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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

Claude Dispatch

Send a task from your phone, and Claude does it on your computer while you’re away. Here’s the setup, the prompts that work, and what to do if you don’t have it.

Dispatch is a single chat on your phone that controls Claude on your desktop. Claude works with your local files, your connected apps like Gmail, Slack and Google Drive, and any plugins you’ve set up. You come back to finished work.

Heads Up

Dispatch is now a limited beta on some Pro, Max and Ultra plans, and it’s closed to new users. If you already have it, you can keep using it. If you don’t see it, use cloud Cowork from your phone instead (below). The prompts in this guide work in both. (Anthropic’s Dispatch page)

Setup If You Have It
  1. Update both apps. Get the latest Claude desktop app (Mac, Windows or Linux) and the latest Claude mobile app, signed in to the same account.
  2. Open Dispatch. Open Cowork on either device and click Dispatch in the left side panel, then Get started.
  3. Give it access. Turn on file access and keeping your computer awake, then click Finish setup.
  4. Leave the desktop on. Your computer has to stay awake with the Claude desktop app open while it works.

01

No Dispatch? Use cloud Cowork

On Pro, Max, Ultra and Team plans you can start a Cowork task from the Claude app on your phone or the web. In the message box, pick Cowork and type what you need. (If your app has merged chat and Cowork into one, there’s no toggle at all.) Cloud sessions run on Anthropic’s servers, so they keep going with your laptop closed.

The trade-off: cloud sessions can’t reach the files on your computer or use computer use. Anything with local files still needs the desktop app open.

How cloud Cowork works →

5 Tips That Make It Work

01

Name the exact file and folder

Claude is working on your real computer, so point it at real places. Instead of "look at my spreadsheet," say "in Documents/Q1 Reports, use march-financials.xlsx." It finds things faster and guesses less.

02

Connect your apps first

Dispatch uses the same connectors, plugins and file access you already set up in Cowork. Do that on your desktop before you leave, in Customize (called Plugins on newer accounts). Then a task from your phone doesn’t stall waiting on a permission you can’t click.

03

Send it the 20-minute busywork

The best Dispatch tasks take longer than a few minutes and don’t need you watching. Meeting prep is my favorite. I send this from the car and the brief is waiting when I sit down.

Meeting Prep From Your Phone
You're my chief of staff. I have a meeting with [PERSON OR COMPANY] at [TIME] today about [TOPIC], and I'm not at my desk. 1. Search my email and Slack from the last [14] days for anything with [PERSON / COMPANY / PROJECT NAME]. 2. Check my calendar for the meeting invite and any notes or files attached to it. 3. Write me a one-page brief: what's been decided, what's still open, who owes what, and anything that changed since we last talked. 4. Draft a 5-point agenda in the order I should cover it. Format: short bullets I can read on my phone in 2 minutes. Put the agenda at the top. Rules: don't send, reply to or accept anything. If you can't find something, say so instead of guessing.

04

Say where the output goes

If the task makes a file, tell Claude the name, where to save it and to send it to you in the chat. Otherwise you’ll be hunting for it later. Finished files show up on your phone or in the folder Claude names.

Weekly Report From Local Files
Build me a [WEEKLY CLIENT REPORT / EXPENSE SUMMARY] from files on my computer. Inputs: the files in [Documents/FOLDER NAME], mainly [FILE NAME.xlsx]. 1. Pull the numbers for [DATE RANGE] and group them by [CLIENT / CATEGORY]. 2. Compare them to the period before and call out anything that moved more than 10%. 3. Write a 3-sentence summary at the top in plain English. 4. Save it as a [PDF / Google Doc] called [FILE NAME] in [Desktop/FOLDER], then send the file to me here. Rules: don't edit or move the original files. If a number looks wrong or a file is missing, stop and ask me.

05

Keep follow-ups short

Dispatch is one continuous thread, so Claude remembers the earlier tasks. After a big ask, a short "now export that to CSV" or "run the same report for April" is enough. If you’ve installed a skill, ask for it by name.

Friday Inbox Sweep
Act as my executive assistant doing an end-of-week inbox sweep. 1. Go through my Gmail from [MONDAY'S DATE] to today. 2. Sort every thread that needs me into three groups: needs a reply from me, waiting on someone else, and FYI only. 3. For each "needs a reply," write one line on what they want and draft a short reply in a warm, direct tone. Save the drafts as Gmail drafts, don't send them. 4. Flag anything with a deadline in the next 7 days. Format: a short list per group, deadlines first. Tell me where the drafts are saved. Rules: don't send, archive, delete or label anything. Skip newsletters and receipts.
Know This Before You Leave
  1. Your computer has to stay awake with the Claude app open, or the task waits.
  2. It’s one thread. You can’t start a second Dispatch conversation.
  3. You get a push notification on your phone when a task finishes or when Claude needs your approval to keep going.
  4. It can use your apps and files directly, including clicking around your screen with computer use. Only grant access to folders you’re fine with it touching, and put "don’t send or delete anything" in your prompts.
  5. It’s still a beta. Start with simple read-and-summarize jobs and build up from there.

You stop being the bottleneck. Assign the task, walk away and come back to finished work.