ChatGPT Projects is a built-in feature that groups related chats, uploaded files, and project-specific custom instructions into a single workspace, and it can keep its memory scoped to that project so context does not leak in from or out to the rest of your account.
What is ChatGPT Projects?
ChatGPT Projects is a feature inside ChatGPT that bundles related conversations, uploaded files, and a set of project-specific custom instructions into one named workspace. Instead of starting each chat from scratch, every conversation you open inside a project can draw on the files attached to that project, the instructions you set for it, and the other chats already in that project. OpenAI introduced Projects on December 13, 2024 during its '12 Days of OpenAI' announcements, initially for Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers, with Enterprise and Edu following in early 2025.
A project acts like a folder with context. You give it a name, optionally a color and icon, attach reference documents, and write instructions that describe how ChatGPT should behave for that work. Those instructions apply only inside the project and take precedence over your global custom instructions while you are working there. This makes Projects useful for long-running or multi-phase work where you want a consistent tone, goal, and reference set without retyping background each session.
The most distinctive part is memory. A project can use your normal account-wide memory, or it can be set to 'project-only' memory, which keeps what ChatGPT learns inside the project from mixing with the rest of your account. This scoped behavior is what separates a project from an ordinary chat and is the main reason Projects are described as self-contained workspaces.
- A project groups chats, files, and custom instructions into one workspace.
- Project instructions apply only inside the project and take precedence over global custom instructions.
- Launched December 13, 2024 during OpenAI's '12 Days of OpenAI'.
- Each chat in a project can reference the project's files and prior project chats.
- Memory can be account-wide (default) or scoped to the project (project-only).
How do project files, custom instructions, and memory work?
Files you upload to a project become reference material that any chat inside that project can use, which is closer to retrieval over your documents than to model training. As of mid-2026, OpenAI's stated per-project file limits are 5 for Free, 25 for Plus, and 40 for Pro, Business, and Enterprise. These files stay attached to the project, so you do not have to re-upload them for each new conversation.
Project instructions are a per-project version of custom instructions. You set them in the project's settings, and OpenAI's documentation states they apply only inside that project and take precedence over your global custom instructions there. This lets one project answer as a terse code reviewer while another answers as a long-form writing assistant, without you switching any global setting.
Memory inside a project depends on the mode you chose. With default memory, ChatGPT references your account-wide saved memories and (where enabled) your broader chat history just as it would in any chat. With project-only memory, your previously saved account memories are not referenced, and chats can build on other conversations within the same project but cannot reference conversations outside it. There is no browsable list of what project-only memory has retained, unlike the editable 'Saved memories' list used by global memory.
- Project files act as per-project reference context, reused across that project's chats.
- File limits (mid-2026): Free 5, Plus 25, Pro/Business/Enterprise 40 per project.
- Project instructions take precedence over global custom instructions inside that project.
- Default memory uses account-wide saved memories; project-only memory does not.
- Project-only memory has no browsable 'memory list' to inspect or edit.
How does project-only memory isolation work?
Project-only memory is the isolation control. When a project is set to project-only, ChatGPT draws context only from conversations already inside that project, and it does not pull in your global saved memories or chats from other projects. New context that accumulates from working in the project also stays inside the project rather than updating your account-wide memory. This makes a project a contained space, which OpenAI frames as useful for sensitive, client-specific, or multi-phase work where cross-contamination of context would be a problem.
There are firm constraints on this mode. Project-only memory can be chosen only when you create the project, it cannot be added to an existing project, and once set it cannot be switched back to default later. Enabling it also requires that personal Memory be turned on for your account, including the 'Reference saved memories' and 'Reference chat history' settings, because project-only memory is built on top of the same memory machinery, just walled off.
It is worth being precise about what isolation does and does not mean. Project-only memory is a context-scoping and personalization control inside ChatGPT, not a privacy or encryption boundary, and OpenAI's standard data and retention policies still apply to the conversations. If your priority is architectural data isolation rather than context scoping, that is a different concern. A memory layer that is private by architecture (per-user isolation, encryption at rest, options for customer-managed keys or on-device storage) addresses the data-control question, whereas project-only memory addresses the 'keep these chats focused' question.
