Artifacts & Code

Claude doesn't just write code — it generates real files you can download and run.

What are Artifacts?

Artifacts are Claude's way of generating real files rather than just code blocks in chat. When you ask Claude to write a script, build a webpage, or create a document, it can render an Artifact — a file that appears in a preview panel on the right side of the screen, and that you can copy, download, or iterate on.

Types of Artifacts

Triggering Artifacts

Claude automatically creates an Artifact when you ask for something that's clearly a standalone file. You can also explicitly request one:

• "Write a Python script to clean this CSV and save to a new file" → Python Artifact
• "Create an HTML dashboard showing these metrics" → HTML Artifact (with live preview)
• "Build an interactive bar chart React component" → React Artifact (interactive)
• "Draw an ER diagram for this schema" → Mermaid Artifact
• "Write the CREATE TABLE DDL for a customer database" → SQL Artifact

Iterating on Artifacts

Once an Artifact exists, you can modify it by asking Claude to make changes:

• "Add error handling to the file reading function"
• "Change the bar chart to a line chart and add a date filter"
• "Add a phone number column to the customer table"

Claude updates the Artifact in-place. You can see the full version history by clicking the version indicator in the Artifact panel.

React Artifacts for data engineers

React Artifacts are particularly powerful — Claude can build interactive dashboards, data grids, and calculators that run live in the browser:

Downloading and using Artifacts

Every Artifact has a Copy and Download button in the top right of the panel. Download gives you the actual file — .py, .html, .sql, .md, etc. You can then open it directly in VS Code, run it in terminal, or deploy it.