Claude Code adds project chat controls for parallel-thread status

• Project chat now answers questions and proactively reports parallel-thread status, according to ClaudeDevs' announcement.
• Side tasks and alternate approaches get separate threads through /btw and /fork, as the command demo explains.
• Thread reminders hide work until the chosen time, then bring it back into project chat, according to the reminder announcement.
• Shared threads are read-only and require a Claude sign-in; the sharing announcement excludes threads that had access to your computer.
• Projects remains a staged public beta: the availability post lists Pro and Max access across web and desktop, with the redesigned UI in the latest mobile app.

The Projects docs say the coordinator sees what workers report back, rather than every step they take. Cloud threads keep running after your laptop closes, while threads on your computer require it to stay awake. Separately, Claude Code mods run JavaScript or TypeScript handlers inside the app, the foundation for its new animated themes.

The standout upgrade is conversational status reporting across parallel workers. The coordinator now answers project-level questions and volunteers updates about ongoing threads.

Messages in project chat can take three routes, according to the routing documentation:

• Quick question: Claude answers in the project conversation.
• New work or a follow-up: Claude starts a thread or passes the work to one already handling that area.
• Several unrelated tasks: Claude splits them into separate threads.

Writing directly inside a thread reaches that worker; writing in project chat leaves the coordinator to match the message to a thread.

Each worker is a separate session with its own context window. A cloud coding thread works on its own branch and can open a pull request, according to the architecture documentation.

The documented configuration boundary is surprisingly specific:

• Shared project context: repositories, files, instructions, and memory.
• Repository instructions: each repository's CLAUDE.md is included.
• Excluded repository configuration: skills, .claude/settings.json, and .mcp.json are not automatically loaded.
• Account integrations: threads receive the connectors on the user's claude.ai account.
• Execution environment: network access, environment variables, network secrets, and installed tools come from the project's cloud environment.

Cloud threads do not inherit the Claude Code setup on the user's own machine.

Both commands now work inside Projects, with different ways to separate work:

• /btw: gives a new topic its own thread, keeping the current thread focused.
• /fork: starts a new thread from the current one to try a different approach.

A reminder can be set on a thread directly or requested in natural language. The thread moves out of the way until the reminder is due, then returns and Claude brings it up in project chat.

The thread menu now offers Share, producing a read-only link that anyone signed into Claude can open. A thread that had access to your computer cannot be shared.

The restriction is phrased in terms of access the thread had, rather than whether it is currently running locally.

The threads panel gets two retrieval surfaces:

• An artifact row at the top: includes artifacts recently opened, updated, or pinned.
• Thumbnails on individual threads: expose that thread's artifacts, with an option to disable thumbnails in view settings.

The rollout announcement also says project settings and local folder access are simpler. It points users who do not yet have Projects to a waitlist.

Anthropic's Projects page describes the rollout as an upgrade for existing projects in chat and Cowork, alongside the new Claude Code workflow.

A separate Claude Code update exposes themes through a cleaner UI on top of mods:

• Reactive animated backdrops.
• Custom colors.
• Theme generation by asking Claude.

A vinyl-player theme is still in development, TheWholeDaisy said, with session events mapped to the animation:

• Context fills: the needle moves across the record.
• A test fails: the record skips.
• Compaction happens: the record flips over.