Claude Projects: Parallel Sessions in One Chat

Claude Code projects are a single, ongoing conversation with Claude serving as a conversation orchestrator. When you give Claude a task, it creates a thread to complete that task. These threads are cloud sessions that run in the background on separate branches of a GitHub repository. When the cloud session completes, it sends the results back to the project conversation. You can have multiple threads running concurrently.

Right now, Claude Projects is in public beta on Pro & Max plans. We’re rolling this feature out slowly, starting with users who already have experience using cloud sessions and no existing projects on claude.ai. If you don’t see Projects in your sidebar on claude.ai/code, sign up for the waitlist at claude.com/form/projects.

1When a project is the right tool

Projects are most useful for tasks that have an end goal that generates more tasks over a period of days or weeks. For example, if you need to make a similar change across multiple GitHub repositories, projects are perfect. Claude will create a thread for each repo, and you can check the Overview pane to see all of the PRs ready for review. Or, if you’re getting bug reports that need to be fixed, you can run a project and set a rule for the first bugfix that will apply to every subsequent thread in the project.

You can also use projects for non-code work. Upload a folder full of documents (think support tickets or contracts) and Claude will run through them in parallel threads. The output will be available on the Library tab for the project, with one file per item.

2When a regular session fits better

If you need to use specific tools or services that are only available on your machine, you should probably stick to local sessions. A simple task that can be completed in a single session is probably easier to manage by just launching a cloud session. On the other hand, if you have work you want to automate on a regular basis but it doesn’t require conversation, use a routine instead.

3What you need before creating a project

Before making a project, there are two steps you’ll want to take. First, make sure you’re on a Pro or Max plan. Second, make sure you see Projects in the sidebar on claude.ai/code. If you’re using code, make sure your repos are hosted on github.com and not GitHub Enterprise or GitLab. You’ll need to install the Claude GitHub App on those repos as well. Note that this is different from the GitHub token you set up with /web-setup, so make sure to check!

4How to create your first project

On claude.ai/code, click on Projects in the left sidebar. Click New project. Name your project and optionally include a one-line objective and/or the GitHub repos/files you want to use the project with. The name is the only required field so you can skip this step and add repos later in Project settings. In the desktop app, you can find this in the Code tab. On the mobile app, you’ll find it under main navigation.

As a bonus, you can also click on an existing cloud session that’s handling the task and select Continue as a project from the menu. Then, Claude will suggest a setup based on the existing session.

5The Overview pane

The Overview pane lists all of your threads together, grouped by status. Any active threads are lumped together under one header, any threads that need input from you are listed under another, and you can respond in the project conversation. On the Pull requests tab, you’ll find a list of all PRs created by the threads. On the Library tab, you’ll find any files you uploaded and any files created by threads. Lastly, on the Routines tab you can automate work that needs to run at a fixed interval.