Projects

Claude Forge allows you to work with multiple projects simultaneously, each with its own context and history.

Opening a Project

Using the Sidebar

1. In the Projects section of the sidebar, click Open Project
2. Navigate to your project directory
3. Click Select Folder

Using Keyboard Shortcut

Press Ctrl+O to open the folder picker directly.

Drag and Drop

Drag a folder from Windows Explorer onto the Claude Forge window to open it.

Switching Between Projects

When you have multiple projects open, they appear as a list in the Projects sidebar section.

• Click a project name to switch to it
• The active project is highlighted
• Each project maintains its own:
  • Conversation history
  • File explorer state
  • Git status

Project Information

Below the project list, you'll see information about the currently selected project:

• Full path to the project directory
• Number of conversations (if any)

Closing a Project

To close a project:

1. Hover over the project name in the sidebar
2. Click the X button that appears
3. The project is removed from the list

INFO

Closing a project doesn't delete any files or conversation history. You can reopen it at any time.

Project Context

When you send a prompt, Claude Forge provides the following context to the AI:

1. Project directory - The root path of your project
2. Selected file - If you've selected a file in the explorer
3. Git status - Current branch and changed files
4. Previous context - Recent conversation history

This context helps Claude understand your codebase and provide relevant responses.

Best Practices

Organize by Feature

When working on a large codebase, consider opening specific subdirectories as separate "projects" to focus the AI's attention:

myapp/
├── frontend/    <- Open as separate project
├── backend/     <- Open as separate project
└── shared/

Use .gitignore

Claude Forge respects your .gitignore file when indexing project files. This means:

• node_modules/ won't clutter the file explorer
• Build artifacts are excluded
• Sensitive files remain private

One Task Per Session

For complex tasks, it's often better to:

1. Open a fresh conversation
2. Focus on one specific goal
3. Review and commit changes
4. Start a new conversation for the next task

This keeps context focused and changes organized.

Limitations

• Maximum projects: No hard limit, but having many projects open may affect performance
• Large codebases: Projects with 10,000+ files may take longer to index
• Binary files: Binary files are excluded from AI context

Troubleshooting

Project won't open

Possible causes:

• Directory doesn't exist
• Insufficient permissions
• Path contains special characters

Solutions:

1. Verify the directory exists
2. Check folder permissions
3. Try opening a parent directory

Slow performance with large projects

Solutions:

1. Open a specific subdirectory instead
2. Ensure .gitignore excludes node_modules/ and build folders
3. Close unused projects