I keep one Cowork project for each client, with their files, my notes and my instructions in one place. I once needed one detail from documents going back to 1960. Claude found it, and my client called me an AI terminator. Here's how to set up your first project and what to ask it.
Search every file in this project for [the detail you need, e.g. what we agreed about the launch date for the spring campaign]. For each thing you find, give me: - the file name - the page, heading or date where it appears - the exact words, quoted List the most recent first. If two files say different things, show me both. If you can't find it, tell me that. Don't fill the gap with a guess.
A quote with a file name is something you can check in a few seconds. If Claude can't quote it, treat the answer as unconfirmed. Open the file, read the lines around the quote, and then send it to your client.
A Cowork project keeps the folders, instructions, links and memory for one client or one topic together in the Claude Desktop app. Every task you start from the project opens with those folders and your instructions applied. Projects are on the Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, in the latest Claude Desktop app on macOS and Windows.
Open Cowork in the Claude Desktop app, click Projects in the left sidebar, then +. Choose Start from scratch, or Use an existing folder if the client's files already live in one folder. Add folders and links under Context, then tell Claude how to work for that client in the project's Instructions.
Ask for the file name, the page or date, and the exact words, quoted, and tell Claude to say so when it can't find something. Anthropic's own advice for long documents is to ask for word-for-word quotes and to drop any claim without one. Then open the file and read the quote yourself before you rely on it.
Your files are safe: the folders you attached stay on your computer, untouched. Archiving deletes the project's name, instructions, links and memory, so the project itself is gone. If you might want the setup again, save a copy of your project instructions somewhere else before you archive it.
The fill-in instructions I put in every client project, so Claude writes and works the way that client needs. Plus five questions worth asking once the files are in.
Paste this into the project's Instructions and replace every [bracket]. You can edit it any time from the project's settings. Add a line whenever you correct Claude on the same thing twice for this client.
About this client - Client: [client name], [what they do, in one line]. - My role: [what I do for them, e.g. quarterly research and strategy]. - Main contacts: [name, role], [name, role]. - What matters most to them right now: [their top 2 priorities]. - Their terms: [product names, acronyms and what each means]. Where things live - Scope and pricing: [file name, e.g. the signed proposal]. - Brand and tone rules: [file name, e.g. the brand guide]. - Meeting notes: [folder name], one file per meeting, named by date. - If two files disagree, the most recent one wins. Tell me when you find a conflict. How to work for this client - Write in [their tone, e.g. formal, British English, short paragraphs]. - Never [things to avoid, e.g. mention other clients, promise dates I haven't confirmed]. - When you state a fact about this client, name the file it came from. - If the files don't answer the question, say so. Don't guess. - Ask me before you send, delete or change anything in this client's folders.
After each client meeting, drop the notes into the project folder with the date in the file name. The dates are what let Claude tell you which decision is the latest one.
Prompts, step-by-step guides and checklists you can put to work today.