Cowork vs. Code:
The Interface Choice
A visual desktop assistant or a terminal-based coding agent. Different interfaces, same foundation—Claude's agentic capabilities.
back_hand
For Knowledge Workers Claude Cowork
The Desktop Agent designed for visual autonomy. It reads, edits, and creates files in your folder, plans multi-step tasks, and executes them with minimal intervention—all in an isolated VM for safety.
near_me
desktop_windows Visual GUI Interface
folder_open File & Folder Access
security Isolated VM Sandbox
checklist Multi-step Task Execution
terminal
For Developers Claude Code
The Terminal Agent with advanced context management—CLAUDE.md, Rules, Skills, SubAgents, and Hooks. Plan Mode with Opus 4.5 handles even the most complex coding workflows.
$ claude dev "refactor the auth flow"
> Scanning repository...
> Found 12 related files
> Applying 4 logic changes...
DONE - Tests passed.
terminal CLI-first Interface
integration_instructions LSP Integration
account_tree Advanced Plan Mode
smart_toy Agentic Workflow
Feature Comparison
Capability
Cowork
Code
Primary Interface
Desktop GUI (Claude App)
Terminal / CLI
Target Audience
Knowledge Workers & Analysts
Software Engineers
Primary Interaction
Point, Click, Type
Command Prompts
Tool Integration
Any GUI Application
Git, NPM, Docker, AWS CLI
Context Management
Folder-based Access
CLAUDE.md, Rules, Skills, Hooks
Execution Environment
Isolated macOS VM
Local Shell / SSH / IDE
Plan Mode
Task Planning
Advanced Plan Mode (Opus 4.5)
Use Cases
File Organization, Data Analysis, Reports
Coding, Debugging, Refactoring, CI/CD
Availability
Claude Pro ($20/mo) / Max ($100-$200/mo)
Claude Pro / Max
Platform
macOS only (currently)
macOS, Windows, Linux
"Chat for thinking, Cowork for doing, Claude Code for building."
Both tools share the same foundation. Claude Code even built Claude Cowork in about 10 days!