How to Get Started with Claude Cowork

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is a mode inside the Claude Desktop app that can actually do work on your computer, not just chat about it.

When you open the Claude Desktop app, you'll see three tabs at the top: Chat, Cowork, and Code. Chat is what most people already know. You type a message, Claude replies, and you go back and forth. Cowork is different. It has access to your local computer files, which means it can read, create, edit, and organise things for you.

Think of it like the difference between brainstorming with someone and actually delegating work to them. Chat is brainstorming. You talk through ideas, then you go away and do the work yourself. Cowork is delegation. You describe what you want done, it creates a plan, you approve it, and it does the work.

That's why Cowork calls its conversations "tasks" instead of "chats". The whole point is getting things done, not just talking about them.

Download and Set Up

Getting Claude Cowork running takes about two minutes. Here's exactly what to do.

• 1Go to claude.com/download in your web browser.
• 2Download Claude Desktop. Choose Mac or Windows. The website will detect your system and show the right version.
• 3Install the app. On Mac, open the downloaded file and drag Claude into your Applications folder. On Windows, run the installer and click through the setup screens.
• 4Open the app and log in with your Claude account. Same email and password you use on claude.ai.
• 5Click the Cowork tab. At the top of the app, you'll see three tabs: Chat, Cowork, and Code. Click Cowork.
• 6Grant folder access. Click the folder icon and select a folder on your computer that you want Cowork to access. If you don't have one in mind, create a new folder called "playground" on your Desktop and select that.

The Interface (Quick Tour)

Before you start your first task, here's a quick look at what everything does.

• 1New Task button. This is how you start a new piece of work. Click it, describe what you want done, and Cowork gets to work.
• 2Prompt box. At the bottom of the screen. This is where you type your instructions, just like texting someone.
• 3Left sidebar. This shows your past tasks, schedule, projects, and dispatch. Think of it as your task history and control panel.
• 4Right panel. When Cowork is working on something, this panel appears on the right. It shows the plan it created, its progress, which folders it's working in, and which tools and files it's using. This is where you watch the magic happen.
• 5Dispatch. This lets you control Cowork from your phone. Start a task on your computer, then check on it from your phone while you're away from your desk.
• 6Ideas tab. Pre-built workflows from Anthropic. These are ready-made task templates you can try straight away, like organising files, summarising documents, or drafting emails. Great for getting started.

Your First Task

Let's do something real so you can see how Cowork actually works. This will take about 30 seconds.

Make sure you've granted Cowork access to a folder (Section 02, Step 6). If you're using a "playground" folder, that's perfect.

Copy and paste this into the prompt box:

What happens next: Cowork reads your Downloads folder, looks at every file, creates a plan in the right panel showing you exactly what it intends to do (create subfolders like "PDFs", "Images", "Documents", etc.), and then asks your permission before moving anything. Once you approve, it organises everything. You can watch the files move in real time.

Ready for something bigger? Try this:

Cowork will read every PDF in the folder, pull out the key information from each one, and create a clean summary document. All from one sentence.

Install Your First Plugin

Plugins give Cowork extra skills. Think of them like apps for your AI assistant.

• 1Click Customize in the left sidebar.
• 2Click Plugins, then Browse Plugins. You'll see categories like Productivity, Design, Marketing, Engineering, Finance, Ops, Sales, and Legal.
• 3Install the Marketing plugin as your first one. Click it, then click Install. It takes a few seconds.
• 4Use it. You can trigger plugin skills by typing / in the prompt box and selecting from the list. Or just write naturally. For example, "write me a social media post about my new product" and Cowork will automatically use the Marketing plugin's skills if they're relevant.

Connect Your Tools

This is where Cowork gets really powerful. You can connect it to apps you already use, so it can work with your real data.

• 1Go to Customize in the left sidebar, then click Connectors.
• 2Connect Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, or any other tools you see listed. Click the one you want, sign in with your account, and grant the permissions.

Once connected, try these:

Train Claude on Your Voice

This is one of the most useful things you can do. Once Claude knows how you write and speak, everything it creates sounds like you, not like a robot.

Start with the interview prompt. Copy and paste this:

What happens: Claude will ask you a series of questions about how you communicate. Your tone, the words you use, the words you avoid, how formal or casual you are, what your audience expects. It takes about 15 to 45 minutes depending on how much detail you give, but you only need to do it once.

• 1Answer the interview questions honestly. Don't overthink it. Just respond naturally, and Claude will pick up your patterns.
• 2Paste in samples. If you have past posts, emails, or content you've written, paste them in. The more examples Claude sees, the better it gets at matching your style.
• 3Save the brand voice document. At the end, Claude will create a summary of your voice and style. Save this so it can reference it in future tasks.

Schedule Tasks to Run Automatically

This is where Cowork starts working for you even when you're not at your computer. You can schedule any task to run on a repeating schedule.

• 1Click Schedule in the left sidebar.
• 2Create a new scheduled task. Give it a name, write the prompt (just like you would for a normal task), and set when you want it to run.
• 3Set the frequency. Daily, weekly, or whatever makes sense. Pick the day and time.
• 4Click Run Now to test it. Always test a scheduled task manually first to make sure it does what you expect.

Here's a great one to start with:

Set this to run every Saturday morning, and you'll have fresh content ideas waiting for you at the start of every week.

What to Try Next

You've got Cowork set up, you've run your first task, and you know how the interface works. Here are some things to try now.

• 1Draft and send emails. Connect Gmail, then ask Cowork to draft replies to your most recent messages. Review them before sending.
• 2Summarise a long document. Drop a PDF or Word doc into your connected folder and ask Cowork to pull out the key points in two paragraphs.
• 3Create a spreadsheet from scratch. Describe what you need ("a budget tracker with categories for rent, food, transport, and savings") and Cowork will build it.
• 4Batch rename files. "Rename all the photos in my Holiday folder to include the date they were taken."
• 5Write a week of social media posts. Give Cowork your topic, your brand voice, and how many posts you need. It will create them all in one go.
• 6Research a topic and create a brief. "Research the top 5 project management tools for small teams. Compare pricing, features, and ease of use. Save the results as a one-page brief."