Understanding Claude Artifacts
Claude's Artifacts feature changed how we work with AI-generated code. Here's everything you need to know about using it effectively.
What Are Artifacts?
Artifacts are a Claude feature that displays interactive content—like HTML pages, React components, or SVG graphics—in a dedicated preview panel alongside your conversation. Instead of just showing you code in text, Claude renders it live so you can see and interact with the result immediately.
When Claude determines that its response would benefit from a visual preview, it automatically creates an Artifact. This happens most often with:
- Complete HTML pages with CSS and JavaScript
- Interactive React components
- SVG graphics and diagrams
- Mermaid diagrams and flowcharts
- Data visualizations
How Artifacts Work
Behind the scenes, Artifacts run in a sandboxed iframe environment. This means:
- Isolation: Your code runs safely without affecting Claude or your browser
- Real rendering: You see exactly how the HTML will look in a real browser
- Interactivity: Buttons, forms, and JavaScript all work as expected
- Iteration: You can ask Claude to modify the Artifact and see changes instantly
Getting Better Artifacts
To get Claude to generate Artifacts (instead of just code blocks), try these approaches:
Be Visual
Use words that suggest you want to see something: "show me," "create a visual," "build an interactive," or "design a page."
Request Complete Pages
Claude is more likely to create an Artifact when you ask for something complete rather than a snippet:
"Build a complete calculator app with a nice UI" works better than "write a function to add numbers."
Ask for Interactivity
Mentioning that you want working buttons, animations, or user interactions increases the chance of getting an Artifact.
From Artifact to Live Website
Artifacts are great for previewing, but they only exist within your Claude conversation. To share your creation with the world, you need to publish it:
- Click "View Code" or expand the code view in the Artifact panel
- Copy the complete HTML code
- Paste it into html2app
- Click Publish to get a permanent, shareable link
Artifact Limitations
Understanding what Artifacts can't do helps set expectations:
- No external APIs: Artifacts can't make HTTP requests to external services
- No persistence: Data doesn't save between sessions
- No backend: Server-side logic isn't possible
- Limited libraries: Only certain CDN resources work reliably
For most UI prototypes, landing pages, and interactive demos, these limitations don't matter—and html2app has the same constraints, making it a perfect match.