How to Get Started with Claude Cowork on Desktop, Web, and Mobile

Claude Cowork is Anthropic’s agent surface for knowledge work that is not coding. It uses the same agentic architecture as Claude Code, without a terminal. You describe an outcome, Claude plans the work, and you come back to finished files—spreadsheets, decks, organized folders, synthesized research—rather than a chat reply.

This walkthrough follows Anthropic’s current Help Center and the official three-step tutorial. Treat it as setup, not a launch recap.

Who can use Cowork, and where

Cowork is paid-only: Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise. Availability then splits by surface.

Claude Desktop (macOS and Windows): all paid plans. Windows needs the latest Claude for Windows build.
Web (claude.ai): Pro, Max, and Team. Enterprise only where an admin has enabled it.
Claude Mobile (iOS and Android): same plan split as web, in the latest app. Update if you do not see Cowork in the message box.
Claude in Chrome side panel: Max and Team, rolling out to Pro, and Enterprise where an admin has enabled it.

On web and mobile, Cowork is in beta. Sessions run in Anthropic’s cloud: work continues if you close the laptop, scheduled tasks do not need a device online, and the same session follows your account across desktop, web, and mobile.

Desktop is still the full experience. Local files, local connectors, plugins that include local MCP servers, live artifacts, and computer use all go through the Claude Desktop app. A cloud session can read and write folders you connected on that computer only while the desktop app is open. If the app is closed, the session keeps running but cannot reach those files.

You also need an active internet connection for the whole session.

Start a session from the shared home

Chat and Cowork now share one home. You do not hunt for a separate product.

Open Claude on the web at claude.ai (Home tab), in the latest Desktop app, or in the latest mobile app.
In the message box, select Cowork (bottom left on desktop, web, and mobile).
Describe the task you want completed.
Review Claude’s approach, then let it run.

Select Chat when you want a regular conversation again.

Chrome is the exception. Click the Claude icon in the Chrome toolbar. Opening the side panel starts a Cowork session directly—there is no Chat/Cowork toggle. Claude can read the tab you are on without Desktop; driving the browser as part of a task still needs the desktop app open.

First session: run `/setup-cowork`

Anthropic’s three-step tutorial starts in the desktop app. From the home page, pick Cowork in the mode picker. In that first session, type /setup-cowork and press enter.

Claude walks you through setup in the conversation: pick your role, install a plugin matched to it, and connect the tools that plugin uses—Slack, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, and whichever systems your role lives in. New users also see a Set up Cowork banner that starts the same flow. The skill works anytime you want to revisit it.

A plugin packages skills, connectors, and example prompts for a role, so you leave setup with a starting point instead of an empty session. You can add more connectors later from Customize in the sidebar.

Give Cowork a place to work

Select Work in a folder in the chat bar. That is where Claude reads context and writes finished files you can open, share, or keep editing.

You have two shapes of working location:

A folder on your computer. Scope it to one piece of work, or point it at a broader directory several tasks share. Desktop is required for that local path.
A Project. A workspace with its own files, instructions, and memory across sessions. Create one in Cowork’s sidebar, or import a Project you already use in Chat. Projects are available on every surface. Projects tied to a local folder support Cowork sessions on desktop only, and Cowork will not change a project’s contents—add anything you want to keep yourself.

Then start something real. Anthropic’s tutorial suggests tasks that already span tools or need files on disk: turn research in the folder into a one-page brief, write a status summary from last week’s Slack and Linear activity, or update a forecast model from a stack of PDFs. Type / for the starting prompts your plugin installed.

What happens while it runs

Claude analyzes the request, builds a plan, splits complex work into subtasks, runs code and shell commands in an isolated environment on Anthropic’s servers, and can coordinate parallel workstreams. You see progress indicators and reasoning, and you can jump in to steer mid-task. Open the same session on another surface to monitor, answer questions, or redirect. When Claude finishes or needs input, you get a phone notification.

Sessions keep running if the desktop app is closed or the computer is asleep. Keep Desktop open if the task needs local files, the browser, or the computer.

Claude requires explicit permission before permanently deleting files. You will see a prompt and must select Allow.

Cowork also has three permission modes in the chat-box selector: Manual (pause and ask), Auto (Claude reviews each action for safety and may consume more of your usage limit), and Skip (no pause and no automatic check—only when you fully trust every action and connector). On Team and Enterprise, an admin can hide automatic approval, and the org may still require per-task approval for write-capable connector tools.

Standing instructions live at Settings > Cowork under Global instructions. Folder instructions attach when you select a local folder on desktop.

Usage, safety, and current gaps

Cowork consumes more of your usage allocation than chat because multi-step work is compute-heavy. If you hit limits often, batch related work into one session, keep simple questions in Chat, and watch Settings > Usage. Auto mode uses more than Manual or Skip.

Cowork has unique risks from its agentic nature and internet access. It respects your network egress permissions, with the documented exception that those permissions do not apply to web fetch, web search, or MCPs, including Claude in Chrome. Isolation on Anthropic’s servers protects your machine; it does not shrink access you already granted. Review planned actions before allowing work on sensitive files. Team and Enterprise owners can turn off web search for Cowork and Chat in Organization settings > Capabilities.

A few limits still apply: chat memory does not carry into Cowork (memory inside Cowork is project-only), sessions cannot be shared with others, and live artifacts plus plugins with local MCP servers are desktop-only. Computer use is a research preview on Pro and Max.

If you see “Setting up Claude’s workspace,” that is expected—Cowork is updating. If a local-file task stops, confirm Desktop stayed open. If files are missing, re-check the folder permissions and the output location Claude named.

Next step: Open Claude Desktop, switch the message box to Cowork, run /setup-cowork, then pick Work in a folder and give it one concrete deliverable from your to-do list. For the safety model and connector approvals, read Anthropic’s “Use Cowork safely” guidance after that first session.