--- title: "How to Write Claude Project Instructions, With Two Examples" description: "Set project instructions in Claude, write them as a short work contract, keep changeable facts in project knowledge, and test them in a fresh chat." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/how-to-write-claude-project-instructions" date: "2026-09-19" modified: "2026-09-19" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - [Garage door and fencing contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/garage-door-and-fencing-contractors) - [HVAC contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/hvac-contractors) - [Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/janitorial-and-commercial-cleaning) - [Locksmiths](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/locksmiths) - [Moving companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/moving-companies) - [Pest control companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/pest-control-companies) - [Plumbing and electrical contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/plumbing-and-electrical-contractors) - [Restoration and water or fire damage companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/restoration-and-water-fire-damage) - [Roofing companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/roofing-companies) - [Towing companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/towing-companies) - [Tree services and landscaping companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/tree-services-and-landscaping) - [Solar installers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/solar-installation) - [General contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/general-contractors-and-construction) - [Paving, concrete, and flooring contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/paving) - Practices and professional services - [Bookkeeping and tax practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/bookkeeping-and-tax-practices) - [Dental practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/dental-practices) - [Family and criminal defense law firms](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/family-and-criminal-defense-law-firms) - [Med spas and aesthetics practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/med-spas-and-aesthetics) - [Personal injury law firms](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/personal-injury-law-firms) - [Veterinary clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/veterinary-clinics) - [Gyms and fitness studios](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/fitness) - [Therapy and outpatient health practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/therapy-and-outpatient-health) - [Medical billing companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/medical-billing) - [Insurance agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/insurance-agencies) - [Financial advisors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/financial-advisors) - [Property management companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/property-management) - [Recruiting and staffing agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/recruiting-and-staffing) - [Architects and interior designers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/architects-and-interior-designers) - [Logistics and supply chain companies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/logistics-and-supply-chain) - Agencies, MSPs, and manufacturing - [IT and managed service providers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/it-and-managed-service-providers) - [Machine shops and precision manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/machine-shops-and-precision-manufacturing) - [Marketing agencies and freelancers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/marketing-agencies-and-freelancers) - [SEO agencies and consultants](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/seo-agencies-and-consultants) - [Small manufacturers and fabricators](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/small-manufacturers-and-fabricators) - Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits - [Restaurants and hospitality businesses](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/restaurants-and-hospitality) - [Retail stores and ecommerce sellers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/retail-and-ecommerce) - [Photographers, event planners, and travel agents](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/photographers) - [Churches and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/churches-and-nonprofits) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Learn - For your office - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Browser calculators](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - Start here - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - [Synthetic specimen](https://scalewithsearch.com/specimen/working-session-specimen.zip) - Guides - [The Complete Guide to Business Memory for AI Agents](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [The Complete Small-Business Guide to AI Agent Governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [The Complete Guide to Leaving Vendor AI Memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles by cluster - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - For machines - [llms.txt](https://scalewithsearch.com/llms.txt) - [llms-full.txt](https://scalewithsearch.com/llms-full.txt) - [Machine view](https://scalewithsearch.com/?view=machine) - Company - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Company - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) # How to Write Claude Project Instructions, With Two Examples. Project instructions are the text Claude reads in every chat inside one project. You set them on the project page with **Set project instructions**, then **Save instructions**. Good instructions are short. They name the job, the sources, the output, and the point where Claude must stop. Facts that change, such as prices and deadlines, belong in a project file, not in the instructions. This page covers the setup steps, the difference between the project description and the project instructions, a six-part structure, two labeled examples, and a test you can run in ten minutes. ## Where to set project instructions Anthropic's help center gives these steps, checked 2026.09.19: 1. Open **Projects** in the left sidebar, or go to `claude.ai/projects`. 2. Select **+ New Project**. 3. Give the project a name and a description. 4. On the project page, select **Set project instructions**. 5. Write the instructions and select **Save instructions**. Anthropic states that Claude uses these instructions for all the chats within the project. Anthropic also states that projects are available to all users, and that free accounts can create a maximum of five projects. [Anthropic: How can I create and manage projects?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9519177-how-can-i-create-and-manage-projects) Interface labels change. If a label on your screen differs, trust your screen and the current help article. ## Project description vs project instructions The two fields look alike. They do different jobs. The description is for people. Anthropic's setup steps say that Claude does not have access to the project name and description. A rule you write in the description does nothing to Claude's answers. The instructions are for Claude. Claude reads them in every chat in the project. If a rule seems to be ignored, first check which field holds it. A rule in the description field is the simplest cause to find and fix. ## What belongs in the instructions, and what does not Claude has more than one place for guidance. Anthropic states that account-level instructions apply to all of your conversations, and that project instructions apply only to chats within that project. Project knowledge holds uploaded files that supply context. [Anthropic: Understanding Claude's personalization features](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10185728-understanding-claude-s-personalization-features) [Anthropic: What are projects?