What you will be able to do
- Set project instructions and explain how they differ from a one-off prompt
- Choose between profile instructions, project instructions and skills for a given need
- Share a Team or Enterprise project with the right permission level
- Recognise when project sharing is not available
1.Setting project instructions
The knowledge base tells Claude what to know. Project instructions tell Claude how to behave. On the project page, click "Set project instructions", write how you want Claude to behave and respond, and click "Save instructions". From then on, Claude uses those instructions in every chat in the project.
This is the difference from a one-off prompt. An instruction typed into a chat applies to that conversation. A project instruction is written once and applies to every chat in the project, including chats you start months later. Examples in the documentation include asking for a more formal tone, or having Claude answer from the perspective of a particular role or industry.
According to the documentation, project instructions are a good fit when you want to provide project-specific context, set guidelines for a particular workflow, establish requirements for a specific set of tasks, or define a role or perspective Claude should take. They are most useful for focused work where Claude needs to keep consistent context across many conversations in the same project. A consultant meeting a client every week, for example, would put the engagement's standing rules in the instructions and the engagement documents in the knowledge base.
Checkpoint 1 of 6· Check yourself
A consultant wants Claude to answer as a financial analyst writing for a regulated bank, in every chat for a months-long engagement. What is the right place for this?
Project instructions apply to all chats in the project, and setting a role or perspective is one of their stated uses. Claude cannot see the description. A chat message only lasts for that chat.
“Claude will use these instructions for all the chats within the project.”Source: support.claude.com
Checkpoint 2 of 6· Exam question
A support team lead creates a Claude Project and wants Claude to always answer in a formal tone and respond as a senior support engineer for every conversation in that workspace, without repeating those directions in each chat. What should the lead configure?
Correct answer: A — Set project instructions defining the tone and role, since these apply automatically to every chat
- A. Correct. Project instructions are built specifically to establish behavioral guidelines, such as tone and role, that Claude applies to all chats within that project.
- B. Incorrect. A file named like instructions is still treated as knowledge base content, not as project-level behavioral instructions.
- C. Incorrect. Repeating guidance in every chat defeats the purpose of project instructions, which persist automatically across chats.
- D. Incorrect. Creating a project per tone combination is unnecessary overhead when a single project's instructions field already covers this need.
2.Project instructions alongside other personalization
Project instructions are one of several ways to personalise Claude. The difference between them is scope, and exam scenarios often depend on choosing the right one.
Instructions for Claude (profile instructions) are set in Settings and apply account-wide, to all your conversations. They suit preferences you hold everywhere, such as how you like information explained or terms you use often. Project instructions only apply inside one project. Skills add specific behaviours or capabilities, such as a tone or format, specialised expertise, or repeatable behaviours you switch on when you need them. The documentation says these features can be used on their own or together.
| Feature | Where it applies | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Instructions for Claude (profile instructions) | All of your conversations with Claude | You want account-wide settings that affect all your interactions |
| Project instructions | Only chats within that project | You need specific guidance or context for a particular project |
| Skills | Conversations where they are activated on demand | You want to customize how Claude formats and delivers its responses |
Checkpoint 3 of 6· Match them up
Match each need to the feature whose scope fits it
Tap a term, then the definition that fits it.
Profile instructions apply to every conversation. Project instructions apply only inside their project. Skills are repeatable behaviours you turn on when you want them.
“Use profile instructions for account-wide settings that affect all your interactions with Claude.”Source: support.claude.com
Sources3
3.Sharing a project with your team
Projects become shared team resources only on Team and Enterprise plans. To share, open the project and click "Share project" next to its name. Add members by name or email, or paste a list of addresses to add several at once. Give each person a permission level and click "Share" to send the invitations. People you share with get an email notification. A creator can also make a project available to the whole organization, either when creating it or later.
The permission level matters. Can view lets members see the project's contents, knowledge and instructions and chat in the project, but not edit it. Can edit lets members change the project's instructions and knowledge, add or remove members, and update member settings. Giving Can edit to everyone therefore means anyone can rewrite the instructions or replace the knowledge that every chat depends on. Give Can view to most people and keep Can edit for the people who maintain the project.
Access can be changed from the sharing menu, which also shows every current member and their role. The project creator can remove someone's access. Administrators also have a say. Owners can turn off project sharing for the whole organization, or on Enterprise for specific roles. Turning it off also turns off public projects. When sharing is off, no new shares can be made, but existing shares stay in place.
Checkpoint 4 of 6· Check yourself
A team lead gives "Can edit" on a shared project to everyone who might ever open it. What is the greatest risk?
