# How to use Claude Projects, step by step > Set up a Claude Project in minutes: create it, add files and instructions, then chat inside it. Includes memory, moving chats, starring and archiving. https://www.kortex-notebooklm.com/tutorials/how-to-use-claude-projects 1. [Tutorials](/tutorials) 2. How to use Claude Projects: set up, add files and start chats # How to use Claude Projects: set up, add files and start chats 5 minutes 7 steps Updated November 10, 2026 ## Quick answer In Claude, click Projects, then + New Project, and name it. Add files or text to the project knowledge with the + button. Click Set project instructions, write how Claude should answer, and save. Then start chats inside the project. Every chat in it uses that knowledge and those instructions. ## Watch it first How to use Claude Projects: set up, add files and start chats Read the transcript A Claude Project keeps your files and instructions for every chat on one topic. Here's how to set one up. In Claude, click Projects, then New Project in the upper right corner. Give it a name and a description. Claude can't see them. They're only for you. The project knowledge is on the right of the project page. Click the plus button, and upload documents, text files or code. Claude uses it in every chat in the project. Click Set project instructions, and write how Claude should answer, such as a formal tone or a role. Click Save instructions. They apply to this project only. Now start a chat from the project's page. Claude answers with your files and instructions in mind. Chats don't share context with each other, so put anything important in the project knowledge. To move an old chat in, click the dropdown arrow next to its name, and choose Add to project. Then pick the project. To stay tidy, click the three dots on a project and choose Star to pin it in your side panel. Archive the ones you've finished. Fixes for common problems are on the Kortex website. ## What you need - A Claude account. Projects are available on free accounts too, with a limit of five projects - A few documents, notes or code snippets you want Claude to use ## On this page 1. [Open Projects](#step-1) 2. [Click + New Project and name it](#step-2) 3. [Add files to the project knowledge](#step-3) 4. [Set project instructions](#step-4) 5. [Start a chat inside the project](#step-5) 6. [Move an old chat into a project](#step-6) 7. [Star or archive projects to stay tidy](#step-7) 8. [If it doesn’t work](#trouble) 9. [Questions](#faq) 1. ## Open Projects In Claude, hover over the left side of your account and click **Projects**. You can also go straight to claude.ai/projects. 2. ## Click + New Project and name it Click **\+ New Project** in the upper right corner. Give the project a name and a description. Claude can't see the name or the description, so they are only for you. 3. ## Add files to the project knowledge The project knowledge is on the right side of the project page. Click the **+** button and upload documents, text files or code snippets. Claude uses this knowledge in every chat inside the project. 4. ## Set project instructions Click **Set project instructions** and write how you want Claude to answer. For example, you can ask for a formal tone or a certain role. Click **Save instructions**. They apply to all chats in this project only. 5. ## Start a chat inside the project Open the project and start a chat from its page. Claude now answers with your files and instructions in mind. Context is not shared between chats in a project unless it is in the project knowledge, so add anything important there. 6. ## Move an old chat into a project Open a chat outside any project. Click the dropdown arrow next to the chat name and choose **Add to project**. Search or pick the project in the window that opens. Use the same menu to move a chat to another project or take it out. 7. ## Star or archive projects to stay tidy On the **Projects** page, click the three dots on a project and choose **Star** to pin it in your side panel. To archive a finished project, click the three dots and confirm. Archived projects appear at the bottom of the list, and you can still open their chats. ## If it doesn’t work Claude doesn't know what I said in another chat in the project Chats in a project don't share context with each other unless the information is in the project knowledge. Add the key facts or files there, or put the rules in the project instructions. I can't create another project Free accounts can have up to five projects. Archive or delete a project you no longer need, or look at a paid plan. Archived projects can't be deleted until you unarchive them. My Projects look different from these steps Anthropic is rolling out a new version of projects in beta, starting with Claude Code. In it, a project is one conversation. The steps here are for the current version most people still have. ## Questions people ask Something we missed? [Ask us](#contact). ### Are Claude Projects free? Projects are available on free Claude accounts, up to five projects. On paid plans, Claude can switch to a mode that stretches the project knowledge up to 10 times further when it nears the context limit. ### What is the difference between project knowledge and project instructions? Knowledge is the files and text Claude can draw on. Instructions tell Claude how to behave and answer. Both apply to every chat in that project, and neither carries over to chats outside it. ### Can I share a Claude Project with other people? On Team and Enterprise plans, yes. Click Share project, add people by name or email, and choose Can view or Can edit. Anthropic's article does not describe sharing on personal plans. ### Can I reuse one saved prompt in Claude Projects and other AIs? Yes, with Kortex. It keeps your [saved prompts](/features/prompt-library) and types them into the chat box of any supported AI site, Claude included, when you type ; and a shortcut. ## Sources - [How can I create and manage projects? (Claude Help Center)](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9519177-how-can-i-create-and-manage-projects) , checked November 10, 2026 - [What are projects? (Claude Help Center)](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects) , checked November 10, 2026 ## Keep going [Chat Library Keep your AI chats on your computer and search them, next to your YouTube videos and notebooks.](/features#organize) [Kortex docs The full reference for this feature, with every option.](/docs/chat-library) ### More tutorials - [How to use Perplexity Spaces (now called Projects)](/tutorials/how-to-use-perplexity-spaces) - [ChatGPT temporary chat: how to start one and what it does](/tutorials/how-to-use-temporary-chat-in-chatgpt) - [How to archive ChatGPT chats and find them again](/tutorials/how-to-archive-chats-in-chatgpt) - [How to continue a ChatGPT conversation in a new chat](/tutorials/how-to-continue-a-chatgpt-conversation-in-a-new-chat) [All tutorials](/tutorials) ## Do it on your own notebooks. Install the Kortex extension and follow these steps on a notebook you already have. [Add to Chrome](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/kortex/hdapplggdhndkblofffknpmnnnnbncbn) 100,000+ users, rated 4.5 on the Chrome Web Store.