Updated: April 2026 — Sonnet 4.6 + Opus 4.6

Claude AI — the guide
for the advanced user

Projects, Memory, Artifacts, MCP and System Prompts — everything you need to master Claude.ai without writing a single line of code.

schedule20 min read
peopleFor all levels
code_offNo code
1M
Context Window
#1
Coding Benchmarks
Free
Sign in at claude.ai
explore What's your path?

Two separate guides — choose by what you need:

👤
User / business
You want to use Claude.ai for everyday work, build personal assistants, manage Projects, and leverage Artifacts — without writing code.
✓ You are here
⚙️
Developer / API
You want to integrate Claude into code, use Tool Use, Extended Thinking, and build agents with Python/TypeScript.
→ API guide

What is Claude?

Claude is a large language model (LLM) from Anthropic — an AI company founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, led by Dario and Daniela Amodei. Anthropic's DNA is AI Safety — safe, honest and transparent models.

Claude is considered one of GPT-4o's strongest competitors. In areas like writing code, analyzing documents, and understanding long context — it usually wins.

What sets Claude apart?

The models — April 2026

Claude Sonnet 4.6
Most recommended
API: $3 / $15 per million tokens
The perfect balance — fast, smart, an accessible price. Default on Free and Pro. 79.6% on SWE-bench.
Claude Opus 4.6
Strongest
API: $5 / $25 per million tokens
For complex tasks, deep analysis, Agent Teams. 80.8% on SWE-bench. A full 1M Context window.
Claude Haiku 4.5
Fastest
API: $1 / $5 per million tokens
Cheap and fast. For high-volume apps and simple tasks.
Criterion Claude Sonnet 4.6 GPT-4o Gemini 2.5 Pro
Context Window1M128K2M 🏆
Writing codeOutstanding 🏆ExcellentExcellent
HebrewGoodExcellent 🏆Good
Artifacts / CanvasArtifacts 🏆CanvasNone
Projects + Memory✅ Full 🏆✅ Partial✅ Partial

The claude.ai interface — a quick overview

claude.ai is the graphical interface. You can sign in for free; Pro has access to stronger models and no usage limits.

desktop_windows
The claude.ai interface
Left side — Projects and chats. Center — the conversation. Right — the Artifacts Panel

Plans and pricing (claude.ai)

Free Free

Access to Sonnet 4.6, Artifacts, file creation, connectors. A limited number of messages per day. Suited to trying it out and occasional use.

Pro $20/month

5x more usage, access to Opus 4.6, full Projects, Memory, Priority access. Recommended for everyday use.

Team Enterprise

Team management, SSO, enhanced security, managing shared Projects. For organizations.

Projects — organized memory for every topic

Projects is claude.ai's most powerful feature. Instead of briefing Claude again in every conversation — you save context, files, and instructions in a single Project that lasts forever.

lightbulb Analogy

Think of a Project as a "folder" containing an AI employee who knows who you are, what the project is, and all the relevant files — without you having to repeat yourself.

How to create a Project — step by step

1Click "New Project" on the left

In the side menu on claude.ai, under "Projects" — click the + button to create a new Project.

2Give the project a clear name

For example: "Marketing assistant", "Customer analysis", "Website content writing". The name is just for your own organization.

3Add Project Instructions

This is the Project's System Prompt. Write here: who Claude is in this context, what the style is, what the boundaries are. This is saved for every conversation within the Project.

4Upload relevant files

PDF, Word, Excel, images, code — Claude will read them and remember the content across all the Project's conversations.

5Start a conversation within the Project

Every new conversation you open from within the Project automatically gets the instructions and files — without copying them again.

Example Project Instructions by use

// Project: Marketing assistant You are a senior marketing manager helping the company [company name]. The product: [short description] Target audience: [age, interests] Tone: professional yet warm. No buzzwords. Language: English only. Always end with a suggestion for further improvement.
// Project: Data analysis You are a data analyst. You have access to the financial reports of [company]. Always answer with: key figure → meaning → recommendation. If information is missing — ask before you guess. Format: Markdown tables when relevant.
tips_and_updates Tip

Create separate Projects for each client, product, or work area. The Context doesn't mix between Projects.

Memory — a Claude that remembers you

Memory lets Claude remember details about you between conversations — even outside Projects. It learns from your conversations and generates automatic "memories".

Two types of memory

AAutomatic memory

Claude identifies important details from conversations (name, profession, preferences) and stores them. You can view and delete them in Settings → Memory.

