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Test version · build of 28.10.26 · prototypes · direction note

Tested on 28.10.26

Claude Cowork

You've already chatted with Claude. Here, you open a folder for it, plug in an app, and hand it a task that repeats on its own.

When you finishCowork set up properly: one connected folder, one connector, instructions that stick, a scheduled task, and you know what it uses up.

Let’s go
What you need (3)
  • A Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise account (the free plan has no Cowork).
  • The Claude desktop app (Mac or Windows) for the files on your computer. Checked on 10/28/2026: there is also a Linux beta.
  • A test folder, not your whole drive.
  • Level 2 · I set it up
  • 45 min
  • Free: No
  • 18 steps
My mascot tidying folders with a little Claude

Chapter 01 / 07 · 3 min

What Cowork does that chat does not

In chat, you talk. In Cowork, you describe a result, Claude makes a plan and chains the steps on its own: it reads your files, uses your apps, hands back a finished document. Same engine as Claude Code, no terminal.

Checked on 10/28/2026: its sessions run in the cloud, on Anthropic's servers. You can close your laptop and the task keeps going. One exception: if it needs a file from your Mac or your browser, the desktop app has to stay open.

Chapter 02 / 07 · 6 min

Connect one folder, only one

Copy a few messy files from your Downloads into a test folder. The mess is easy to see, so you can check every move.

  1. Step 2.1: Open the Claude desktop app.
  2. Step 2.2: In the message box, choose "Cowork" (if you still have the button).
  3. Step 2.3: Select your test folder: it's the only one Claude will be able to read and change.
  4. Step 2.4: Pick how Claude asks for your go-ahead (see the next chapter). To start: "Manually approve".
  5. Step 2.5: Paste the prompt below, then read the plan before you let it run.
Copy into Cowork
Tidy my test folder: sort the files by type into clear subfolders. Before deleting anything, show me the duplicates and wait for my OK. At the end, tell me what you moved.
Weak

Clean up my computer.

Better

In my test folder, put the 2025 PDFs in a subfolder called "Archives 2025".

Plan BIf you get stuck

It can't find your files? It only sees the folders you connected, and the task has to be started from the desktop app. Started from the web or your phone, it reaches your connectors, not the folders on your computer.

Chapter 03 / 07 · 5 min

Choose who approves what

Cowork has three approval modes. You can change it any time from the selector in the message box. Checked on 10/28/2026, and the names move sometimes:

  • Manually approve: Claude stops and asks before every action. The right setting to start.
  • Automatically approve (the default on Pro, Max and Team in the new version): Claude keeps going without asking at each step, but checks each action itself and blocks what looks unsafe.
  • Skip all approvals: no checks at all. Keep it for when you trust everything involved: files, connectors, sites.

Chapter 04 / 07 · 6 min

Plug in an app with a connector

This is where Cowork gets really useful: it can search your calendar, your email or your Drive without you copy-pasting anything.

  1. Step 4.1: Open Customize, then Connectors (or the "+" menu in the message box).
  2. Step 4.2: Pick the app to plug in, then sign in to your account when the app's window opens.
  3. Step 4.3: For each tool of the connector, set "Always allow", "Needs approval" or "Blocked". Read-only: "Always allow". Writing or sending: "Needs approval".
  4. Step 4.4: Test with a read-only request, for example "Summarise my meetings tomorrow".

Chapter 05 / 07 · 4 min

Make it remember your rules

Instead of re-explaining your tone on every task, write it once. In the Cowork settings (Settings, then Cowork) you'll find "Global instructions": they apply to all your sessions. In the new version they live in Settings, then Your Claude, under "Instructions for Claude".

Example global instruction
Keep it short. No bullet lists when a sentence will do. If you're not sure of a fact, say so instead of making it up. Never write me a message that's ready to send without me reading it first.

Chapter 06 / 07 · 6 min

Schedule a task that repeats

Checked on 10/28/2026: scheduled tasks exist on all paid plans. Since October 6, on Pro and Max, they run in the cloud: your computer doesn't need to be on.

  1. Step 6.1: Do the task once by hand and check the result suits you.
  2. Step 6.2: In the same task, type /schedule.
  3. Step 6.3: Say how often: "every Monday at 9 am", for example.
  4. Step 6.4: Read the name, the rhythm and the instructions Claude proposes, then click "Schedule".
  5. Step 6.5: Find it under "Scheduled" in the left menu, to edit or stop it.
Example
Every Monday at 9 am, summarise what was said last week in my emails and my calendar, and give me the actions to take. Keep my tone, no embellishing.
Plan BIf you get stuck

A task you scheduled before October 6 that ran on your computer keeps running there. New ones go to the cloud, with your connectors and the files saved in your account, not the folders on your computer.

Chapter 07 / 07 · 3 min

Watch what it uses up

A multi-step task (code, files, apps, browser) costs more usage than a quick question. If you hit the limit:

  1. Step 7.1: Group related requests into one task.
  2. Step 7.2: Start a new conversation for an unrelated topic, otherwise Claude drags all the context along.
  3. Step 7.3: Tell it when an answer is enough, with no file at the end.
  4. Step 7.4: Check where you stand in Settings, then Usage.

The cheat sheet

The whole guide in 7 lines

Copy it into your notes.

Cheat sheet · Claude Cowork
1. Cowork chains the steps on its own, in the cloud.
2. You need a paid plan. Keep the desktop app open for local files.
3. One connected folder at a time. Never bank, tax or health.
4. Start in "Manually approve". Never "Skip" for comfort.
5. One connector at a time: reading free, writing on your OK.
6. /schedule to repeat a task that already works.
7. Back / Front: Claude sorts, you decide and sign.
Next guide · level 3Get started with Claude Code