The Complete Guide To Getting Started With Claude Cowork

Most people use Claude by asking a question, reading the answer, then going and doing the thing themselves. That’s chat. With Cowork, you describe the outcome, Claude makes a plan and carries it out, reading and writing real files and pulling from your apps. You step away and come back to finished work.

Big Change This Fall

Anthropic is merging chat and Cowork into one Claude, rolling out to Pro, Max and Ultra first, with Team and Free to follow. If your message box has no Chat or Cowork option, you already have it, so just describe the task in any chat. Everything below still applies.

Who Can Use It

Every paid plan (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, Enterprise) in the desktop app for Mac and Windows. Pro, Max, Ultra and Team also get it on the web and phone (details).

Chat: you do the work

One message at a time. Claude gives you output and you copy, paste and apply it yourself. Best for thinking, drafting and quick questions.

Cowork: Claude does the work

You describe the result. Claude plans it, works through your connected folders and apps, and hands back finished files like Word docs, slides and spreadsheets. On big jobs it can split the work across several sub-agents at once.

Get the desktop app

Download it from claude.com/download for Mac or Windows, update to the latest version and sign in with your paid account. You can use Cowork on the web too, but local folders only work through the desktop app.

Open Cowork

In the message box, pick Cowork in the bottom left. If there’s no option, you have the merged version, so just start in any chat. If you expected it and don’t see it, update the app.

Connect one folder

Cowork can’t see any files until you connect a folder. It asks the first time a task needs files. Start with a dedicated project folder or Downloads, not your whole Documents folder. Claude can only reach folders you connected, and only while the desktop app is open.

Careful

Claude can make real changes in that folder. It asks before deleting files, but start somewhere safe while you learn.

Connect your apps

Go to Customize (being renamed Plugins, so you may see either), then Connectors. Connect Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, Notion or whatever you use. Cowork will also suggest a connector when a task needs one. Heads up, the Gmail and Google Calendar connectors are read-only, so Claude drafts and you send.

Describe the outcome, then read the plan

Say exactly what done looks like. Claude shows its plan before big actions, so read it and correct anything that’s off before it runs.

Cloud tasks keep running

Since October 6, new Pro, Max and Ultra sessions run in the cloud, so work keeps going with your laptop closed and you can check on it from your phone. Anything that needs local files still needs the desktop app open on that computer.

Scheduled tasks

Set a task once and it runs hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays, or when you click run. In the merged version, describe the task and how often in any chat. In Cowork, click Scheduled in the left sidebar, then New task. New tasks run in the cloud, so your computer can sleep (how it works).

Example Scheduled Task

Every Monday at 8am: read the files in my [Current Projects] folder and my [Notion project board]. Create a one-page doc called Priorities [date] with the top 5 things I need to move forward this week, who's waiting on me, and anything overdue. Keep it scannable. Never delete or send anything.

Connectors

When Cowork can read your inbox, your boards and your documents together, the output gets dramatically better.

Example With Connectors

Search my Gmail for client emails from the last 48 hours. Cross-check each one against the files in my [Clients] folder. For anything that needs a reply, write a draft in a doc called Client Replies [date], and flag any that need my judgment or mention a deadline. Don't guess at details you can't find.

Instructions you set once

Write standing rules so you stop re-explaining yourself. On the Cowork layout, go to Settings, then Claude Cowork, and click Edit next to Global instructions. On the merged layout, your instructions live under Settings, then Your Claude. Folder instructions add extra context whenever Claude works in a specific folder.

Example Global Instructions

I'm a [role] at [type of company]. Write in a direct, concise tone. Use formal language for anything client-facing. Before editing any file, save a backup copy. Never delete files: move them to an _Archive folder and list what you moved. If something is ambiguous, ask me instead of guessing.

A browser when you need one

On the desktop app, Cowork can use a built-in browser for web steps, or your own Chrome through the Claude in Chrome extension. Pull live info from websites and work with your files in the same task.

Example Web And Files Task

Visit the pricing pages of [competitor 1], [competitor 2] and [competitor 3] and record each plan's name, price and main features. Compare them to our pricing doc in my [Sales] folder. Write a one-page analysis of where we're priced high, low or in line, with the source link for every number.

My favorite first job is cleaning up Downloads. After that, try turning a stack of PDFs into one synthesis, or this week’s meeting notes into a Word status report. Want 30 ready-to-paste versions? Grab my 30 Cowork commands.

Disappointing results almost always come from a vague brief, not the tool. Put four things in every task.

What done looks like

Describe the output, not the process. Name the file, where it goes, what’s in it and the format.

Before: "Summarize my notes."

After: "Create a 1-page doc called weekly-summary.docx in my Outputs folder with headers for decisions made, open questions and next steps."

What to do when it’s unclear

Tell it to stop and ask, flag it in a list, or skip it, so it doesn’t guess. For example, "If you can’t categorize a file, add it to needs-review.txt."

Your limits

Say what it should never do and what needs your approval, especially deleting or changing files. For example, "Don’t delete anything. Move it to Archive and log what you moved."

Plan first

For anything with real consequences, add "Show me your plan and which files you’ll touch, then wait for my approval."

It uses your limits faster than chat. Multi-step tasks take more work. Batch related jobs into one task and keep quick questions in regular chat. Check Settings, then Usage.
It makes real changes. Keep a dedicated folder while you learn, and put your no-delete rule in your instructions.
Memory follows your settings. Cowork uses Claude’s memory. To keep one task out of it, turn off Memory in the + menu before you start. For ongoing work, a project-context file in the folder still helps.
Cowork is for knowledge work. Files, documents, research and automation. For building software, use Claude Code.

Paste this into Claude and it writes your first Cowork brief, your global instructions and two more tasks to hand off.

Write My First Cowork Task Brief

You're my Cowork coach. Help me write my first Cowork task brief so it works the first time. My job / role: [what you do] The task I want to hand off: [describe the work in as much detail as you have] Files or folders involved: [what it needs and roughly where they live] Apps I use: [e.g. Gmail, Notion, Slack, Google Drive] Do three things: 1. Write a complete task brief I can paste into Cowork. Include the exact output (file name, location, format), what to do with edge cases, my limits (nothing deleted, ask before anything is sent or shared), and a line asking Claude to show its plan and wait for my approval before it starts. 2. Write 3 to 5 sentences of global instructions for my settings, covering my tone, my format preferences and standing rules for how Claude handles my files. 3. Suggest two more recurring tasks from my work that Cowork could take off my plate, each with a one-sentence brief I could test, and say whether each could be scheduled. Ask me up to 3 questions first if anything important is missing. Keep it specific to my work, not generic.

The Complete Guide ToGetting Started With Cowork

The Complete Guide To
Getting Started With Cowork