Cowork — an overview · We Love Claude

What it is

Documentation update — 7 October 2026. Chat and Cowork are merging, starting with Pro and Max. Accounts move at different times. If your composer has no mode switch, use any conversation for tasks. The inspected desktop and web account now has the unified home.

Cowork is the name for Claude’s multi-step task capabilities, available as a separate mode on accounts awaiting the unified rollout. You give it a multi-step task and it works on it: reading and writing files, browsing, calling connectors, running code. Each task is its own session you can leave and come back to.

The thing to understand about Cowork today is where the work happens. Sessions run in the cloud, on Anthropic’s servers, in an isolated environment created for the session and thrown away afterwards. That’s why “work continues in the background — close your laptop and Claude keeps going.” The Claude desktop app is what reaches back onto your machine: local files, the built-in browser and computer use all route through it, so those parts need the desktop app open even though the session itself is remote.

Accounts still using separate modes select Cowork in the composer. Migrated accounts use the same conversation for quick answers and tasks.

Where to find it

On desktop

Select Claude → New. The inspected home has Project or folder, the model-and-effort picker and a Manual permissions menu. Navigation includes Projects, Artifacts, Scheduled, Dispatch (Beta), Design and Customize.

On the web

Select Claude → New at claude.ai. The scope control is Project; Manual is an approval mode. The inspected web sidebar includes Projects, Artifacts, Scheduled, Design and Customize.

Accounts awaiting the unified rollout can still have a Chat/Cowork selector; choose Cowork there.

How to use it

Start a task in an ordinary conversation on the unified home.

Start a task

Select Claude → New; choose Cowork only if your account still has the older selector.
Describe the task. Attach files with the + control if you need to.
Choose Project on web or Project or folder on desktop for context. Set approvals separately using Manual or Auto.
Pick a model and submit.

Set how much Claude checks in

The unified experience offers Manual (default) and Auto. The separate Cowork interface documents Manual, Auto, and Skip. Manual asks for action approvals; Auto checks actions automatically; Skip omits those checks.

Watch it, or don’t

Tasks land in your recents whether you watch them or not. Reopening one restores its working context. See Cowork — home and task detail for the surface itself.

Good to know

Paid plans only, and availability differs by surface. Cowork is on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Desktop (macOS and Windows) has it on all paid plans. Cloud Cowork is available on Pro and Max; web and mobile remain in beta on Team and on Enterprise where an admin has switched it on. The Claude in Chrome side panel has it on Max and Team, rolling out to Pro.
What works where. Starting and reviewing tasks, connectors and scheduled tasks work on every surface. Local file access, browser use and computer use work on desktop directly, and on web and mobile only while the desktop app is open on your machine. The Chrome side panel has browser use but not local files or computer use.
Deletion protection. Claude needs your explicit permission before permanently deleting any file — a prompt you have to Allow.
New Pro and Max tasks run in the cloud from 6 October 2026. The local-only choice has been removed. Existing local tasks stay on their original computer. Local folders remain on your machine and are reached through the open desktop app; Claude fetches individual files as needed. Find Storage folder and Trusted folders in Settings.
Team and Enterprise get audit trails now. Owners can stream Cowork events to a SIEM or observability tool over OpenTelemetry, and web and mobile Cowork sessions are captured in the Compliance API.
Owners can switch web search off for Cowork. The control is in Organization settings → Capabilities, and it covers Chat as well — see web search.

Safety and permissions

Cowork has agentic access to files, a browser and connected services. The full guidance is in Use Claude Cowork safely; the short version:

Risks worth knowing.

Prompt injection — malicious instructions embedded in web pages, emails or documents Claude reads as part of a legitimate task.
Data exfiltration — through a malicious MCP server, plugin or skill package.
Unintended changes — Claude can write and delete files, send messages, make purchases. You’re responsible for what it does on your behalf.

A sensible posture.

Connect a dedicated working folder rather than granting broad access. Avoid anything holding financial documents, credentials or personal records. Keep backups.
Limit browser and web access to sources you trust. Anthropic advises strongly against using the built-in browser or Claude in Chrome for anything touching money or personal information, or sites you’re signed in to.
Computer use is the sharpest tool here: Claude clicks, types and navigates your screen directly, without the permission checks that gate other Cowork tools. Block sensitive apps and start with low-stakes tasks.
Be careful with scheduled tasks — they run without you watching. Start with summaries, not with anything that sends messages or spends money.
Stick to verified plugins and connectors from the directory. Stop any task that scope-creeps, and report it with the in-app feedback button.

What’s changed recently

2026-10-07 — Updated home navigation and separated project scope from the Manual/Auto permission control after inspecting both platforms.
2026-10-07 — documentation review. Reconciled the unified rollout and 6 October Pro/Max cloud migration against official guides; corrected permission modes and removed the local-only setting. September UI verification is retained.
2026-09-13 — Cowork runs in the cloud, and it’s live on the web. The help centre now says Cowork sessions run on Anthropic’s servers in an isolated, per-session environment, with the desktop app acting as the bridge to your local files, browser and screen — so the “each session executes inside a local VM on your computer” description this page carried is gone, as is “Cowork keeps going as long as your Mac stays awake”. Web status moves from stub to covered: claude.ai shows a Beta-badged Cowork mode with Project / Manual scoping tabs and an Active tray, and Anthropic documents it as available on Pro, Max and Team (Enterprise where an admin enables it). The compliance note has flipped too — web and mobile Cowork sessions are captured in the Compliance API, and Team and Enterprise owners can stream events over OpenTelemetry. The approval modes are named Automatically approve and Skip all approvals. Desktop platforms.desktop.path is now the composer toggle rather than “Home tab → New”. Two unsourced details — the Cowork readiness-check downloader and the recents right-click menu — have been removed.
2026-07-12 — Navigation overhaul (desktop). The separate Chat and Cowork top-level tabs merged into one surface.

Cowork — an overview