MManual instructions

Tell Claude "remember that..." so it saves specific information. For example: "remember that I work at a B2B SaaS startup."

warning Important

Memory works at the account level. Project Instructions are specific to a Project. The two work together.

Artifacts — direct creation from the chat

Artifacts is the feature that sets Claude apart from all competitors. Instead of getting code inside the chat — Claude opens a separate Panel with an editor + a real-time preview.

lightbulb How to enable it

Write "create an Artifact of..." and the Panel will open. Or simply ask for code — Claude decides automatically.

What can you create?

🌐
HTML / CSS / JS
Websites and apps
"Create a landing page with a contact form, a minimalist design and a CTA button"

Runs directly in the browser. You can download and use it.

⚛️
React Component
Interactive components
"Build a dashboard with an interactive sales chart and date filters"

Full State, hooks, useState — everything runs inside the chat.

🎨
SVG
Vector graphics
"Create an SVG logo for a business that sells coffee — a minimalist style with a brown tone"

Infographics, diagrams, logos — exportable at any size.

📊
Markdown / document
Formatted documents
"Write a professional price quote with a table, terms and price line items"

Easy export, editing, sharing. Suited to reports and work documents.

Tip: improving Artifacts in the conversation

🔁
Update in Iterations"Change the color to blue" / "Add a button" — Claude changes the Artifact directly.
📋
Copy to ClipboardThe Copy button inside the Artifact Panel copies the full code.
🔗
SharingYou can share Artifacts with a direct link — even with someone who doesn't have a Claude account.

MCP — connect Claude to your tools

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a protocol that lets Claude communicate directly with external apps — like Google Drive, Notion, GitHub, and more. Instead of copying information manually — Claude reads directly from the source.

📝 Your request
🤖 Claude
🔌 MCP Server
📁 Notion / Drive / GitHub

Popular MCP servers on claude.ai

📁
Google Drive
Claude reads your files, Docs, and Sheets directly
📓
Notion
Creating, editing and searching in your Pages and Databases
📧
Gmail
Reading emails, writing drafts, searching your mail
📅
Google Calendar
Claude sees and manages your schedule
🐙
GitHub
Reading code, opening Issues, Code Review
💬
Slack
Sending messages, reading channels, searching conversations

How to connect MCP on claude.ai

1Settings → Integrations

Sign in to claude.ai → click your name at the top → Settings → Integrations (or Connectors).

2Choose an integration and connect

Choose the app (Notion, Drive, GitHub...) and click Connect. You'll need to approve permissions.

3Use it in a conversation

Now, in a conversation with Claude, you can ask: "Read the Notion page about our project and summarize it."

build For developers

You can build your own MCP Server that connects Claude to any API — see the API guide for the technical details.

System Prompts — make Claude work for you

A System Prompt is the instruction sent to Claude before every conversation. On claude.ai you can set it in Project Instructions.

Best Practices

🎭
A clear role"You are an expert in X who helps Y" — works better than general instructions.
🏷️
XML TagsClaude responds excellently to tags like <context>, <instructions>, <examples>. Anthropic officially recommends them.
📐
Answer formatSpecify whether you want Markdown, JSON, short lists, or long paragraphs.
🚫
Negative boundaries"Don't answer X" works well in Claude thanks to Constitutional AI.

10 advanced tips

📎
Upload a PDF directlyClaude reads long documents without losing context. You can ask questions about 100 pages.
🔄
A follow-up conversationClaude remembers the entire conversation. "Change the third point", "Add an example to section B" — works excellently.
🌍
Image analysisSend a screenshot, an image, or a scanned PDF — Claude "sees" them and analyzes.
🎯
Chain of ThoughtAdd "think step by step before you answer" — dramatically improves answers to complex problems.
📊
Data export"Turn the answer into JSON" / "Prepare a CSV with columns X, Y, Z" — Claude exports anything to the format you need.
🔍
A critical comparison"Compare the two approaches and present the pros and cons of each" — Claude won't flatter, it will present a real picture.
📝
Text editing"Edit the following text to a professional but not formal style" — Claude is excellent at adapting style.
🌐
Web Searchclaude.ai has web-search access — Claude can verify up-to-date information if you ask.
📌
Pin important conversationsYou can mark important conversations in a Project — so you find them quickly.
Haiku for draftsIf you're on the API, use Haiku 4.5 for quick drafts and Sonnet for the final version — saves 70% of costs.
rocket_launch

Ready to start?

Sign in to claude.ai, open your first Project, and start building your personal assistant.