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Memory Across Chats

Beginner
What you'll learn
  • Tell apart the four different things people call "memory" — only one of them is this page's topic
  • Know what cross-chat memory can do for you, and why availability depends on your plan
  • Stay in control: review, edit, clear or disable what Claude keeps
  • Know when to use an explicit mechanism instead, because a fact *must* be applied

By default each conversation is a blank slate. Memory features let Claude carry useful facts about you across chats — so you don't re-introduce yourself every time.

What "memory" means here​

There are a few distinct things people call "memory" — don't confuse them:

KindWhat it is
Context windowWorking memory within one chat (forgotten when it ends) — see Tokens & Context
Cross-chat memoryClaude remembers facts about you across conversations (the topic of this page)
Custom instructionsStanding facts you set explicitly
ProjectsKnowledge scoped to a workspace

How cross-chat memory helps​

When enabled, Claude can recall things like your preferences, ongoing projects, or details you've shared — making it feel more like a continuous assistant than a stranger each session. Availability and controls depend on your plan.

Stay in control​

Guided walkthrough1 of 4
  1. Where the app provides controls, open them and read what Claude has actually kept. People are routinely surprised — both by what was stored and by what wasn't.
Explicit beats implicit

For facts that must be applied (your role, units, hard rules), set custom instructions or use a Project — that's more reliable than hoping memory recalls them.

Check yourself

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  1. You have a hard rule that every answer must use metric units. Where should it live?
  2. Which kind of memory is forgotten when a single conversation ends?
  3. What is the right posture toward a critical fact Claude recalls from a previous chat?
Press Enter or Space to flip the card. Use the left and right arrow keys to move between cards.Term shown.
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Key takeaways
  • Four different things get called "memory" — context window, cross-chat memory, custom instructions, Projects. Only the second is this page's topic.
  • Cross-chat memory is a continuity convenience, not a system of record. Confirm anything critical.
  • Anything that must be applied every time belongs in custom instructions or a Project, not in memory.
  • Memory persists. Review what's stored, and keep sensitive data out of it.

Next​