--- title: "Make a small tool with an artifact" url: https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/make-a-small-tool-with-an-artifact/ course: "Claude for beginners" lesson: "5 of 5" minutes: 10 published: 2026-10-09 updated: 2026-10-09 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: "en-GB" --- # Make a small tool with an artifact Lesson 5 of 5 in [Claude for beginners](https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/) · 10 minutes An artifact is something Claude makes that you could put in front of someone. In this lesson you’ll ask for a small tool that does one job, try it with real numbers, and work out what to do when it goes wrong. ## You need - A Claude account - A calculator or pen and paper to check the maths - About ten minutes A narrated walkthrough of this lesson is coming. The steps below cover everything in it. ## Steps ### Step 1: See what an artifact is Claude’s help page describes an artifact as anything Claude makes for you that you’d put in front of someone: a design, a deck, a document, a dashboard or a small interactive tool. It opens beside your conversation, and you can edit it, come back to it, and share it. Claude decides when something counts, and it should be significant and self-contained, usually over 15 lines, and something you’d want to reuse. The page says creating artifacts in a chat is available on the Free plan. ![Anthropic’s help page “What are artifacts and how do I use them?”, with the definition of an artifact and the line saying artifacts are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans.](https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/l5-artifacts.png) (screenshot captured 9 October 2026) 1. An artifact is something Claude makes that you would show someone 2. Free plans can create artifacts in a chat Checkpoint: You can say what an artifact is. ### Step 2: Check the setting Anthropic’s page says artifacts need “Cloud code execution and file creation” turned on in Settings, then Capabilities. If artifacts don’t appear, look there first. ![Anthropic’s help page showing the note that artifacts require Cloud code execution and file creation to be turned on in Settings, then Capabilities.](https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/l5-artifacts-setting.png) (screenshot captured 9 October 2026) 1. This setting must be on (Settings, then Capabilities) Checkpoint: The setting is on. ### Step 3: Ask for a tool that does one job Ask for one job, and say who’ll use it, and what to do when it’s used wrongly. We asked for a page that splits the cost of a shared compost order, and we got a complete page of about 200 lines. If Claude shows you code instead of opening something beside the chat, Anthropic’s page says you can ask for one in any conversation. The prompt (works in Claude): ```text Make me a small web page, in one single HTML file with the style and script inside it, that splits the cost of a shared compost order. I type the total cost in pounds and the number of plot holders sharing it, and it shows what each person pays, rounded up to the nearest penny. Show a clear message if I leave a box empty or type zero people. Keep the design plain and easy to read on a phone. Reply with only the code. ``` - One job, with the two things you type in and the one thing you get out. - “Rounded up to the nearest penny” and the empty-box rule leave Claude no maths or error handling to guess. - “Reply with only the code” stops it adding a long explanation. (Screenshot to come.) Checkpoint: You’ve got a small tool open beside your chat. ### Step 4: Try it with numbers you can check Don’t trust it until you’ve done the sum yourself. We opened the page Claude wrote on our own computer, typed £85.50 for 7 people, and it showed £12.22 each. So check it: £85.50 divided by 7 is £12.214, which rounds up to £12.22, and 7 shares of £12.22 make £85.54, 4p over. That’s what the page said. Then try an empty box and zero people, and read the messages. ![The compost cost-splitter page Claude wrote, showing 85.50 pounds and 7 plot holders, and the result: each person pays 12.22 pounds, with a note that rounding up collects 85.54 pounds in total, 4p over.](https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/l5-splitter.png) (screenshot captured 9 October 2026) 1. Total cost, in pounds 2. Number of plot holders 3. Each share, rounded up to the penny Checkpoint: You’ve checked the answer yourself, and tried an empty box. ### Step 5: Change it, and fix it when it breaks To change an artifact, ask Claude in the same chat, or edit it directly if it was made from a template. If an artifact shows an error, look for the “Try fixing with Claude” button near the message. It copies the error into a new message for you to send, and Claude will try to fix it, but Anthropic says success isn’t guaranteed. (Screenshot to come.) Checkpoint: You know how to ask for a change, and what to do if there’s an error. ## The finished page ![The finished compost cost-splitter: two boxes, a button, and a result of 12.22 pounds each for 7 people sharing 85.50 pounds.](https://aiguideson.com/courses/claude-for-beginners/l5-splitter.png) Claude wrote this page from the prompt in step 3. We opened it locally and tried it; the code is in outputs/artifact-tool.response.md. The society is made up. ## Common problems ### Claude shows you code, not a page Artifacts need the Cloud code execution and file creation setting, and Claude decides when something counts as one. Ask for an artifact. ### The page shows an error Click “Try fixing with Claude” if you see it, send the message, and check the result again. ### The answer is wrong Do the sum by hand, then tell Claude exactly what you typed, what you expected and what you got. Steps 1 and 2 are Anthropic’s public help page. Step 4 is the page Claude wrote, opened and used on our own computer, so the screenshot is real but is not claude.ai itself. The chat screens are behind a login, so step 3 has no screenshot yet. ## Sources - [Claude Help Center: What are artifacts and how do I use them?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17153992-what-are-artifacts-and-how-do-i-use-them) (checked 2026-10-09)