Projects, chats, and tasks

Use a project to organize related tasks and give ChatGPT the context it needs. The Projects view in the ChatGPT desktop app includes ChatGPT projects and local projects that connect to folders on your computer.

Choose a project or start without one

Create a project when work will continue over time, produce more than one output, or depend on the same files and sources. Start a task without a project when the work is self-contained and doesn’t need shared project context.

Use a project to keep related chats, files, instructions, and sources together. The same project can contain chats started in Chat and ChatGPT Work.

Choose a project or chat without one

Create a project when work will continue over time, produce more than one output, or depend on the same files and sources. Start a chat without a project when the work is self-contained and doesn’t need shared project context.

Each project has a Chats section for conversations and a Sources section for uploaded files and connected context. Project instructions apply across its chats. A ChatGPT project doesn’t provide direct access to a folder on your computer, so upload or connect the sources you want ChatGPT to use.

Chat and Work change how ChatGPT approaches a request, not what the conversation is called. In either experience, start a new chat from the project and find it again under Chats.

Codex CLI treats the directory where you start it as the project for the task. Run codex from the directory you want Codex to work in, or pass --cd <directory> (-C) to set it explicitly. The CLI doesn’t expose the ChatGPT Projects view.

The IDE extension treats the folder or workspace open in your IDE as the local project. In a multi-root workspace, select the workspace root for the task. The extension doesn’t expose the ChatGPT Projects view from the web or desktop app.

Work in a project

The Projects view brings ChatGPT projects and local projects into one place. ChatGPT projects carry project files and context across related tasks. A local project gives tasks access to one or more folders on your computer, such as a collection of source files or a codebase.

Start a separate task for each distinct outcome so its messages and results stay focused while the project keeps related work organized.

Work in a project

A ChatGPT project gives its chats access to the same uploaded files, project instructions, and connected sources. Use Chat for a quick conversation or ChatGPT Work for a larger deliverable; both appear as chats in the project’s Chats section. Start a separate chat for each distinct outcome so its messages and results stay focused while the project preserves shared context.

Work in a project directory

Start Codex from the directory that should provide the task’s file context. Use /new to start a separate task for each distinct outcome. Use /resume while Codex is open, or run codex resume, to continue a saved task.

The task keeps its transcript and recorded working directory, while Codex reads files from the current working tree. Keep durable project guidance in AGENTS.md or checked-in documentation so it is available to future tasks.

Work in a workspace

Open the folder or workspace that should provide the task’s file context. Start a new task for each distinct outcome, then select it from Recent tasks to continue the same conversation. Tasks in the same project can work with the same files, while each task keeps its own transcript.

The current selection and open files provide context for the current turn. Keep durable project guidance in AGENTS.md or checked-in documentation so it is available to future tasks.

Organize projects and tasks

Keep active work visible and move finished work out of the way:

• Pin a project to keep it near the top of the sidebar. You can also pin it from the Projects view.
• Pin a task when you return to it often, even if newer tasks appear in the project.
• Rename a task with a short title that describes its outcome, such as “Q3 launch brief” or “Checkout accessibility review.”
• Search projects from the Projects view. Press Cmd/Ctrl+G to search past tasks when you remember a phrase or branch name but not the title.
• Archive a task when you finish the work. From a project’s menu, select Archive tasks to archive its tasks together.

Pinning doesn’t add context or change what ChatGPT can access. It only changes where the project or task appears in the sidebar.

Restore archived tasks from Settings > Archived tasks.

Organize projects and chats

Keep active work visible and move finished work out of the way:

• Pin a project to keep it near the top of the sidebar. You can also pin it from the Projects view.
• Pin a chat when you return to it often, even if newer chats appear in the project.
• Rename a chat with a short title that describes its outcome, such as “Q3 launch brief” or “Checkout accessibility review.”
• Search projects from the Projects view. Search past chats with Cmd/Ctrl+K when you remember a phrase or branch name but not the title.
• Archive a chat when you finish the work.

Pinning doesn’t add context or change what ChatGPT can access. It only changes where the project or chat appears in the sidebar.

Restore archived conversations from Settings > Data Controls > Archived chats.

Use local projects for folders and codebases

Add a local project when ChatGPT needs to read or change files in a folder on your computer. For a codebase, the project folder becomes the working directory for Codex tasks.

If a repository contains more than one app or package, use distinct local projects when each task should access only one part of the repository. This keeps the working context focused. Use local environments to define setup actions and common commands for a project.

When you want to isolate code changes from your current checkout, select Codex and start the task in a worktree. Projects and worktrees organize work, but the sandbox enforces what local commands can read, change, or access over the network.

Start a task without a project

Select New task when the work is self-contained and doesn’t need shared project files, instructions, or folder access. Create a project first when several tasks will depend on the same context.

Start a chat without a project

Start a chat from ChatGPT Home when the conversation doesn’t need shared project files, instructions, or sources. You can use Chat or ChatGPT Work; on the web, both create chats.

If the work grows, move it into a project and use clear chat names for each outcome. A project can hold parallel chats for research, drafting, review, and follow-up without mixing every message into one context.

Use Quick Chat for a quick conversation

Quick Chat opens an ordinary ChatGPT chat, separate from Work and Codex tasks. Use it for quick questions and ideas that don’t need a project or durable task context.

Select Chat in the sidebar. You can also press Cmd+Option+N on macOS or Ctrl+Alt+N on Windows. If a conversation becomes part of larger work, select Add to task to bring it into the current task. Open Recent chats from Quick Chat to return to an earlier conversation.

• Attach files or image inputs directly to a task when they apply only to that request.
• Install plugins to bring in context and actions from other services.
• Configure MCP servers when your organization or developer setup exposes tools through Model Context Protocol.
• Use memories, where available, to carry useful context from past work into future tasks.

• Pass image inputs to a task when visual context applies only to that request.
• Install plugins to bring in context and actions from other services.
• Configure MCP servers when your organization or developer setup exposes tools through Model Context Protocol.
• Use memories, where available, to carry useful context from past work into future tasks.

• Reference open files or select code in the editor to add context for the current turn.
• Configure MCP servers when your organization or developer setup exposes tools through Model Context Protocol.
• Use memories from the connected Codex host, where available, to carry useful context into future tasks.

• Add files and connected sources to the project’s Sources section when they should be available across its chats.
• Attach files or image inputs directly to a chat when they apply only to that conversation.
• In ChatGPT Work, install plugins to bring in context and actions from other services.
• Use memories, where available, to carry useful context from past work into future chats.