Getting Started with Claude Cowork: Your AI Desktop Assistant

Claude Cowork represents a fundamental shift in how you interact with AI. Instead of a back-and-forth conversation where Claude gives advice you implement yourself, Cowork accepts tasks and executes them autonomously on your computer. You describe what you want accomplished, and Claude figures out how to do it.

Think of it this way: traditional Claude is a consultant who gives you recommendations. Claude Cowork is a capable teammate who actually does the work.

What is Claude Cowork?

Cowork is a desktop-native AI agent available in the Claude Desktop app. It can:

• Read and write files directly on your computer
• Create professional documents (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF)
• Organize your file system intelligently
• Perform multi-step workflows without constant supervision
• Browse the web when paired with Claude in Chrome
• Connect to external services like Gmail, Slack, and Notion

The key innovation is that Cowork works within folders you explicitly grant access to. It can't touch anything outside those boundaries, maintaining security while enabling powerful automation.

Requirements

Before you can use Cowork, you'll need:

• macOS (Windows support coming soon)
• Claude Desktop app installed
• Claude Max subscription ($100/month for 5x or $200/month for 20x)
• Stable internet connection throughout your session

Note: Cowork is currently in research preview. Lower-tier plans have a waitlist for future access.

How to Access Cowork

1. Open the Claude Desktop application
2. Look for the mode selector at the top
3. Click Cowork (or "Tasks") to switch from Chat mode
4. You'll see a clean task input interface

The interface is simpler than Claude Code—designed for everyone, not just developers.

Setting Up Folder Access

Before Cowork can do anything, you need to grant it folder access:

1. A permissions dialog appears when you start a task
2. Select specific folders Claude can work within
3. Claude has full read/write access to selected folders only
4. Anything outside those folders is completely inaccessible

Best Practices for Folder Access

• Create dedicated project folders rather than granting access to Documents or Downloads
• Keep sensitive files separate from Cowork working directories
• Use descriptive folder names so Claude understands the context

Cowork-Projects/
├── expense-reports/
├── file-organization/
├── research-synthesis/
└── presentations/

Your First Cowork Task

Here's how a typical Cowork session flows:

1. Describe Your Task

Write a clear description of what you want accomplished:

Organize my Downloads folder by file type (documents, images, videos, audio).
Within each type, arrange files by date.
Move files older than 90 days to an Archive folder.
Generate a summary report showing what was organized.

2. Review the Plan

Claude creates an execution plan before taking action. You'll see:

• What Claude understood from your request
• The steps it plans to take
• Expected outcomes

Review this carefully—catch misunderstandings before any files are touched.

3. Approve and Execute

Once you approve, Cowork:

• Shows live progress indicators
• Displays a to-do list with completion status
• Continues working even if you switch away (keep the app open)

4. Review Results

When complete, you get:

• A summary of what was done
• Any files created or modified
• Notes on anything that couldn't be completed

Powerful Use Cases

File Organization

Transform chaos into order:

Analyze my Documents folder and organize files by project.
Identify duplicates and move them to a Duplicates folder.
Rename files with consistent YYYY-MM-DD date prefixes.
Create a master index document listing all files.

Expense Reports

Turn receipts into spreadsheets:

Look at all the receipt images in this folder.
Extract vendor, date, amount, and category from each.
Create an Excel expense report with working formulas.
Flag any potential duplicates or suspicious entries.

Research Synthesis

Consolidate scattered notes:

Read all the markdown files in this research folder.
Identify common themes and key insights.
Create a comprehensive summary document.
Include citations to the source files.

Presentation Creation

Build decks from scratch:

Based on these meeting notes, create a PowerPoint presentation.
Include an executive summary slide.
Add data visualizations for the key metrics.
Keep slides clean with no more than 5 bullets each.

Data Analysis

Get insights without writing code:

Analyze the CSV file in this folder.
Calculate monthly totals and growth rates.
Identify the top 5 performing items.
Create charts showing trends over time.
Save results as an Excel file with multiple sheets.

Writing Effective Task Descriptions

The quality of your results depends heavily on how you describe tasks.

Be Specific, Not Vague

Vague (bad):

Organize my files.

