Getting Started with Cowork

Learn how to delegate desktop tasks to your AI teammate. From first launch to your first completed workflow in under 10 minutes.

Cowork is a research preview that brings Claude Code's agentic capabilities to Claude Desktop for knowledge work beyond coding. Unlike standard AI chat where you go back and forth with prompts, Cowork functions as an autonomous agent that can plan, execute, and complete multi-step tasks with minimal supervision.

Describe an outcome, step away, and come back to finished work—formatted documents, organized files, synthesized research, and more. It's like having a capable assistant who can work independently on your computer.

videocam Video Walkthrough

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Requirements

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macOS Only

Claude Desktop app on macOS. Windows and Linux coming soon.

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Max Plan

Requires Claude Max subscription ($20/month).

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Internet Connection

Active connection required throughout sessions.

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App Must Stay Open

Desktop app must remain open while Cowork is working.

Getting Started

Open Claude Desktop

Launch the Claude Desktop app on your Mac. Make sure you're signed in with your Max plan account.

Switch to Cowork Mode

Click the mode selector in the app and choose "Cowork" to switch from chat mode to task mode.

Grant Folder Access

Select a folder on your computer that Claude can access. Claude can read, edit, and create files within this folder.

Describe Your Task

Tell Claude what you want done. Be specific about the outcome you want, and Claude will create a plan and execute it.

Core Capabilities

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Direct File Access

Read from and write to local files without manual uploads/downloads. Claude can organize, rename, move, and create files directly in your designated folder.

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Sub-Agent Coordination

Complex work gets broken into smaller tasks with parallel execution. Claude coordinates multiple workstreams simultaneously for faster results.

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Professional Outputs

Generate polished deliverables: Excel spreadsheets with working formulas, PowerPoint presentations, formatted documents, and more.

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Long-Running Tasks

Handle complex tasks without conversation timeouts or context limit interruptions. Perfect for multi-step workflows that take time.

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Browser Integration

Pair with Claude in Chrome to handle browser tasks—navigate websites, fill forms, extract information from the web.

Example Tasks to Try

File Organization

"Go through my Downloads folder and organize files by type. Create subfolders for Documents, Images, Videos, and Archives. Move each file to the appropriate folder and delete any duplicates."

Research Synthesis

"Read all the PDFs in my Research folder. Create a comprehensive summary document that synthesizes the key findings, highlights common themes, and lists all citations in APA format."

Data Extraction

"Look at the receipts folder on my desktop. Extract the date, vendor, category, and total amount from each receipt image. Create an Excel spreadsheet with this data, add a column for expense categories, and include a summary with totals by category."

Meeting Notes

"Process all meeting notes from this week. Extract action items and assign owners based on context. Create a master task list sorted by priority and deadline, and draft follow-up emails for each team member with their assigned tasks."

Presentation

"Using the quarterly sales data in the Reports folder, create a PowerPoint presentation with charts showing trends, key insights, and recommendations. Include an executive summary slide and talking points in the speaker notes."

Best Practices

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Be Specific About Outcomes

Instead of "organize my files," say "organize files by type into subfolders and rename them with date prefixes."

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Batch Related Work

Cowork uses more resources than chat. Group related tasks together for efficiency.

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Start with Limited Folder Access

Grant access only to the folders Claude needs. You can always expand permissions later.

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Review Plans Before Execution

Claude shows its plan before taking action. Take a moment to review and course-correct if needed.

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Reserve for Complex Tasks

Cowork shines with multi-step work. For quick questions, regular chat is more efficient.

Current Limitations

As a research preview, Cowork has some limitations to be aware of:

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No Memory Across Sessions

Each session starts fresh without memory of previous work.

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No Projects Support

Can't be used with Claude Projects yet.

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Higher Resource Usage

Consumes more usage allocation than regular chat.

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Sessions Can't Be Shared

Work sessions are private and can't be shared with others.

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Security & Safety

Cowork runs inside an isolated virtual machine (VM) on your Mac for safety. Claude will ask for approval before taking significant actions, and you can set explicit folder-level permissions. Your files stay local and are never uploaded for training.