How to Use Claude Projects: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

Learning how to use Claude Projects takes about ten minutes, and it changes how you work with Claude. A project is a self-contained workspace with its own chats and its own knowledge base: you upload your documents once, write instructions once, and every chat inside the project starts with that context instead of from zero.

Projects are available on every Claude account, including free ones. Anthropic's help center says free users can create up to five projects, while paid plans add extra capacity for large knowledge bases. This guide walks through setup, the settings that matter, and four project setups that save real time.

What Claude Projects are (and when to use one)

Anthropic describes projects as "self-contained workspaces with their own chat histories and knowledge bases." In practice, a project bundles three things:

• Project knowledge: files, text and code you upload. Claude uses them as context in every chat in that project.
• Project instructions: standing rules for how Claude should respond, such as tone, format or the role it should play.
• Chats: separate conversations that all share the knowledge and instructions above.

Use a project when you return to the same material again and again: a client, a course, a book, a codebase, a side business. For a one-off question, a normal chat is faster.

One detail trips people up. Anthropic notes that context is not shared across chats within a project unless the information is added to the project knowledge base. If you worked something out in one chat and want the next chat to know it, paste the result into the knowledge base.

How to use Claude Projects: create your first project

Here is the setup, following Anthropic's own steps:

1. Open Claude and click Projects in the left sidebar (or go straight to claude.ai/projects).
2. Click + New Project in the upper right.
3. Give it a name and a description. Anthropic notes that Claude does not see these details, so they're for you, not for the AI.
4. On Team or Enterprise plans, choose whether to keep it private or share it with your organization.
5. Start a chat inside the project.

Tip: name projects after the outcome, not the tool. "Etsy shop listings" is easier to find in a month than "Claude test 3".

Add project knowledge the right way

The knowledge base sits on the right side of the project page. Click the + button and upload documents, text files or code snippets. Anything you add is used across every chat in that project.

What to upload depends on the job, but the pattern is the same: give Claude the material you would otherwise paste into every chat.

Anthropic's best practices for large projects apply to small ones too: use clear, descriptive filenames, keep related documents together, and refer to specific documents by name in your questions ("Using pricing-2026.pdf, draft a quote for…").

What happens when you upload a lot

On paid plans (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise), when project knowledge approaches the context window limit, Claude automatically switches to a retrieval mode (RAG). Anthropic says this expands a project's capacity "by up to 10x." You don't configure anything; you'll see Claude use a project knowledge search tool to pull the relevant parts of your files. On the free plan this RAG mode isn't available, so keep free projects focused.

Write project instructions that actually work

Click Set project instructions, write your rules and click Save instructions. Claude applies them to every chat in the project.

Good instructions are short and specific. A template you can adapt:

You are helping me run [project]. Audience: [who].
Always: answer in plain English, use short paragraphs, end with a next step.
Use the files in project knowledge as the source of truth. If something isn't in them, say so instead of guessing.
Format: [bullets / table / email draft].
Never: [things to avoid].

The line "if something isn't in them, say so" matters most. It keeps answers tied to your documents. If you want to get better at the wording itself, our guide on how to write ChatGPT prompts works the same way for Claude.

Manage memory inside projects

According to Anthropic, memory is on by default for Free, Pro, Max and Ultra plans on the web, desktop and mobile apps. Each project has its own memory:

• Inside a project, Claude uses that project's memory plus your general memory from chats outside projects, but not memory from other projects.
• New memories are saved to the project.
• To keep a project fully separate (useful for client work), turn off Use account memory under Memory on the project's page.
• You can switch memory off for a single chat from the + menu in that chat.

You can also move an existing chat into a project: open the dropdown next to the chat name, choose Add to project, and pick the project. The same menu removes chats or moves them between projects. Starring a project (the star icon, or the "..." menu on the Projects page) pins it to your sidebar.

Free vs paid: what changes

Projects themselves work on every plan. Here's what Anthropic's help pages and pricing page show today:

Projects draw from your plan's usage like any other Claude use, so very long chats with big knowledge bases use your limits faster.

Heads up: Anthropic is rolling out a new version of projects in beta, starting with Claude Code for some Pro, Max and Ultra users. In that version a project works as one conversation that splits work into parallel threads in the cloud. Anthropic says nothing is lost when existing projects move over. The steps above describe the current version most people see.

4 project setups that save time

1. The client folder. One project per client. Upload the brief, brand guide and two approved samples. Instruction: "Match the tone of the approved samples." Every draft starts on-brand.

2. The study room. Upload the syllabus and notes, then ask for quizzes, summaries and explanations of the topics you got wrong. (If you study with Google tools, compare with NotebookLM for studying.)

3. The content engine. Upload your style guide and a list of published titles. Ask for outlines, hooks and titles that don't repeat what you've already covered.

4. The small-business desk. Upload your price list, FAQ and policies. Draft replies to customer messages that quote your real prices. If you sell online, a funnel tool like systeme.io pairs well: Claude drafts the copy, systeme.io hosts the pages and emails.

Not sure Claude is the right assistant for you? Our ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini comparison lays out the differences.

FAQ

Are Claude Projects free?

Yes. Anthropic says projects are available to all users, including free accounts, with a maximum of five projects on the free plan. The extra-capacity RAG mode for large knowledge bases is only on paid plans.

Does Claude remember other chats in the same project?

Not automatically. Each chat shares the project's knowledge and instructions, but context from one chat isn't shared with another unless you add it to the project knowledge base. Project memory, when on, can also carry some details forward.

Can Claude see my project name and description?

No. Anthropic notes that Claude does not have access to a project's name and description. Put anything Claude needs in the instructions or knowledge base.

What's the difference between Claude Projects and normal chats?

A normal chat starts empty. A project chat starts with your uploaded files, your standing instructions and the project's own memory, so you don't repeat yourself.

Can I share a Claude Project with someone?

Sharing is available on Team and Enterprise plans, with "Can view" and "Can edit" permission levels. Free, Pro, Max and Ultra plans don't include project sharing.

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Sources

• What are projects? (Claude Help Center)
• How can I create and manage projects? (Claude Help Center)
• Retrieval augmented generation (RAG) for projects (Claude Help Center)
• Claude plans and pricing