Projects vs plain chats.

Every LADLE chat can live in a Project (grouped with shared config + files) or as a plain chat (standalone, no shared state). The choice matters more than it seems — projects can concentrate work or create ceremony you don't need.

What a project adds

- **Shared custom instructions** ("respond in this style, assume the reader knows X, follow this style guide"). Applies to every chat in the project. - **Shared knowledge files** — up to ~30 docs pinned to the project, included in every chat's context. Your style guide, an internal glossary, a spec you're building toward. - **A shared organizational shelf** — sidebar groups chats by project so related work stays together.

When a project earns it

Use a project when the SAME setup applies to many chats: - An ongoing book you're writing (your style guide + character list applies to every chat about it). - A codebase you're refactoring (module boundaries apply to every chat about it). - A research topic (your reading list + framing applies to every chat). - A client engagement (their brand voice + constraints apply). - A course you're studying (the syllabus + your notes apply).

The test: if you find yourself re-pasting the same context at the top of every chat, a project makes that context happen automatically.

When a plain chat is cleaner

- **One-shot questions.** "What's the capital of Uzbekistan?" No project needed. - **Unrelated exploration.** Random curiosity that doesn't connect to your other work. - **Anything where the "setup" would just be overhead** — if there's no shared context worth pinning, a plain chat is faster.

Anti-patterns

- **One giant project with everything.** Loses the point. Projects work when they narrow context, not when they expand it. Split into 3-5 focused projects if you find yourself pinning unrelated files to one. - **Projects for temporary work.** Projects live in your sidebar forever unless deleted. If a chat is one-off, a plain chat is cleaner. - **Setting-heavy projects that never get used.** If you tune a project's custom instructions carefully and then only ever have 2 chats in it, the setup wasn't worth it.

File count trade-offs

Every knowledge file in a project counts against the 200K context window of every chat in the project. Pin what actually gets referenced. If your project has 25 files and each chat only uses 3, split into narrower projects or don't pin the unused ones.

Cross-project isolation

Projects don't see each other's chats or files. A chat in Project A is invisible to Project B. Memory (user-level facts) IS shared across all projects — that's a user-level thing, not a project-level thing.