Projects

Projects are persistent workspaces in claude.ai. Instead of scattered one-off chats, a Project keeps all the conversations, knowledge, and instructions for a body of work in one place.

Why Projects matter

The biggest friction in everyday AI use is re-explaining context. Projects solve that. Set the context once, and every chat inside the Project inherits it.

A Project gives you three things:

1. Project knowledge: files and reference material Claude can draw on in every chat.
2. Custom instructions: standing guidance (role, tone, format, rules) applied to all chats in the Project.
3. A home for related chats: keep all conversations on a topic together.

Setting up a great Project

1. Add knowledge

Upload the documents Claude should always have access to:

• Brand/style guides, tone-of-voice docs
• Templates and examples of "good"
• Product specs, FAQs, personas
• Reference data and past reports

This grounds Claude in your reality, not generic assumptions.

2. Write strong custom instructions

This is the highest-leverage part. Treat it like onboarding a new team member:

You are a content strategist for [Company], a [what we do].

Always:
- Write in our voice: clear, warm, no hype (see style guide in knowledge)
- Lead with customer benefits
- Use British English

When I share a draft, suggest improvements AND explain why.
When unsure about facts, ask rather than guess.

3. Work inside it

Start chats within the Project. Claude already knows the context, so your prompts get shorter and your results get more consistent.

When to create a Project

Create one for anything recurring or multi-session:

• A client or account
• A product or feature area
• A content channel (newsletter, blog)
• A role you play often (recruiting, support, analysis)

For genuine one-offs, a normal chat is fine.

Tips

• Curate knowledge. More isn't always better; include what's relevant and high quality. Outdated files lead to outdated answers.
• Iterate on instructions. When Claude repeatedly misses something, add a rule to the custom instructions instead of correcting it every chat.
• Share with your team (on Team/Enterprise plans) so everyone benefits from the same context and standards.

Try it

Create a Project for the work you do most. Add 2–3 reference files and a paragraph of custom instructions. Notice how much shorter your prompts become.

Next: Artifacts: Claude's living documents.