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A Cowork project collects everything Claude needs for a recurring area of work: the local folders to read and write, standing instructions, useful links, and a dedicated memory store. When you start a session inside a project, Claude is already set up with that context. Projects live on your computer. They aren’t synced to the cloud or shared with other people.

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What a project holds

Each project bundles the following, and you can change any of it after creation.

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Create a project

Open Projects in the left navigation and choose the + button to start. You’re offered three starting points.
1

Choose a starting point

Select Start from scratch to create an empty project with a new folder, Import a project to bring an existing claude.ai project into Cowork, or Use an existing folder to point at a folder you already work from.
2

Name and describe it

Give the project a name and a short description so you can tell it apart in the sidebar.
3

Add folders and instructions

Attach the local folders Claude should have access to, and write any standing instructions you want applied to every session.
You can attach more folders, links, or projects from Chat at any time from the project’s settings.

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Work inside a project

Select a project in the sidebar to start a new Cowork session with that project’s folders mounted and instructions applied. Files Claude creates land in the project’s folders; what Claude learns during the session is saved to the project’s memory for next time. A project folder that is reached through a symbolic link isn’t mounted if the link sits inside another of the project’s folders, or inside a folder that a Cowork task on your task list uses, and leads outside that folder. The session starts without it and the app tells you. Replace it in the project with the actual folder you want. Dispatch can also route background tasks into a project, so long-running work picks up the same folders, instructions, and memory. When you drag files or folders into a project, individual files are copied into the project’s first folder and folders are mounted as additional project folders. A copied file never replaces a file that is already in that folder. A file or folder that is already inside one of the project’s folders stays where it is and isn’t copied or mounted. If the first folder already has a file with the same name, the copy is saved with a number added to its name, such as notes (1).txt for notes.txt. If that name and every numbered name up to notes (19).txt are already taken, the file isn’t copied. Claude reads individual files up to 50 MB. Cowork asks for your permission each time you open a Microsoft Office or OpenDocument file that can contain macros, such as a .docm, .xls, or .odt file.

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Cowork projects and claude.ai projects

A Cowork project is not the same thing as a project on claude.ai. They’re stored separately and have different capabilities. You can link a claude.ai project into a Cowork project so Cowork sessions can draw on its knowledge. Linking doesn’t merge them; the claude.ai project stays where it is.

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Archive a project

Archiving removes the project from your list and deletes its metadata (name, instructions, links, memory). It does not touch the local folders you attached; your files stay exactly where they are on disk. To archive, open the project’s menu in the sidebar and choose Archive.