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects) Use this placement rule: | Text | Place | Reason | |---|---|---| | How you like answers formatted everywhere | Account-level instructions in settings | It applies to all work | | The recurring job, source order, output, and stopping point for this project | Project instructions | It applies to this project only | | Prices, deadlines, glossaries, approved claims, client facts | A file in project knowledge | It changes, and a file can carry a date and an owner | | A one-time request | The chat message | It applies once | The [limits and scope guide for Claude instructions](/articles/claude-custom-project-instructions-limits) covers the same surfaces from the side of scope errors and character limits. This page covers the writing. ## Write six parts Write the instructions as a short work contract. Each part answers one question Claude would otherwise guess. 1. **Job.** What recurring result does this project produce? 2. **Identity.** Which business, client, or account is in scope? Which are out of scope? 3. **Sources.** Which project files govern, and in which order? What happens when two files disagree? 4. **Output.** What format, length, and location does the result take? 5. **Checks.** What must be true before Claude calls the work complete? 6. **Stop.** Which actions need a person, and what does Claude do when a source is missing? Write rules as plain statements. "Cite the file name for every price" is testable. "Be careful with prices" is not. Do not paste facts into the instructions when a file can hold them. A price in the instructions has no date and no owner. When the price changes, the old number stays until someone remembers the field exists. ## Example one: a proposal-drafting project This example is fictional. Harbor Bookkeeping is not a real company. ```text JOB Draft client proposals for Harbor Bookkeeping. One proposal per chat. IDENTITY All work here is for Harbor Bookkeeping. Do not reuse text, names, or numbers from any other company. SOURCES 1. services-and-prices.md is the only source for services and prices. 2. proposal-template.md sets the structure. 3. past-proposals/ are examples of tone only. Never copy a price or a promise from them. If two files disagree, stop and name both files. OUTPUT One Markdown proposal that follows the template. Under 600 words. After each price, give the file name and the line it came from. CHECKS Every price matches services-and-prices.md. The client name matches the chat message. No promise appears that the services file does not support. STOP Draft only. Do not write an email. If a requested service is not in the services file, say so and stop. ``` The instructions carry no prices. They point to the file that does. ## Example two: a support-reply project This example is also fictional. ```text JOB Draft replies to customer support messages pasted into the chat. SOURCES 1. policy-current.md governs refunds, shipping, and warranty answers. 2. tone-guide.md governs wording. If the policy file does not answer the question, say "not covered by policy-current.md" and draft a holding reply that makes no promise. OUTPUT The reply text first. Then one line: "Policy basis:" with the section heading used. STOP Never state a refund amount, a delivery date, or an exception that is not in the policy file. A person sends every reply. ``` Both examples run under 200 words. If your draft runs much longer, look for facts and procedures that a file should hold. ## Test the instructions in a fresh chat A chat where you explained what you meant does not test the instructions. A fresh chat does. 1. Open a new chat inside the project. 2. Ask: "Before any work, state the job, the governing files in order, the output format, and what you must not do." 3. Compare the answer with your six parts. A missing part is a gap in the text. 4. Give one normal task. Check the output against the Checks part. 5. Give one task that needs a missing fact, such as a service that is not in the file. A pass is a named stop. A guess is a failure. 6. Change one fact in a project file. Open another new chat and repeat the task. A pass uses the new fact. Record the date and each result. Repeat the test after you edit the instructions or replace a file. ## When Claude does not follow the instructions Work through these causes in order. Each has a direct check. - **The rule is in the description field.** Claude does not read the description. Move the rule. - **The chat is outside the project.** Project instructions apply to chats within the project. Check that the chat was started there. - **Two rules conflict.** An account-level instruction that says "keep answers brief" pulls against a project rule that requires a full citation list. Remove the conflict or state which rule wins. - **The rule is vague.** Replace "be accurate" with a check a person can verify. - **An example overrides the rule.** Old examples in project knowledge carry old facts. Label them as tone examples and say so in the Sources part. - **The rule needs enforcement, not wording.** Instructions are guidance to a model. They are not a permission system. A rule such as "never send email" is only reliable when the project has no tool that can send. The [custom instructions and hard constraints article](/articles/chatgpt-custom-instructions-not-hard-constraints) explains the same limit for ChatGPT. ## Keep the instructions portable Save the instruction text in a file you control, with a date and an owner. The project field is then one copy of a record you keep. If you move the job to another tool, the six parts move with it. The [guide to keeping context across AI tools](/articles/persistent-context-across-ai-tools) shows how the same record serves more than one product. ## Approval and stopping boundary Writing and testing instructions in your own project needs no approval beyond the project owner. Stop before you change instructions in a project other people share, upload client files to a project with wider visibility, or connect a tool that can send, publish, or change a record. The project owner approves shared instruction changes. The owner of the data approves uploads. ## Sources - [Anthropic: How can I create and manage projects?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9519177-how-can-i-create-and-manage-projects), checked 2026.09.19 - [Anthropic: What are projects?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects), checked 2026.09.19 - [Anthropic: Understanding Claude's personalization features](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10185728-understanding-claude-s-personalization-features), checked 2026.09.19 ## Related: Owned Memory - [Claude Remembers Incorrectly: Find the Source, Correct It, and Retest](/articles/correct-wrong-claude-memory) - [How to Search Claude Chat History Without Leaving the Finding Trapped in Claude](/articles/search-claude-chat-history-full-text) - [Choose between Claude Projects and Claude Code by where your files live](/articles/claude-projects-vs-claude-code) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. Scale With Search 2026 [scalewithsearch.com](https://scalewithsearch.com) ```