Can edit includes changing instructions and knowledge, and also managing members. Most users only need Can view, which still lets them chat in the project.
“Can edit: Members can modify project instructions and knowledge, add/remove members, update member settings”Source: support.claude.com
Checkpoint 5 of 6· Exam question
A marketer discusses a campaign brief with Claude in Chat A inside a project, but Claude does not recall those details when the marketer opens a new Chat B in the same project. What most likely explains this?
Correct answer: A — The brief was only discussed in Chat A and was never added to the project's shared knowledge base
- A. Correct. Context is not shared across chats in a project unless it has been added to the project knowledge base; discussion in one chat alone stays local to that chat.
- B. Incorrect. There is no documented per-billing-cycle cap on the number of chats within a project that would explain this behavior.
- C. Incorrect. Plans do not restrict a project to a single chat; multiple chats within one project are expected and supported.
- D. Incorrect. Re-saving project instructions has no bearing on whether one chat's conversation content is visible to another chat.
4.Finding and keeping track of projects
With sharing switched on, one person can be in many projects, so you need to know where each kind appears. The Projects page has three tabs. Your projects lists the projects you created. Organization lists projects other members have shared with the whole organization. Shared with you lists projects that someone shared with you directly. If a teammate says they shared a project and you can't see it, check all three tabs before deciding the share failed.
For projects you use often, starring helps. You can star a project from the three-dot menu on the Projects page or from the star icon inside the project. Starred projects then appear in the left side panel for quick access.
Checkpoint 6 of 6· Check yourself
A colleague shared a project with you by email, but it isn't under "Your projects". What should you do first?
"Your projects" only lists projects you created. Projects others share are on the other two tabs.
“If you can't find a project, check all three tabs.”Source: support.claude.com
Sources1
Exam traps
Each one states something that sounds right. Open it to see what is actually true.
1.Any paid plan, Pro included, can invite collaborators into a project.Why is that wrong?
Project sharing is described only for Team and Enterprise plans, with other users in the same organization.
Covered in Sharing a project with your team
2.Members with Can view cannot use the project. They need Can edit to chat in it.Why is that wrong?
Can view already allows chatting in the project and seeing its knowledge and instructions. Can edit is only needed to change the project.
Covered in Sharing a project with your team
3.Project instructions also shape Claude's behaviour in your chats outside the project.Why is that wrong?
Project instructions are limited to their project. Account-wide preferences belong in Instructions for Claude in Settings.
Covered in Project instructions alongside other personalization
Sources
Every claim above is drawn from one of these pages, quoted as it was written on the date shown.
- 1.
“Claude will use these instructions for all the chats within the project.”
↩︎ Setting project instructions“Can edit: Members can modify project instructions and knowledge, update member settings, and actively contribute to the project.”
↩︎ Sharing a project with your team“If you can't find a project, check all three tabs.”
↩︎ Finding and keeping track of projects“The project will now appear in your starred items in the left side panel of your account.”
↩︎ Finding and keeping track of projects“If you're on a Team or Enterprise plan, you can share projects with other users in your organization”
↩︎ Exam trap 1“Can view: Members can see project contents, knowledge, and instructions, and chat within the project, but cannot edit it.”
↩︎ Exam trap 2“If you're on a Team or Enterprise plan, you can share projects with other users in your organization”
↩︎ Prediction - 2.
“For example, instructing Claude to use a more formal tone or answer questions from the perspective of a specific role or industry.”
↩︎ Setting project instructions“Make a previously-created private project visible to the whole organization.”
↩︎ Sharing a project with your team“When sharing is off, users can't share projects with new users or groups, and existing shares stay in place.”
↩︎ Sharing a project with your team“Can edit: Members can modify project instructions and knowledge, add/remove members, update member settings”
↩︎ Checkpoint - 3.https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10185728-understanding-claude-s-personalization-featuresOfficial docs
“need Claude to maintain consistent context across multiple conversations within the same project.”
↩︎ Setting project instructions“Any instructions you add here will be applied to all of your conversations with Claude.”
↩︎ Project instructions alongside other personalization“Skills add specific behaviors or capabilities to your conversations with Claude.”
↩︎ Project instructions alongside other personalization“You can use these features independently or in combination to create the most effective experience for your needs.”
↩︎ Project instructions alongside other personalization“These instructions only apply to chats within that project.”
↩︎ Exam trap 3“Use profile instructions for account-wide settings that affect all your interactions with Claude.”
↩︎ Checkpoint