What this does. Cowork is a mode in the Claude Desktop app where you describe a finished outcome and Claude does the multi-step work to get there, across your files and applications, while you watch. There is no terminal and no code. It is built for everyday knowledge work: organizing files, assembling documents, turning messy inputs into clean spreadsheets, and synthesizing research.
How it differs from Chat. Chat is the back-and-forth you already know: you ask, it answers one step at a time, and you stay in the driver's seat. Cowork is for outcomes: you describe the finished result, Claude makes a plan, then works through the whole multi-step job on its own, often splitting it into parallel subtasks, and hands you the finished files. Use Chat to think and ask, Cowork to get a deliverable built.
How it differs from Chrome. Claude in Chrome drives your web browser. Cowork works on your desktop and your local files. Use Chrome for web tasks, Cowork for "get this done on my computer" tasks. They also team up: enable Claude in Chrome as a connector in Claude Desktop and a Cowork task can hand its web research to Chrome, then turn the results into finished files. The Claude in Chrome lesson shows how to switch on that connector.
Requirements: the Claude Desktop app (macOS or Windows, not web or mobile) and a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise). Cowork became generally available in April 2026.
Cowork only exists in the desktop app, so step one is installing it.
Cowork is not on the web app or mobile. If you do not see it, confirm you opened the installed Claude Desktop app, not claude.ai in a browser.
Cowork needs permission to act on your computer. Turn it on once:
Open Settings, go to the General section, and toggle on Computer use. Your operating system may also ask you to grant the app permission to control your computer. Approve it.
Look for the mode selector in the app. By default it shows Chat.
Claude reads and writes files right on your computer and saves finished work to your file system, so it can build and edit real documents, sheets, and folders for you. Any code or commands it runs happen inside an isolated virtual machine, separate from your real operating system, and it always asks permission before permanently deleting anything. The useful part is direct; the risky part is sandboxed and gated.
Cowork runs while the app is open and your computer is awake. Closing the Claude Desktop app stops the task. Let it finish before you quit or let the machine sleep. An active internet connection is required throughout.
Before it acts, decide how much to supervise.
Claude pauses for your approval on new tools and sensitive files. Recommended while you are learning what it does.
Faster, but it acts on its own. Use only once you trust the task. Claude still asks before permanently deleting files regardless of mode.
Start with low-stakes work so you can see how it behaves.
Multi-step work costs more than a quick chat. Reach for Cowork when the task is genuinely multi-step, and use normal Chat for quick questions.
A one-off Cowork task starts fresh every time. For recurring work, create a project: a persistent workspace in the Desktop app that keeps its own files, instructions, and memory together, so Claude remembers your context across every conversation in that project instead of forgetting it when the task ends.
Find Projects in the left panel, click the +, and pick one of three ways to start:
A brand-new folder where you write instructions and add reference files. Use it when the work has no existing materials yet.
Wrap a project around a folder already on your computer, then layer project-only instructions, memory, and scheduled tasks on top. The common choice if you already have a working folder.
Bring over a project you already set up in Claude's chat.
Inside a project you can tell Claude to remember things, like "I founded this community in July 2025," and it writes them to memory files (claude.md and memory.md) right on your computer. That memory is scoped to the project: what Claude learns in one project stays there and does not leak into another. Projects live locally on your desktop.
For a quick one-off, just describe the task and go. Reach for a project when you will come back to the same work repeatedly, a client, a recurring report, an ongoing build, and you want Claude to remember the context each time.
Cowork is powerful, so it ships with guardrails.
Made by AI Service Engine · official Cowork guide · drive your browser instead with Claude in Chrome