> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.surfacd.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing Projects

> Create, configure, and manage your Surfacd projects to monitor brand visibility across AI platforms.

A project is the container for all your AI visibility monitoring — brands, prompts, services, and collected data.

## Creating a Project

Surfacd guides you through a three-step wizard to get your project up and running.

### Step 1: Project Details

1. Click **+ Create Project** from your dashboard
2. If your team has [Pitch Projects](/docs/pitch-projects) enabled, choose the **Project Type**: a free 7-day **Pitch** snapshot (pre-selected) or **Ongoing monitoring**
3. Enter a **Project Name** (e.g., "HubSpot - UK")
4. Select a **Country** — this sets the default geographic context for your prompts
5. For ongoing monitoring, set the **Check Frequency**: Daily or Weekly. (A pitch always runs daily for its 7-day window — no schedule to pick.)

### Step 2: Your Brand

1. Enter your **Brand Name** (this becomes your primary brand)
2. Add your **Brand Domain** (e.g., `hubspot.com`)
3. Optionally add **Brand Aliases** — alternative names AI might use (e.g., "Hub Spot", "HubSpot CRM")

### Step 3: Select AI Services

Choose which AI platforms to monitor. See [Supported Platforms](/docs/supported-platforms) for full details on each service.

<Tip>
  Monitor all available services for a complete picture of your AI visibility. Different platforms recommend different brands.
</Tip>

### After Creation: Topics & Prompts

Once you complete the creation wizard, Surfacd guides you through two additional setup pages:

1. **Topics Curation** — Surfacd analyses your brand and generates suggested topics (prompt categories). You can edit, add, or remove topics, set a target audience, and specify how many prompts to generate.

2. **Prompts** — Prompts are automatically generated for each topic. Review the suggestions and accept or decline them, then add more using any of the [standard methods](/docs/adding-prompts).

See [Topics & Tags](/docs/tags-organisation) for more on how topics organise your prompt library.

## Check Frequency

| Frequency | Best For                              | Credit Impact                       |
| --------- | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Daily     | Active campaigns, competitive markets | Highest (credits reserved monthly)  |
| Weekly    | Regular monitoring (most common)      | Moderate (credits reserved monthly) |

See [How Credits Work](/docs/how-credits-work) for more on how frequency affects your credit usage.

## Project Status

Your project's status updates automatically based on its configuration and data collection progress.

| Status     | Meaning                                                     |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Incomplete | No prompts added yet — add prompts to get started           |
| New        | Prompts configured but no data collected yet                |
| Collecting | A data collection run is in progress                        |
| Completed  | Latest run finished successfully — data is ready to explore |
| Failed     | Latest run encountered an issue — request a new run         |

## Data Collection Runs

* Click **Request New Run** in the project header to trigger immediate data collection
* Results typically arrive within 15–60 minutes depending on the number of prompts and services
* Scheduled runs (Daily, Weekly) execute automatically

## Starring Projects

Click the **star icon** on any project card to mark it as a favourite. Starred projects can be filtered on your dashboard for quick access, making it easy to jump straight to the projects that matter most.

## Archiving Projects

When a project is no longer needed but you want to preserve its data:

1. Open the project **Settings**
2. Click **Archive Project**
3. The project moves to the **Archived** tab on your dashboard

Archived projects stop collecting data and release any reserved credits. You can **unarchive** a project at any time to restore it — it returns on its **original schedule**, and Surfacd re-reserves the credits that schedule needs. If you don't have enough credits available, the restore is blocked with an exact "need X, have Y" message — you can edit the archived project first (reduce prompts, platforms, or frequency) to make it fit, or free up credits elsewhere.

Archived projects are available from the **Archived** tab and are hidden from the main project switcher.

<Warning>
  Deleting an archived project permanently removes all its data. Archive first, then only delete if you're certain the data is no longer needed.
</Warning>

## Project Settings

Access settings via the **gear icon** in the project header to update:

* **Project Name** and **Check Frequency**
* **AI Services** — add or remove platforms to monitor. Each project must keep at least one platform selected.
* **Brands** — manage your primary brand, aliases, and competitors
* **Sharing** — enable public view-only links (see [Sharing & Collaboration](/docs/sharing-collaboration))

## Filtering and Searching Projects

Your dashboard provides several ways to find projects:

| Filter  | Options                                                                       |
| ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tab     | All, Monitoring (scheduled), Pitch (Custom plans — contact support), Archived |
| Owner   | All projects, My projects                                                     |
| Starred | Show only starred projects                                                    |
| Search  | Search by project name                                                        |

## Tips

* **One project per focus area** keeps analysis clear and manageable
* **Naming convention:** `[Brand] - [Region]` or `[Brand] - [Campaign]` for easy identification
* **Review monthly:** Are your brands and prompts still relevant? Any new competitors to add?
* **Star your most important projects** so they're always a click away