Specific (good):

Organize files in my Downloads folder:
- Group by file type (documents, images, videos, audio, other)
- Within each group, sort by modification date
- Move anything older than 60 days to an Archive subfolder
- Delete obvious duplicates (same name and size)
- Create a summary.txt listing what was moved

Include Constraints

Tell Claude what NOT to do:

Reorganize my project files, but:
- Do NOT delete any .env files
- Do NOT modify anything in the node_modules folder
- Ask before deleting anything you're unsure about

Specify Output Format

Be clear about what you want created:

Create an expense report as an Excel file with:
- Sheet 1: All expenses sorted by date
- Sheet 2: Summary by category with totals
- Sheet 3: Monthly breakdown with formulas
- Include a chart showing spending by category

Advanced Techniques

Using Directive Files

Create a CLAUDE.md file in your working folder with standing instructions:

# Project Guidelines

## Document Style
- Use professional tone
- Active voice preferred
- Include specific examples
- Cite sources where applicable

## File Naming
- Use YYYY-MM-DD prefix for all files
- Use kebab-case (no spaces)
- Include version numbers for drafts

## Restrictions
- Never delete without asking
- Keep backups of originals

Claude automatically reads this file and follows these guidelines for all tasks in that folder.

Pre-Task Backups

Before destructive operations, ask Claude to create a backup first:

Before reorganizing this folder:
1. Create a backup copy called "backup-2025-01-16"
2. Then proceed with the organization
3. Show me what changed before confirming deletion of originals

Parallel Sessions

For complex projects, run multiple Cowork sessions in separate tabs:

• Tab 1: Research and data gathering
• Tab 2: Processing and analysis
• Tab 3: Document creation

Use a handover.md file in the shared folder to pass notes between sessions.

Mid-Task Intervention

You can message Claude during execution:

• Press Q to queue a message
• Claude reads it without stopping work
• Add clarifications or new instructions on the fly

Actually, skip the video files—I want to handle those manually.

Safety and Security

How Cowork Stays Safe

1. Folder Isolation: Only accesses explicitly granted folders
2. Virtual Machine: Runs in an isolated Linux VM, not directly on your system
3. Approval Required: Asks before destructive actions like deletions
4. Transparent Plans: Shows you exactly what it will do before doing it

Risks to Be Aware Of

Prompt Injection: Malicious instructions hidden in documents could potentially affect Claude's behavior. Mitigate by:

• Only granting access to trusted content
• Monitoring for unexpected actions
• Not mixing sensitive files with untrusted downloads

Unintended Deletions: Vague instructions can lead to more deletion than intended. Always:

• Be specific about what should be deleted
• Request backups before bulk operations
• Start with small test runs

Session Persistence: If the app closes, your session terminates. For long tasks:

• Keep Claude Desktop running
• Prevent your computer from sleeping
• Save progress incrementally

Usage and Pricing

Cowork consumes more resources than regular chat because it:

• Plans complex workflows
• Executes multi-step tasks
• Manages file operations
• Coordinates sub-agents

Max Plan Tiers

Check your usage in Settings > Usage to avoid hitting limits unexpectedly.

Current Limitations

Since Cowork is in research preview:

• macOS only (no Windows yet)
• No session memory across different tasks
• No project organization within Cowork
• No sharing or collaboration features
• Requires active connection throughout execution
• Pro plan users must wait for access

These limitations will be addressed as the product matures.

Quick Start Checklist

1. Install Claude Desktop on macOS
2. Subscribe to Claude Max ($100 or $200/month)
3. Create a dedicated Cowork project folder
4. Grant folder access when prompted
5. Start with a simple task to learn the workflow
6. Write specific, detailed task descriptions
7. Review plans before approving execution
8. Check results and iterate

Example Tasks to Try

Beginner:

List all files in this folder, sorted by size, and save the list to inventory.txt

Intermediate:

Find all PDF files in this folder and its subfolders.
Create an index document with the filename, page count, and file size for each.
Sort by date modified.

Advanced:

Analyze the CSV sales data in this folder.
Calculate monthly revenue, top products, and growth trends.
Create a PowerPoint presentation with charts.
Include an executive summary slide with key insights.
Save both the analysis Excel file and the presentation.

The Future of Work

Claude Cowork represents a shift from AI as a thought partner to AI as a capable teammate. Instead of asking "What should I do?" and implementing the answer yourself, you can now say "Do this" and return to completed work.

This is just the beginning. As Cowork evolves:

• Windows support will expand access
• Session memory will enable ongoing projects
• Collaboration features will support teams
• Integration depth will increase

Start exploring now to build intuition for this new way of working with AI. The skills you develop—writing clear task descriptions, setting up folder structures, managing Cowork sessions—will compound as the tool becomes more powerful.

Resources

• Official Claude Cowork Documentation
• Using Cowork Safely
• Claude Max Plan Details