> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cortex-labs.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a chat project

> Organise related conversations and give later chats a selected set of instructions and reference files.

<Note>
  This draft describes the intended Arc update. Project controls, supported file formats, processing states, and the procedure need release-build verification before publication.
</Note>

In this exercise, you will organise a collection-planning task in a chat project. You will add an earlier research conversation, set instructions, and check a reference file before using it in a new chat.

## Before you begin

You need access to Arc, permission to create a chat project, and a reference file in a supported format that you are authorised to use. Choose a permitted model and available file-research tools for the exercise.

If you followed [Research a question in a chat](/arc/chats-and-research/research-a-question), use that Bristol transport conversation. Otherwise, start a short conversation about planning research into public bus disruption in Bristol.

Prepare a small reference file containing this exercise brief:

> Purpose: plan research into public bus disruption in Bristol over the next month. Use public sources. Record source references, access needs, collection priorities, and unresolved questions. This brief defines the exercise scope; it contains no findings about actual disruption.

## Set up the project

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a project for the task">
    Create a chat project in Arc and name it **Bristol transport research**.

    A chat project groups related conversations and reusable context. It does not create a Vantage workspace or grant workspace membership.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the related conversation">
    Add your earlier transport research chat to the project. Check that you can open it and continue from its retained messages.

    Each chat keeps its own history and access rules. Grouping chats does not combine their transcripts into one conversation or change who can read them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the project instructions">
    Add instructions for the project's conversations. For this exercise, use:

    > Separate retrieved facts from suggestions. Cite sources for material findings. Keep missing evidence and unresolved questions explicit. Use British English.

    Read the saved instructions back. Include only guidance you want conversations in this project to use. Instructions guide the response; they do not authorise access to sources or tools. A reusable prompt inserted into one message is separate from these saved project instructions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add and inspect the reference file">
    Add the prepared exercise brief as a project reference file. Inspect its processing status and preview the available content.

    Check that the purpose, location, subject, and period appear in the processed material. An uploaded file is not proof that all its content is available to the model. If processing is incomplete or content is unavailable, resolve that gap before relying on it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use the context in a new chat">
    Start another chat within the project and ask:

    > Using the project brief, outline the collection plan's research questions and proposed source coverage. State which reference material you could use and which parts are suggestions that still need research.

    Compare the response with the file preview and saved instructions. Check that it uses the exercise's bus, Bristol, and one-month scope. Correct any discrepancy before continuing.

    The new chat can use the selected project context without another upload. It has its own conversation history; earlier model answers do not become project reference material automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Check the result

You should have a project containing the related chat, saved instructions, and a reference file whose available content you have inspected. Your new chat should address the prepared scope and identify any context it could not use.

If the response omits the brief, check the selected project, file processing, access, and available tools. Inspect the source material directly rather than treating the model's description as confirmation that a file was fully read.

Memory is optional for this exercise. To retain a selected answer as reference material or manage remembered facts, follow [Use project memory and reference material](/arc/projects-and-context/memory-and-reference-material). Before involving collaborators, read [Understand project sharing boundaries](/arc/projects-and-context/sharing-boundaries).

When your collection-plan outline is checked, follow [Create, revise, and export a chat artefact](/arc/create-and-share-artefacts/create-revise-export) to turn it into a saved output.


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