At most one email a week. Unfollow anytime with one click.
Transcript
The full narration of this video. The current sentence is highlighted while the video plays; click any sentence to jump there.
Show transcript
Introduction
Hi, and welcome to the Claude Projects session. This session changes how we use Claude, from chatting now and then to a tidy workspace. In this episode we get to know Projects: the problem they solve, the three parts inside them, how to create your first Project, and when it's best to use one.
Step 1: The problem: explaining again every time
Let's start with a habit you may recognize. Laras opens a new chat and, as usual, first types who she is, her business name, her tone, and her product prices. Claude gives a fitting caption because the context is complete. So far, no problem at all. The next day Laras opens another new chat and asks straight away for a gift hamper caption, without repeating the context. Instead, Claude asks her back: what's the business name, how much is it, what tone? That's expected, because every new chat starts from zero. This way of working has three costs. First, the context has to be retyped. Five minutes in every chat, multiplied over a month, adds up to hours. Second, the results are inconsistent. Forget to mention greeting customers warmly just once, and the writing style changes. Customers notice the difference. Third, the same files are uploaded again and again. The price catalog or service SOP has to be attached to every conversation. Projects were made exactly to solve these three problems.
Step 2: What is a Project?
A Project is a workspace in Claude with lasting memory. Think of it as a dedicated folder for one kind of work. We save the instructions and files just once. After that, every new chat inside the Project carries them automatically. A Project has three parts. First, instructions: ground rules that apply to every chat, such as Claude's role, the tone, and things it must not do. Second, knowledge: files Claude can read, such as a product catalog, a price list, or an SOP. Third, chats. All related conversations are stored in one place, not mixed up with your other chats. This is what a Project looks like. On the left are the name, the description, a box to start a chat, and the list of chats created in this Project. At the top right are the Project instructions. Laras wrote once that Claude helps Sunset Coffee, with a casual tone, greeting customers warmly, and prices from the catalog. Below that is the Project knowledge. The first file is the product catalog, with four products and their prices. The second file holds the ten best captions, so Claude imitates a style followers have already shown they love. The third file is the monthly promo calendar. The thin bar above the file list shows how much knowledge space is already used. Now, when Laras asks for a hamper caption in this Project, Claude already knows everything without asking again.
Step 3: Creating your first Project
Now let's create our first Project. Step one: open the Projects menu in the left panel, usually near the chat list. Second, choose to create a new Project. There's usually a button that says New project, or a plus sign. Third, fill in a name and description. A good name mentions the business and the type of work, for example Sunset Coffee Customer Replies, not just Project One. Fourth, save it. The instructions and files don't have to be complete right away; you can add both at any time. The screens in this video are simulations. Menu names may differ slightly because Claude is updated often, so just look for the word Projects in your app. This is the Project Laras just created. It's called Sunset Coffee Customer Replies, with a short description: WhatsApp reply drafts for Dimas, her shop admin. Look at the right panel. The instructions are still empty, and there are no files yet. A new Project really is like an empty folder, ready to be filled. Laras clicks Edit and writes short instructions: who Claude is, who it works for, and the tone. We'll cover how to write effective instructions in full in the next episode. Then she clicks Add and uploads one file: the menu and prices, complete with shipping costs and opening hours. In two minutes, the first Project is ready to use. It's still simple, and that's fine. You can refine a Project as you go.
Step 4: Chatting inside a Project
Now Dimas uses that Project. Notice the label in the left panel: this chat is inside the Customer Replies Project. He only pastes the customer's question, with no context at all. Claude calculates straight from the menu file: two liters is one hundred seventy thousand, plus ten thousand for shipping. It even suggests adding a cold brew so shipping is free, because that rule is in the file. The next question is about opening hours. Once again, Dimas doesn't need to explain anything. The opening hours come from the file, and the warm greeting comes from the instructions. That's the heart of a Project: prepare the context once, use it many times. One important point that's often misunderstood: what carries over to every new chat? First, the Project instructions are always carried into every chat. Second, Claude can read the knowledge files from any chat in that Project. But the content of other chats does not carry over. Yesterday's chat about hamper stock is not automatically remembered in today's chat. So if there's an important decision, such as a new price or this month's promo, move it into the instructions or a file. Don't leave it in just one chat.
Step 5: When to use a Project?
So when should you use a Project, and when is a regular chat enough? A regular chat suits one-off questions. A Project suits repeated work. In a regular chat, context is retyped every time. In a Project, context is saved once and used again and again. Files in a regular chat are attached per conversation, while in a Project they're stored in the knowledge section. For example, asking what a term means is fine in a regular chat. But daily customer replies or weekly class materials belong in a Project. To give you a picture, here are a few Project ideas. Laras creates an Instagram Content Project, with tone instructions, the catalog, and her best captions. Dewi at Maju Bersama Co. creates a Weekly Report Project, with the report format, stock data, and the supplier list. Mr. Hendra from Cerdas Tutoring creates a Grade Nine Math Materials Project, with his teaching style, the syllabus, and sample questions. Nadia, a social media freelancer, creates one Project for each client. That way, each client's brand voice never gets mixed up. Before you practice, remember four safety rules. First, start with one Project for your most frequent task. Don't create ten right away. Second, give it a clear name that combines the business name and the type of work, so it's easy to find as your Projects grow. Third, keep important decisions in the instructions or files, not just in one chat. Fourth, don't keep customers' personal data, bank account numbers, or passwords in Project files. For the latest limits on file size and number, check the official Claude documentation.
Done!
We've gotten to know Projects: a workspace with instructions, knowledge, and chats, how to create one, and when to use it instead of a regular chat. In the next episode we write the most important part of a Project, effective instructions, so Claude's answers always match what you expect. See you there!
Practice exercises
Try these on your own after watching to lock in what you learned.
Create one Project for your routine task and give it a clear name
Write a one-sentence description: what the Project is for and who uses it
Move one task you usually do in a regular chat into that Project
Ask the class material
Type a question or keyword; we find the part of this episode that explains it and jump the video there.
My notes
Notes are saved with the current video time and are only visible to you.
Questions & answers
Stuck on a step? Ask here; the instructor and other learners can answer.
No questions yet.
Your instructor
Cerdas Inovasi Digital Team
Software developers, BIM & 3D engineers, and AI practitioners
53 video classes1,290 episodes
We build software, BIM models, games and AI automations for clients every day, and turn that hands-on work into step-by-step classes: every step is shown on screen and comes with a PDF guide you can keep.
