Projects Intermediate

Projects in Claude Desktop let you organize conversations around specific topics or workflows. Each Project can have custom instructions that shape Claude's behavior, uploaded knowledge files that provide persistent context, and multiple organized conversations.

What are Projects?

A Project is a workspace within Claude that groups related conversations together with shared context. Think of it as creating a specialized version of Claude for a specific purpose.

Why Use Projects? Without Projects, every conversation starts from scratch — Claude has no memory of your preferences, codebase, writing style, or domain knowledge. Projects let you set this context once, and it applies to every conversation within that Project.

Creating a Project

  1. Open the sidebar

    Click the sidebar icon or press the shortcut to reveal the left panel.

  2. Click "Projects"

    Navigate to the Projects section in the sidebar.

  3. Create a new Project

    Click "Create Project" and give it a descriptive name like "Blog Writing Assistant" or "React App Development."

  4. Add custom instructions

    Write instructions that tell Claude how to behave in this Project. These instructions are included in every conversation.

  5. Upload knowledge files (optional)

    Add files that Claude should reference in every conversation: documentation, style guides, code samples, etc.

Custom Instructions

Custom instructions define how Claude should behave within a Project. They are included as context in every conversation automatically.

Example: Technical Writing Project 
You are a technical writing assistant for a SaaS product.

Style Guidelines:
- Use active voice and present tense
- Keep sentences short (under 25 words)
- Use second person ("you") when addressing the reader
- Include code examples for API-related topics
- Format with clear headings and bullet points

Product Context:
- Product name: DataFlow
- Primary users: data engineers and analysts
- Tech stack: Python, PostgreSQL, REST API
- Tone: Professional but approachable
Example: Code Review Project 
You are a senior code reviewer for a TypeScript/React project.

When reviewing code:
- Check for TypeScript type safety issues
- Look for React best practices (hooks rules, memoization)
- Flag potential performance issues
- Suggest test cases that should exist
- Follow our ESLint config: no-any, strict-null-checks
- Prefer functional components over class components

Always provide specific, actionable feedback with code examples.

Knowledge Files

Upload files to your Project that Claude can reference in any conversation:

File Type Use Case Example
Style guides Ensure consistent writing/coding style Company style guide PDF, ESLint config
Documentation Give Claude product/API knowledge API docs, user manual, architecture docs
Templates Generate consistent outputs Email templates, report templates, code scaffolds
Reference data Provide domain knowledge Product catalog, glossary, team roster
Code samples Show Claude your coding patterns Example components, utility functions, test files

Managing Conversations in Projects

  • Start new conversations: Each conversation within a Project inherits the custom instructions and knowledge files
  • Organize by topic: Create separate conversations for different aspects of the project
  • Search conversations: Use the search function to find past conversations within a Project
  • Star important conversations: Mark key conversations for quick access later
Pro Feature: Projects with knowledge files and custom instructions are available on the Claude Pro plan ($20/month). Free users can create basic conversations but have limited Project features.

Try It Yourself

Create a Project for a task you do frequently (writing emails, reviewing code, analyzing data). Write custom instructions that capture your preferences and requirements. Start a conversation within the Project and notice how Claude follows your instructions automatically.

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