the beginner series covers accounts, prompts, and files.
John Lock
The Tested Weekly
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