Projects in Claude

This article discusses a feature in Claude Chat known as Claude Projects, which can handle large knowledge bases and is useful for repeated tasks.

What is a Project?

Projects are dedicated workspaces inside Claude that hold everything related to a specific area of work -- your instructions, your uploaded documents, and your conversation history -- all in one place. Claude references that context across every conversation you have within the project. Think of it as setting up a workspace where Claude already knows the background before you start each session.

Projects have the following characteristics:

• Persistent knowledge. Documents you upload to a project stay there. You do not need to re-upload files every time you start a new conversation.
• Custom instructions. You write instructions once and they apply to every conversation in the project -- tone, format, process, constraints.
• Organized history. All conversations within a project are grouped together, so related work stays connected.
• Team collaboration. Claude for Work users (Team and Enterprise plans) can share projects with colleagues so everyone works from the same foundation.

Because of their unique characteristics, not every task needs a Project. Here is a simple way to think about it:

Setting Up a Project

Getting a project started takes just a few minutes.

Step #1: Creating Your Project

1. Go to claude.ai and click Projects in the left sidebar
2. Click New Project
   
   
    
3. Give it a descriptive name. "Fall 2025 Course Design" is more useful than "Project 1"
4. Add a brief description so teammates understand the purpose
5. Select Create Project when complete
   
   

Step #2: Writing Your Instructions

Project instructions tell Claude how to behave across all conversations in this workspace. Good instructions include:

• Context about what you are working on
• Tone and style preferences
• Specific requirements or constraints
• Process steps if Claude should follow a particular workflow

"This project supports the development of a new undergraduate course in environmental science at UNLV. All responses should be written for a faculty audience. Use clear academic language. When I upload course materials, summarize the key learning objectives and flag any gaps in the content sequence. Always align suggestions with active learning best practices."

Step #3: Building Your Knowledge Base

Upload documents Claude should reference: syllabi, style guides, meeting notes, templates, research reports. Name your files descriptively so Claude can find and use the right content.