In the redesign announced on 2026-09-17, a Claude project stops being a folder of instructions and files and becomes one long-running conversation. You state a goal; Claude splits it into threads, runs them as parallel cloud sessions, and assembles the results.1 The source was reconstructed from secondary coverage; see the source summary.
What changed
| Old Projects | Redesigned Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | A folder of files and custom instructions | One ongoing conversation |
| Who splits the work | You, across separate chats | Claude scopes and delegates |
| Where work runs | The chat you are in | Parallel cloud sessions, one per thread |
| Context between units | You re-paste it | Shared project memory |
| Outputs | Scattered across chats | Collected in the project library |
| After you close the laptop | Nothing runs | Threads keep running |
As described in the announcement.1
The pieces
- Coordinator: Claude in the project conversation. It scopes the request, decides what becomes a thread, delegates, reviews outputs, and assembles the result.1
- Threads: each runs as a separate cloud session, in parallel, and keeps going after you disconnect.1 Each repository a thread clones needs the Claude GitHub App.2
- Memory: shared across threads; every thread reads and writes it. It also holds your working style, such as how often to check in and how detailed updates should be.1
- Library: the files you add and the artifacts Claude produces, so later work starts from earlier work.1
Availability at announcement
Beta from 2026-09-17: Pro or Max, Claude Code (desktop and web) only, cloud sessions required, and only for accounts without existing projects on web or desktop. Announced rollout order: more Claude Code users, then the rest of Claude, then Team and Enterprise.1
Analysis from the source
The note’s author argues that shared memory is what makes delegation cheap, since a thread no longer starts from what you pasted; that review risk moves into the assembled result, where the seams between threads are hidden; and that the check-in and verbosity settings are the only throttle on an unattended system.1 Compare subagents, which delegate within a single session.1
Related
- Source: Claude Code Cloud Sessions
- Claude Managed Agents: the API-side option for long-running asynchronous work.
- Source: Claude Projects, Redesigned