Imagine you need Claude to help you with your blog. Every time you start a new conversation, you have to explain the same things: your writing style, the audience you write for, the topics you cover, and the tone you prefer. After doing this five times, it gets tiring.
Projects solve this. A project is a workspace where Claude remembers everything about a specific area of work. You set it up once. Every conversation inside that project already knows the context.
This guide walks you through creating your first project step by step. No prior experience needed.
What You Will Learn
By the end of this guide, you will know:
- How to create a project in Claude
- How to upload files so Claude can reference them
- How to write instructions that tell Claude what to do
- How to start a conversation inside your project
- How RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) works automatically
What Is a Project, Exactly?
Think of a project as a dedicated folder with its own memory and rules.
When you create a project, you get three things:
A dedicated workspace. Every conversation in this project stays separate from your other chats. You can have a project for your blog, another for your codebase, and another for researching a topic. None of them mix.
Project knowledge. You can upload documents, code files, PDFs, and images. Claude reads these and uses them to answer your questions. You upload once, and Claude references them in every conversation.
Project instructions. You tell Claude how to behave. The tone to use, the role to play, the rules to follow. These instructions apply to every chat inside the project.
Together, these three things mean you never have to repeat yourself. Claude already knows the context.
Before You Start: What You Need
A Claude account with a paid plan. Projects are available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. Free plans have access to basic projects, but with limited knowledge and capacity.
A goal for the project. Think about what you want to use the project for. A single area of work works best. For this guide, we will create a project called "Blog Writing".
Some files to upload. These can be anything Claude should reference. Writing samples, style guides, notes, research documents. You can add them later too.
Step 1: Open Claude and Find the Sidebar
Open Claude in your browser or desktop app. On the left side of the screen, you will see a sidebar.
The sidebar has several sections. One of them is labelled Projects. Below it, there is a button that says Create Project or shows a + icon.
If you do not see the Projects section, check your plan. Projects are available on paid plans.
Step 2: Create the Project
Click the Create Project button.
A dialog box opens. It asks for two things:
Project Name. This is required. Choose a name that clearly describes what the project is about.
Good names:
- Blog Writing
- E-commerce API Documentation
- Q3 Marketing Content
- Personal Finance Research
Bad names:
- Work Stuff (too vague)
- Project 1 (means nothing tomorrow)
- My Project (you will forget what it was for)
For this guide, name it Blog Writing.
Description. This is optional but useful. It appears in the project list and helps you remember what the project is for when you come back weeks later.
For the description, write: "Claude helps me draft and review blog posts. Includes my writing style guide and past articles."
Click Create. The project is now ready.
Step 3: Upload Knowledge Files
You are now inside your new project workspace. The screen shows the chat area. Above it, there is a section for Project Knowledge.
Click the upload area or drag files into it.
What should you upload? Anything Claude needs to know about your topic.
For a blog writing project, you might upload:
- A document describing your writing style (tone, vocabulary, audience)
- A few of your past blog posts so Claude can learn your voice
- Research notes or reference links
- An editorial calendar
Claude supports these file types:
- PDF files (up to 100 pages for full text and visual analysis)
- Text files (.txt, .md)
- Word documents (.docx)
- Code files (.py, .js, .ts, .rb, .go, .java)
- Spreadsheets (.csv, .xlsx)
- Images (.png, .jpg, .gif, .webp)
Drag your files into the upload area. Claude processes them and adds them to the project knowledge. You will see them listed.
If you add too many files and cross the size limit, Claude automatically switches to RAG mode. More on that later.
Step 4: Write Project Instructions
Project instructions tell Claude how to behave in this project. Think of them as a briefing you give to a new team member.
Click the Instructions field or the edit icon next to it.
Write instructions that answer these questions:
- Who is Claude in this project?
- What tone should Claude use?
- What rules should Claude follow?
- What should Claude avoid?
Here is an example for a blog writing project:
You are a blog writing assistant. You help me draft, review, and improve blog posts.
Use a calm, practical tone. Write in simple English. Avoid jargon and buzzwords like "leverage", "paradigm", and "disruption". Use short paragraphs with one idea each.
Before writing, check the uploaded style guide and past posts to match my voice. If you are unsure about something, ask rather than guess.
When reviewing my drafts, focus on clarity, structure, and readability. Flag sentences that are too long or hard to follow. Suggest improvements but keep my original meaning.
Save the instructions.
Every conversation in this project will now follow these instructions. You do not need to repeat them.
Step 5: Start a Conversation
Now that your project has knowledge and instructions, it is time to use it.
Type your first message in the chat box. Be specific about what you need.
A good first message:
I want to write a blog post about the benefits of using projects in Claude. The audience is new users who have never used projects before. Can you help me outline the post?
Claude will:
- Read the uploaded files to understand your style
- Follow the project instructions to match your tone
- Respond with an outline based on your request and the available context
If you want Claude to reference a specific file, name it.
Look at the writing style guide I uploaded. Write a first draft of a blog post about project management for small teams. Follow the structure I used in my previous posts.
Claude searches the project knowledge, finds the relevant files, and responds.
Step 6: Start a New Conversation When Needed
Projects allow many conversations. Each conversation has its own history.
When you start a new task, create a new conversation inside the same project. Click the + button or New Chat in the project.
The new conversation shares the same project knowledge and instructions. But it has a clean history. This keeps things organised and prevents old context from interfering with new tasks.
After a few weeks, your project might look like this:
- Conversation 1: Outlining a blog post
- Conversation 2: Editing a draft
- Conversation 3: Brainstorming topic ideas
- Conversation 4: Reviewing a guest post
All within the same project, all sharing the same context, all separate conversations.
How RAG Works (And Why You Do Not Need to Worry About It)
When your project knowledge is small, Claude loads everything into memory. It reads all your files at once and has full access to everything.
As you add more files, you will eventually cross a threshold. Claude can no longer fit everything into memory at once.
This is where RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) kicks in. It does two things:
- When you ask a question, Claude searches the project knowledge for relevant information
- Claude uses only what it finds to answer your question, instead of trying to load everything
Think of it like a librarian. Instead of carrying every book in the library to your desk, the librarian goes to the shelves, finds the relevant books, and brings only those.
The switch is automatic. You do not need to configure anything. You will see a visual indicator when RAG is active. Response quality stays consistent. You can keep adding files without hitting a hard limit.
What to Do Next
Your project is set up. Now use it.
Start with one project for the work you do most often. A blog, a codebase, a research topic. Set up the instructions and upload the relevant files.
Use it for a week. Notice how much less you repeat yourself.
If the project grows too large or covers too many topics, split it. Create separate projects for each area. Narrow projects perform better than broad ones.
Common Questions
Can I edit project knowledge after creating the project?
Yes. You can add and remove files anytime. When you add a new file, Claude can reference it in ongoing conversations. When you remove a file, Claude stops using it.
Can I share my project with others?
On Team and Enterprise plans, yes. You can share projects with your organisation with different permission levels.
What happens if I upload a file with the same name as an existing one?
The new file replaces the old one. There is no versioning. Keep backups of important files outside Claude.
Do I need to create a new project for every task?
No. Create one project per area of work. Use separate conversations inside the project for individual tasks.
