Claude Cowork is Anthropic’s desktop app for knowledge workers. Unlike the browser version of Claude, Cowork sits directly on your machine and can read files from your folders, write outputs back to them, and use connectors that reach into your email, calendar, and documents. This guide walks you through the five steps that get you from zero to a working first session.
Who this is for
You are not a software engineer. You are a professional — an analyst, operator, lawyer, consultant, or founder — who wants an AI that can do actual work, not just answer questions. You’ve probably used ChatGPT or Claude in the browser. Cowork is the next rung: same intelligence, but wired into the tools you already use.
If that’s you, plan on 15 minutes for setup and another 15 for your first real session.
1. Download the desktop app
Go to claude.ai/download and install the Mac or Windows app. The web version cannot do what the desktop app does — it cannot touch your files, it cannot use most connectors the same way, and it is not the product this guide is about. Install the desktop app.
Once it’s open, you will see three tabs at the top: Chat, Cowork, and Code. You can move between them with Command-1, Command-2, and Command-3 (Control on Windows). For this guide we will stay in Cowork.
A quirky but important detail: Cowork updates multiple times a day. Always check the top-left corner of the app for an update indicator and install the update before starting a session. Almost every “it’s not working” message you’ll see on forums is someone running a three-week-old build.
2. Pick the right plan
Cowork burns through tokens much faster than chat. A real session — connectors on, documents being read, a PowerPoint being generated — can consume as much in ten minutes as a week of browser chat.
- Pro ($20/month): Fine for exploring and light use. Expect to hit limits if you lean on Cowork daily.
- Max ($100/month): The right plan for most knowledge workers once Cowork becomes part of your actual workflow.
- Teams / Enterprise: Your administrator sets usage. You’ll see your allotment on the same usage page.
Check the usage page periodically (Settings → Usage). It shows five-hour limits, weekly limits, and per-model breakdowns. If you’re on Max and still hitting the ceiling, you’re either running heavy PowerPoint or Excel work or forgetting to drop to Sonnet for simple text tasks.
3. Choose your default model
At the top of the chat, you can pick the model. Two choices matter:
- Opus 4.7 — the most capable model Anthropic ships. Use this for real work: analysis, long-running tasks, anything with document creation or connectors.
- Sonnet — faster and cheaper. Use this for short text tasks where you don’t need Opus-level reasoning.
Default to Opus when you start. As you learn where Sonnet is “good enough,” you can save tokens.
4. Turn on memory and reference
Before your first session, make two settings changes. Go to Settings → Capabilities and confirm both are on:
- Search and reference chats — lets Cowork pull in a past conversation when it’s relevant.
- Generate memory from chat history — lets Cowork build a working profile of you over time.
We cover what memory actually does in the memory module. For now, both should be on. You can always edit, prune, or forget specific memories later.
5. Run your first session
Open a new Cowork chat. Try something small and concrete — not a “what can you do” question, but a real task:
Look at my Downloads folder. Group the files by type,
then suggest a folder structure. Don't move anything yet.
Cowork will ask permission to read the folder. Grant it. It will then list what it found and propose a plan. You approve or redirect; it doesn’t act until you say go. This approval loop is the core of Cowork — it is agentic, but you stay in the driver’s seat.
Once you’ve seen one session work end-to-end, move on to the pieces that make Cowork genuinely useful: connectors, projects, and skills.
Common mistakes
- Using the browser app instead of the desktop app. The browser version doesn’t see your files. Install the desktop app.
- Staying on the free plan while trying Cowork. You’ll hit the ceiling in an afternoon and think it’s broken. It isn’t — you’ve just run out of tokens.
- Running an old build. Quit and reopen the app at least once a week. Updates ship constantly.
- Asking vague questions. “What can you do?” gets vague answers. “Clean up my Downloads folder” gets work.
Next up
The next module covers how memory works in Cowork — what it remembers, where that memory lives, and how to edit it when it starts drifting from who you actually are.