What are Claude Projects, and how does their memory work?

Last updated October 31, 2026

Claude Projects are self-contained workspaces in Claude, each with its own chats, knowledge files and instructions. They're available on every plan; Free users can create up to five. Each project also has its own memory, which Claude uses alongside your memory from chats outside projects. Paid plans get RAG for large projects, and Team and Enterprise plans can share a project with colleagues. A project's knowledge and memory stay inside that project and inside Claude; to share context with other tools such as ChatGPT or Codex, you need something outside Claude.

What a project holds

Anthropic's help center says "Projects allow you to create self-contained workspaces with their own chat histories and knowledge bases." In each project you can:

• add knowledge: documents and files Claude can draw on in every chat in the project;
• "define project instructions for each project," such as a role, a tone or rules to follow;
• keep the project's chats together.

Who can use projects

"Projects are available to all users, including those with free Claude accounts. Free users can create a maximum of five projects."

Project memory

Each project has its own memory. Anthropic's help center: "Each project has its own memory… Claude uses the project's memory alongside your memory from chats outside of projects, but not memory from other projects." To keep a project's memory fully separate, turn off "Use account memory" for that project. Resetting memory "permanently deletes all memories including project memories." See Claude memory vs ChatGPT memory for how Claude's memory works overall.

Large projects and RAG

Project knowledge has to fit Claude's context window, until a project gets big. "When your project knowledge approaches the context window limit, Claude will automatically enable RAG mode to expand your project's capacity by up to 10x." This "enhanced project knowledge with RAG is only available to users with paid Claude plans (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise)."

Sharing projects

Sharing is for "Team and Enterprise plans only." Members get one of two permissions:

• Can view: they can chat within the project but can't edit it.
• Can edit: they can "modify project instructions and knowledge, add/remove members," and more.

The redesigned Projects beta

On September 17, 2026, Anthropic announced redesigned Projects, "available in beta to select Claude Pro and Max subscribers who use cloud sessions in Claude Code." In the new version, a coordinator directs parallel threads, and "every thread now adds to and draws from a shared memory." Anthropic says updated projects "across all of Claude and Team and Enterprise plans come after that," and its help center notes that it has "started moving existing projects for some Pro, Max, and Ultra users to the new version." The Claude Code side is compared in Claude Code Projects shared memory vs Memlo.

Where a shared memory fits

A project is the right place for documents and instructions about one piece of work in Claude. It doesn't reach other assistants: ChatGPT, Codex and Gemini can't read it, and neither can Claude Code running in your terminal outside a project.

If you work across those tools, a memory server they all connect to keeps one set of decisions and notes. Memlo is one: add it to Claude as a custom connector, and to your other agents, and sign in to the same account. Memories are titled notes with a version history that records who wrote each change, and you can share a space with people. A project can keep its files and instructions, and the shared memory holds what every agent needs.

Frequently asked questions

Are Claude Projects free?

Yes. Projects are available to all users; Free users can create up to five. RAG for large projects needs a paid plan, and sharing needs Team or Enterprise.

Do Claude Projects have memory?

Yes. Each project has its own memory, used alongside your memory from chats outside projects but not memory from other projects. You can turn off "Use account memory" to keep a project fully separate.

How much can a Claude project hold?

Project knowledge has to fit the context window until it gets close to the limit. On paid plans, Claude then turns on RAG mode, which expands a project's capacity "by up to 10x."

Can I share a Claude project?

On Team and Enterprise plans, yes, with "Can view" or "Can edit" permission. Free, Pro and Max plans don't include project sharing.

Can ChatGPT or Codex use a Claude project?

No. A project lives inside Claude. To share context across assistants, connect them all to one memory server.

Sources

Checked on October 31, 2026:

• What are projects?, Claude Help Center
• RAG for projects, Claude Help Center
• Use Claude's chat search and memory, Claude Help Center
• Projects redesigned: from folder to conversation, Anthropic, September 17, 2026
• Memlo: the setup page