- Project-only memory ignores global saved memories and other projects' chats.
- It can only be enabled at project creation and cannot be reversed afterward.
- It requires account Memory, 'Reference saved memories', and 'Reference chat history' to be on.
- It is a context-scoping control, not encryption or a privacy guarantee.
- Useful for client work, sensitive topics, or multi-phase projects needing focus.
How is ChatGPT Projects different from regular chats and global memory?
A regular ChatGPT conversation is a single thread. It can use your account-wide memory and (where enabled) reference your past chats, but it has no attached files, no dedicated instructions, and no shared context with sibling conversations. A project, by contrast, is a container: multiple chats inside it share the same files, the same project instructions, and the same memory scope, so the context is persistent across sessions rather than living in one thread.
The difference from global memory is about scope and direction. Global memory (saved memories plus reference chat history) is account-wide, so what ChatGPT learns in one place can surface anywhere, and you can view and delete individual saved memories. Project-only memory deliberately breaks that flow: it neither reads from your global memory nor writes back to it, and it has no editable memory list. Default-memory projects sit in between, using global memory like a normal chat while still grouping files and instructions.
Projects also differ from temporary chats and from the broader 'reference chat history' personalization. A temporary chat is the opposite of a project: it is ephemeral, leaves no memory, and groups nothing. Reference chat history is an account-level personalization setting that lets ordinary chats draw on your past conversations, whereas a project's memory scope decides whether that account-level history is in play at all for chats inside the project.
- Regular chats are single threads; projects share files, instructions, and memory scope.
- Global memory is account-wide and editable; project-only memory is scoped and not browsable.
- Default-memory projects still use global memory; project-only projects do not.
- Temporary chats leave no memory and group nothing, the opposite of a project.
- Project memory scope decides whether account-level chat history applies inside it.
How do you create, manage, or turn off project memory?
You create a project from the ChatGPT sidebar, give it a name, and (since the 2025 update) optionally pick a color and icon. To make it project-only, you set the memory option during creation, before adding chats, because the project-only choice is offered only at that point. If you do not change it, the project uses default account-wide memory. To manage files and instructions later, open the project's settings, where you can edit project instructions and adjust attached files.
Turning project memory off works at two levels. You cannot convert an existing project-only project back to default, so if you want a project to stop being isolated you create a new default-memory project instead. To stop ChatGPT from using memory at all, you turn off Memory in Settings under Personalization. Note that disabling 'Reference saved memories' also disables 'Reference chat history'. You can also delete a project, which removes the project and its scoped context.
As of September 3, 2025, OpenAI made Projects available to Free users in addition to paid tiers, and the same update added larger per-project file uploads, color and icon customization, and the project-only memory controls described above. Availability first reached the web and Android, with iOS following shortly after, so the exact options visible to you can depend on your plan and app version.
- Create a project from the sidebar; choose project-only memory at creation time only.
- Edit instructions and files later via the project's settings.
- Project-only projects cannot be reverted; create a new default project instead.
- Disable memory in Settings > Personalization; turning off saved memories also disables chat history.
- Projects reached Free users on September 3, 2025 with files, colors, and memory controls.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT Projects groups related chats, uploaded files, and project-specific custom instructions into one persistent workspace.
- Project-only memory isolates a project: it ignores your global saved memories and other projects, and what it learns stays inside the project.
- Project-only memory can be set only at creation, cannot be added to an existing project, and cannot be reversed.
- Default-memory projects still use account-wide memory; the difference from a regular chat is shared files, instructions, and grouping.
- As of mid-2026, per-project file limits are 5 (Free), 25 (Plus), and 40 (Pro/Business/Enterprise), and Projects reached Free users on September 3, 2025.
- Project-only memory is a context-scoping control, not encryption or a privacy guarantee, so OpenAI's standard data policies still apply.
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