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Claude Projects Setup Guide

Quick reference for creating and configuring Claude Projects for persistent context.

What Are Projects?

Projects let you organize conversations around a specific topic or task. You can add:

  • Project Knowledge — Documents, files, and code that Claude references in all chats
  • Project Instructions — Custom guidelines that shape Claude's behavior

Projects are available on all plans. Free users can create up to 5 projects.

Create a Project

  1. Go to claude.ai/projects or click Projects in the sidebar
  2. Click + New Project in the upper right
  3. Enter a project name and description
  4. For Team/Enterprise: choose visibility (private or shared)

Add Project Knowledge

Project knowledge provides context for all conversations within the project.

  1. Open your project
  2. Click the + button in the project knowledge section (right side)
  3. Upload documents, text files, or code
  4. Files are now available to Claude in all project chats

Tips: - Add all relevant documents upfront—more context helps Claude assist you better - Use clear, descriptive file names so Claude can find the right information - Paid plans automatically enable RAG mode when content approaches context limits

Set Project Instructions

Project instructions guide Claude's behavior across all chats in the project.

  1. Open your project
  2. Click Set project instructions
  3. Write your guidelines (tone, role, format preferences, etc.)
  4. Save

Example instructions: 

You are helping me with [specific task].

When responding:
- Use a professional tone
- Format code examples in Python
- Ask clarifying questions before making assumptions

Note: Context is not shared across individual chats within a project—only content in the project knowledge base is available to all chats.

Organize Your Projects

Star projects — Click the ⋮ menu or star icon to mark frequently-used projects for quick access

Move chats to projects — Use the dropdown arrow next to a chat name to add standalone conversations to a project

Archive projects — Click ⋮ menu → Archive (archived projects appear at the bottom of your list)

Delete projects — Unarchive first, then use ⋮ menu to delete permanently

Share Projects (Team/Enterprise)

  1. Click Share project next to the project name
  2. Add members by name or email
  3. Choose permission level:
  4. Can use — View contents and chat, but cannot edit
  5. Can edit — Modify instructions, knowledge, and member settings
  6. Shared projects appear in recipients' "Shared with me" tab

Troubleshooting

Claude isn't using my uploaded files? - Verify files uploaded successfully (check project knowledge section) - Try asking Claude directly about the content: "What files do you have access to?" - For large knowledge bases, Claude uses RAG—be specific in your questions

Project instructions not being followed? - Check instructions are saved (re-open the project to verify) - Be explicit and specific in your instructions - Start a new chat within the project after updating instructions

Can't share a project? - Sharing requires Team or Enterprise plan - Verify you have edit permissions on the project

Next Steps

  • Review the course slide deck for detailed walkthrough
  • Post in Slack if you encounter issues

Resources