Projects and Artifacts

Claude has two features that work well together for building small apps. Projects keep your plan and rules in one place. Artifacts turn your description into an app you can use and share.

What are Projects?

A Claude Project is like a binder for one job. You put reference papers in the front pocket, and every chat in the binder can read them.

• Project knowledge is the set of files you add to the project, like a plan or sample data.
• Project instructions are short rules Claude follows in every chat in that project.
• Every new chat inside the project starts with both, so you don't repeat yourself.

Saving your app plan as project knowledge

Before building, write a short plan: what the app does, who uses it, inputs, outputs, and must-have features. Then ask Claude to tidy it up without building yet.

I'm planning a small interactive app called "[app name]". I don't know how to code.

What it does: [one sentence]
Users: [who uses it]
Inputs: [what users type or pick]
Outputs: [what the app shows back]
Must-have features: [3 or 4 items]

Please do NOT build it yet. Instead:
1. Point out anything unclear or missing.
2. Give me a short final plan I can save to project knowledge.

Save Claude's answer in a file like app-plan.md and add it to the project. A file ending in .md is a Markdown file: plain text with simple formatting.

What are Artifacts?

An artifact is something Claude creates in a side panel next to the chat. It might be a document, a diagram, a web page, or a small interactive app. You can click and use the app right there.

• Artifacts update when you ask for changes, and keep earlier versions.
• You can copy, download, or publish an artifact to share it with a link.
• If the panel doesn't open, check that artifacts are turned on in Settings.

Because your plan is in project knowledge, the build prompt can point to it instead of repeating everything:

Using the plan in app-plan.md, build the app as an interactive artifact.
- Keep it to one file.
- Clean design with one accent color. Works on a phone.
- If a required input is empty, show a friendly message.

Apps with AI inside

Some apps follow fixed rules, like a calculator. Others need to read and judge text each time, like a career coach. Claude can build artifacts that ask Claude for help while the app runs.

For example, imagine a resume feedback tool. You paste a resume and a job ad, click "Analyze", and the app asks Claude to compare them.

Build an interactive artifact: a resume feedback tool.
- Two text boxes: "Your resume" and "Job description".
- A note above them: "Remove your name, phone, email, and address before pasting."
- An "Analyze" button. While it works, show "Analyzing..." and disable the button.
- When clicked, use Claude inside the artifact to compare the two texts.
- Show: a match score out of 100 with a one-line reason, strengths, gaps, and 3 rewritten bullet points.
- If either box is empty, show a friendly message and don't call the AI.

Let's break this down:

• "Use Claude inside the artifact" asks for an AI-powered app. You don't need an API key for this.
• The privacy note becomes part of the app, so every user sees it.
• "Analyzing..." gives feedback while the AI works, so users don't click twice.
• The empty-box rule saves AI requests when there's nothing to analyze.

Iterating on an artifact

Improve the app with small follow-ups. Each one updates the same artifact and creates a new version.

Show the match score as a colored bar: red below 50, yellow from 50 to 74, green from 75. Keep everything else the same.

The rewritten bullets are too long. Make the AI keep each one under 25 words and start with an action verb. Keep everything else the same.

AI answers vary from run to run, so test a few times with different inputs. Describe problems clearly: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.

Publishing and sharing

When you're happy, look for the Publish or Share button in the artifact panel. Publishing creates a link anyone can open.

• Test the link in a private browser window before sending it.
• People who use an AI-powered artifact may need to log in to Claude.
• You can unpublish it later if you change your mind.

Protecting privacy

Files you add to a project, and text you paste into an app, may contain personal details. Remove anything that identifies a real person before you upload, test, or publish.

[Full name]
[City] | [Email] | [Phone]

Customer Support Assistant, [Company], 2022 to now
- Answered about 40 customer emails a day

Common mistakes

Building outside the project

Wrong: Building in a random chat, so Claude can't see your plan.
Right: Building inside the project, so Claude reads your plan.

Unclear instructions for the AI inside the app

Wrong: Make the feedback better.
Right: Make each gap one short line, then one tip to fix it.

• Testing only once. AI answers vary, so try several runs.
• Treating an AI score as a fact. It's a helpful opinion, not a final verdict.

What's next?

You can now build and share apps inside Claude. Next, you'll meet Gemini, Google's AI assistant, and its features for research and building.