CRAFT Tutorials · Getting Started · 8 of 12
When a piece of work is too big for one sitting, a subproject gives it its own focused space — its own goal, its own progress tracking, a clean start and finish. You describe the goal; Claude builds and maintains the structure for you.
Don’t need this yet? Skip it. This is the one Getting Started topic that’s a small step up from the rest. You can do real CRAFT work for a long time without ever starting a subproject — come back when you have a big, multi-session task. And when you do, remember: Claude does all the setup for you.
Sometimes a task is too big for a single CRAFT session — a goal with several steps that’ll take a few sessions to finish. CRAFT has a tidy way to handle that: a subproject.
Think of your CRAFT project as the whole workspace. A subproject is a focused effort inside it, with its own goal and its own progress tracking, kept separate so a big task stays organized instead of sprawling across your main project. The best part: you don’t have to understand how any of that is arranged. You describe the goal; Claude builds and maintains the structure behind the scenes.
Starting one
Just tell Claude what you want to take on:
Claude sets it up for you — a small set of tracking files that record the goal, the planned steps, and progress as you go. You never create or edit those files by hand; Claude manages them. Name it whatever makes sense to you — CRAFT imposes no naming rules, so call your subproject and its goals whatever fits your work.
✓ You’ll know it worked when Claude confirms the subproject is set up and tells you the goal it recorded. From that point on, it’s tracking the effort for you.
Working in it, and finishing
While a subproject is active, Claude keeps its progress current as you work across sessions — so each time you come back, you can see what’s done and what’s next without re-explaining anything. When the work is complete, close it out:
Claude wraps it up cleanly and returns you to your main project.
When should I use one?
Reach for a subproject when a task is clearly multi-step and multi-session — a project within your project. A few examples that fit:
- “Redesign my newsletter” — several stages, spread over days.
- “Plan and write a 5-part course” — a big goal with many pieces.
- “Migrate my notes into the new system” — a long effort you’ll return to.
For quick, one-sitting tasks, you don’t need one. Just work normally in your project. A subproject is only worth it when a goal is big enough to outlast a single CRAFT session — otherwise it’s more structure than the task needs.
A few common questions
Will my subproject be tracked automatically across sessions?
Yes. Once a subproject is active, CRAFT keeps its progress for you and picks it up automatically at the start of each new session — no need to remind Claude what you were doing. You come back, and the goal, the steps, and where you left off are already there.
Where does my subproject go after we close it? Can I still use it?
Nothing is deleted. When you close a subproject, CRAFT neatly files it away in a “finished” area of your project and returns you to your main workspace. Everything it produced stays right there, and you can look back at it anytime to see what was done. It’s marked complete, so if you want to take that goal further later, you’d simply start a fresh subproject for the next chunk of work.
A note on keeping it simple: it’s recommended to have only one subproject going at a time. Finishing and closing one before opening the next keeps your work clear and your progress easy to follow.
That’s a subproject: describe a big goal, and Claude gives it its own organized space and tracks it to the finish. Next up: Use a persona — how to call in an expert helper for a specific kind of work.