Getting started with projects in Claude.ai

Claude.ai Projects Overview

Claude.ai Projects are described as self-contained workspaces that improve how you use Claude by bundling:

• Chat history
• A project-specific knowledge base
• Customized settings/instructions

What Projects Improve / How They Work

• Project knowledge (RAG-enabled): You can upload documents to each project. Claude automatically considers this knowledge along with your prompt for every chat in that project.

• More context without running out of limits: Projects with lots of content use retrieval augmented generation (RAG) so Claude can draw from a larger information set.

• Project instructions: You can define how Claude should respond per project (e.g., formal tone, specific perspective/industry, desired outcomes). These instructions apply to all chats in the project.

• Context sharing behavior: Uploaded knowledge is shared across chats within the same project. General “context” is not shared across separate chats unless it’s added to the project knowledge base.

• Optional in-chat uploads: You can upload content during a conversation without adding it to the project knowledge base (it stays separate from the persistent knowledge base).

Collaboration Features (Claude for Work)

• Sharing projects with others in an organization

• Visibility settings:

  • Private (personal use)
  • Public (team collaboration)

• Permissions (3 levels):

  1. Can view: read contents/knowledge/chat, but no changes
  2. Can edit: modify instructions, update knowledge, manage members, and contribute
  3. Project creator: controls everything, including who can see/share the project (can restrict or make it visible org-wide)

• Shared with me tab and email notifications when someone shares a project with you

• Multi-member work: multiple people can contribute documents, create chats, and collaborate within the same project environment

Setup / Creation Steps (Tutorial-like)

1. Click “New project” and give it a name.
2. Add a project description (what you want to achieve) and click Create project.
3. Configure the project:
   • Set visibility (private vs public)
   • Add project instructions (tone, expertise, response style, desired outcomes)
   • Upload project files/knowledge via the files menu (+):
     • Supports PDFs, documents, CSVs, text files, and Google Drive connections
   • Uploaded materials become usable across all chats in that project

Examples of Project Use Cases

• Product development management (e.g., an eco-friendly water bottle) to organize ideation → launch information and track design evolution
• Course creation (e.g., AI fluency coursework) to organize materials and iteratively improve lessons
• Personal finance tracking to store financial data securely, analyze spending patterns, and support calculations/planning
• Home renovation planning to centralize decisions, communications, design ideas, and budget calculations

Main Sources / Speakers

• The video narration/host from Anthropic (Claude.ai product team / help center-style presentation)