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How to use Claude artifacts

When Claude writes something you'll actually use, like a document, a slide deck or a small app, it can put it in an artifact instead of burying it in the chat. Here's how to turn artifacts on, make and refine one, and share or export the result.

Updated 15 October 2026

Artifacts changed on 16 September 2026: anything made in a chat before then is now a "legacy" artifact, so older tutorials may not match what you see. These steps were checked against Anthropic's help pages on 15 October 2026.

What counts as an artifact

Claude doesn't make an artifact for every reply. It does so when the content is substantial (usually more than about 15 lines), makes sense without the conversation around it, and is something you're likely to revise, reuse or come back to. Typical results:

• Documents, reports and one-pagers
• Slide decks built from notes or earlier work in the chat
• Mockups, prototypes and landing pages
• Diagrams, flowcharts, images and dashboards
• Small interactive tools, such as a quiz, a journal or a tracker

Turn artifacts on

Artifacts depend on Claude's code execution and file creation feature. Anthropic's artifacts pages call the switch Cloud code execution and file creation; its older file creation page uses the shorter Code execution and file creation. It starts switched on for Free, Pro, Max and Team, so these steps are mostly for checking that nobody turned it off.

1. Free, Pro or Max: click your initials or name in the lower left, choose Settings, open Capabilities and switch on code execution and file creation.
2. In the mobile app: tap your initials or name in the left sidebar to open Settings, then open Capabilities and switch it on there.
3. Team or Enterprise: owners control this. Code execution and file creation lives in Organization settings → Capabilities, and the Artifacts switch and the list of available templates are in Organization settings → Artifacts. Ask an owner if artifacts are missing.

Create an artifact

1. Ask in any chat. Describe what you want and who it's for, for example "a one-page summary of this report for my manager".
2. Or pick a template from the message box. Select Output and choose a template before you send.
3. Or start in the Artifacts tab. Open Artifacts in the sidebar and choose a template there.

The templates as of October 2026 are Docs, Slides and Design on every plan; Dashboards (beta) on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise; and Motion (beta) for animated explainers on Team and Enterprise. On Enterprise, Dashboards and Motion stay off until an owner turns them on. Whatever you create also lands in the Artifacts tab in the sidebar, so you don't need to dig through old chats to get back to it.

Edit and refine it

• Ask for changes in the chat. "Shorten the intro" or "add a column for owners" both work.
• Edit by hand. In anything made from a template you can type in the doc, change a slide or move items on the design canvas.
• Point at the exact spot. In a doc or Markdown file, highlight some text, click Edit with Claude and say what to change. Claude edits just that part.
• Try another direction safely. Edit one of your earlier messages to branch the chat. The new branch gets its own artifacts and the old version stays intact.
• Fix errors. If an artifact shows an error, click Try fixing with Claude, which drops the error details into a new message for you to send. Claude will attempt a fix, but Anthropic notes some errors need more troubleshooting.

Export it

For artifacts made from a template, click Export. Docs go to Word, PDF, Markdown or Google Docs. Decks go to PowerPoint or PDF, or straight into Google Slides. Designs export as a .zip, PDF, PowerPoint or standalone HTML, and Motion pieces as MP4 video. For a legacy artifact, use the buttons along the top of the panel to view the code, copy it or download it.

Share it

1. Open the artifact and click Share.
2. On Team or Enterprise, add colleagues and set each person's access: Can view, Commenter or Can edit, depending on what that kind of artifact offers. On Pro and Max, you can invite specific people by email instead (in beta as of October 2026); they need a Claude account under that address.
3. Under Who has access, pick who else can open it. Pro and Max offer Only you or Anyone with the link. Team and Enterprise offer Only people invited, Anyone at your organization, or Anyone with the link if an owner allows outside sharing.
4. Copy the link and send it.

To stop sharing, open Share again and set access back to Only you (Pro, Max) or Only people invited (Team, Enterprise). Want to pass along a whole conversation rather than one artifact? See our guide to sharing an AI chat.

Good to know

• Private until you share. New artifacts start visible only to you.
• Storage can be shared. On paid plans, artifacts can save text between sessions, up to 20 MB each. The builder decides whether that storage is personal to each user or shared by everyone, so check before typing anything sensitive into someone else's tracker.
• Connected apps use the viewer's access. An artifact that reads from tools like Google Calendar or Slack asks you to approve them first, and everyone who opens it connects their own accounts.
• Be careful with artifacts from strangers. Anthropic advises opening shared artifacts only when they come from someone you trust, with the same caution you'd use for an unexpected attachment.

If it doesn't work

• Claude answers in the chat instead. Check that code execution and file creation is on, then ask for the output as a doc, deck or design, or choose a template under Output.
• There's no Share option on Free. As of October 2026, Anthropic lists no sharing options for new artifacts on the free plan. Free users can still publish a legacy artifact.
• Anyone with the link is grayed out. On Team and Enterprise, an owner has to turn on External sharing or allow that one artifact, and docs can't be shared by link there yet. Artifacts that use Claude or connected apps can't be shared by link on any plan.
• You can't change sharing on your phone. Sharing settings are only on the web and in Claude Desktop.

Sources

• What are artifacts and how do I use them? (Claude Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
• Share artifacts (Claude Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
• Artifacts admin guide for Team and Enterprise plans (Claude Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
• Create and edit files with Claude (Claude Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
• Understanding Claude's personalization features (Claude Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions