Step-by-Step Fix
1) Confirm the exact symptom
Write down the exact message, when it started, and whether it affects one browser/device or everything.
2) Run the two isolation tests
- Incognito/private window
- Second network (phone hotspot, no VPN)
3) Reset browser/session state
- sign out/in
- hard refresh
- clear site data for the Claude site
- disable extensions temporarily
4) Rule out VPN/proxy and network filtering
Disable VPN/proxy and retry once on a stable network.
5) Verify account/workspace context
Confirm you’re using the correct account/workspace for the feature or billing state.
6) Escalate with a clean report
Include: error text, timestamp, region, browser/app + OS, and what you already tested.
Common Root Causes
- stale session/cookies
- extensions blocking requests
- VPN/proxy or network filtering
- wrong account/workspace
- platform-side incident or rollout
Prevention Tips
- keep one clean browser profile for Claude
- avoid rapid retries after errors
- use hotspot + incognito as the first diagnostic step
Why This Happens
Claude Projects are stored and synced server-side, but the project list and content are cached in your browser session. When you access a project from a new device, different account, or after a session expiry, the browser must fetch the full project state from Anthropic's servers. If that fetch fails — due to a network interruption, a stale authentication token, or a temporary server-side issue — the project appears stuck loading or shows a blank screen. Projects with large file attachments (approaching the 100 MB per-project limit) are especially prone to loading timeouts.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not checking which workspace the project belongs to. Projects are workspace-scoped. If you created a project in a Team workspace, it will not appear when you are viewing your personal account — even on the same claude.ai session. Use the workspace switcher in the top-left to toggle between personal and organization workspaces.
- Opening a project in multiple tabs simultaneously. Multiple concurrent sessions on the same project can cause sync conflicts, where each tab gets partial state and neither loads completely. Close all but one Claude tab before loading a project.
- Not waiting after adding large files. After uploading large files to a project, the indexing process can take several minutes. Trying to load the project while indexing is still in progress may show a blank or stalled project state. Wait 5–10 minutes after uploading large documents before accessing the project.
- Expecting projects to work immediately after a plan downgrade. If your Claude Pro subscription lapsed and Projects is a Pro-only feature, your projects will not load on the free plan. The project data is preserved but inaccessible until you re-subscribe. Confirm your plan status before troubleshooting loading issues.
- Sharing a project link with someone not in the workspace. Project URLs are not publicly accessible. Sharing the URL with a collaborator who is not a member of your workspace will show them an empty loading state. They need to be added to the workspace first.
FAQ
Q: What is the file size limit for Claude Projects? Claude Projects support up to 100 MB of total file content per project. Individual files must be under 10 MB each. Supported file types include PDF, TXT, DOCX, CSV, and code files. Images and binary files may have lower size limits depending on file type. Projects approaching the 100 MB limit may load more slowly or timeout during initial fetch.
Q: Can I access Claude Projects on mobile? Claude Projects are accessible via the mobile browser at claude.ai, but the mobile app may have limited project functionality depending on the app version. For full project features (file management, custom instructions), use the desktop browser version. Mobile app support for Projects is being expanded over time.
Q: Why do my project custom instructions not seem to be applied? Custom instructions are applied at conversation start within the project. If you add or change custom instructions during an existing project conversation, the change will not apply to the current conversation — only to new conversations started within the project. Start a new conversation in the project after updating custom instructions to see the effect.
Q: How many projects can I have on Claude Pro? Claude Pro subscribers can create multiple projects without a published hard cap on the number of projects. However, each project counts against your total storage quota. If you receive a storage limit error, archive or delete older projects. The free plan may limit the number of active projects — check Anthropic's current pricing page for the latest limits.
Q: My project loaded before but now shows "Something went wrong." What happened? Intermittent project load failures are usually caused by temporary server-side issues on Anthropic's infrastructure. Check status.anthropic.com for active incidents. If no incident is listed, refresh the page and wait 5–10 minutes before retrying. If the error persists for more than an hour without a listed incident, contact support with the project name and the exact error message.
Q: Can I recover a project that was accidentally deleted? Project deletion is currently irreversible through the UI. Anthropic does not offer a self-serve project recovery tool. If you deleted a project within the last few days and need the content recovered, contact support immediately with the project name, deletion timestamp, and your account email. Recovery is not guaranteed but may be possible within a short window.
Related Issues
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- Browse more fixes in this category
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Additional FAQ
Q: How do I know if the problem is on my end or the platform's side? Check the platform's official status page first — most services maintain a public status page that shows current incidents and outages. If no incident is posted and the problem only affects your account (not reported widely on Reddit or Twitter), it is likely a local issue. Testing in incognito mode and on a different network also helps isolate whether the problem is browser-specific, network-specific, or account-specific.
Q: Why do hard refresh and regular refresh fix different problems? A regular refresh (F5) reloads the page using cached resources — it does not clear JavaScript bundles, service worker state, or session cookies. A hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) bypasses the cache and fetches all resources fresh from the server. Regular refresh fixes transient network hiccups; hard refresh fixes stale cached code. Neither clears cookies or session tokens — for that, you need to clear site data explicitly from browser settings.
Q: When should I contact support versus waiting it out? Contact support immediately if: you were charged but did not receive access, your account was suspended without explanation, or the problem affects billing or data. Wait and retry after 30–60 minutes if: a status page shows an ongoing incident, the error message says 'try again later', or the problem started very recently. For account-specific errors with no platform-wide incident, opening a support ticket is always the right move — document what you tried and include timestamps.
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Additional FAQ
Q: How do I know if the problem is on my end or the platform's side? Check the platform's official status page first — most services maintain a public status page that shows current incidents and outages. If no incident is posted and the problem only affects your account (not reported widely on Reddit or Twitter), it is likely a local issue. Testing in incognito mode and on a different network also helps isolate whether the problem is browser-specific, network-specific, or account-specific.
Related Articles
- Claude usage limit reached
- Claude rate limit fix
- Claude blank page white screen
- Claude can't log in fix
Additional FAQ
Q: How do I know if the problem is on my end or the platform's side? Check the platform's official status page first — most services maintain a public status page that shows current incidents and outages. If no incident is posted and the problem only affects your account (not reported widely on Reddit or Twitter), it is likely a local issue. Testing in incognito mode and on a different network also helps isolate whether the problem is browser-specific, network-specific, or account-specific.