Artifacts — creating and publishing work results

Artifacts are standalone interactive results that Claude creates in a separate window next to your conversation. Instead of getting a long block of code or text pasted into the chat, you see your content ready and in action: a working website, an interactive chart, or a document you can immediately download. Claude automatically creates an artifact when the content meets several criteria: it is substantial and self-contained, usually more than fifteen lines. You are likely to want to edit, improve, or reuse it. It is complex content that has value on its own without the surrounding conversation. It is something you will want to reference or use later. If Claude doesn't create an artifact automatically when you expect one, you can explicitly ask: "Create this as an artifact" or "Show me this in an artifact." Once an artifact is created, it appears in a separate window to the right of the conversation.

Claude can create six types of artifacts. Documents: a great option for text content that you will want to export or continue editing. Meeting notes, reports, project plans, blog posts, and other written content. Code snippets: working code in any programming language — Python, JavaScript, C++, and others. You can review the code, copy or download it for use in your projects. HTML pages: complete web pages with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a single file. Ideal for landing pages, forms, interactive demos, or quick prototypes. SVG images: scalable vector graphics for logos, icons, illustrations. They render directly in the artifact window, so you see the result immediately. Mermaid diagrams: flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts, organizational charts. Describe the relationships you want to visualize, and Claude will create the diagram. React components: interactive UI elements with real functionality — calculators, dashboards, games, data visualizations. These are not just mockups; they contain real logic and respond to user actions.

Creating an artifact is as simple as describing what you want. Claude itself decides whether to present the result as an artifact. For documents: "Write a technical brief template I can reuse for new projects" or "Create an outline for an article about the benefits of remote work." For web pages: "Create a landing page for a productivity app with a hero section and a feature list" or "Make an interactive feedback form." For diagrams: "Create a flowchart showing our customer onboarding process" or "Draw the org structure of the development team." For interactive tools: "Create an interactive budget tracker where I can enter expenses by category and see the breakdown as a chart" or "Make a ROI calculator with customizable parameters." After an artifact is created in the window on the right, you can switch between preview and source code, copy the content, or download the file to your computer.

After creating a useful artifact, you have several options for using and distributing it. The first option is to copy or download. For personal use or distribution through other channels, use the copy or download buttons in the bottom right corner of the artifact window. The second option is to share within the organization, available on Team and Enterprise plans. Team members can exchange artifacts inside the company. A shared artifact stays within your organization and requires team authentication for access. The third option is to publish publicly. For users on Free, Pro, and Max plans, you can publish an artifact to make it accessible to anyone with the link. When publishing, only the selected version becomes public; your chat remains private. Anyone can view and interact with the artifact without a Claude account. Others can "remix" your artifact, opening it in their own conversation with Claude for modification and refinement. Publication can be canceled at any time by returning to this artifact.

To get the best results when creating artifacts, stick to a few principles. First: be specific when describing what you want. "Create a budget tracker" is not bad, but "Create a monthly budget tracker where I can enter expenses by category, see the breakdown as a pie chart, and get a warning when I exceed the budget" is significantly better. Second: describe the end user. Explaining who will use the artifact helps Claude make the right design decisions. "This flowchart is for new employees" leads to different results than "This flowchart is for the development team." Third: improve incrementally. Add one feature or make one change at a time. This makes it easier to determine what works and lets you catch problems early. Fourth: iterate boldly. Artifacts are designed for repeated editing. Say "add date filtering" or "change the color scheme to blue" — Claude will update the artifact while preserving what already works.