Cowork (Research Preview) | Claude

The story behind Cowork

In mid 2025, Anthropic released Claude Code, a command line tool that lets Claude autonomously write, edit, and manage code on your computer. It quickly became one of the most popular developer tools in the AI space. But Claude Code requires technical knowledge: you need a terminal, an API key, and familiarity with the command line.

Cowork brings that same autonomous capability to everyone through a visual interface inside the Claude desktop app. Instead of typing terminal commands, you simply chat with Claude and point it at a folder on your computer. Claude then reads your files, works through tasks step by step, and creates or modifies documents on its own. Think of it as Claude Code for people who do not code.

Requires the Claude desktop app

Cowork is only available in the Claude desktop app for macOS and Windows. It is not available on the web (claude.ai), on mobile (iOS/Android), or through the API. You need to download the app from claude.com/download and sign in with a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan.

What Cowork can do

📁

File Management

Read, create, modify, reorganize, and rename files within your designated folder.

📑

Document Creation

Generate PowerPoint presentations, formatted documents, and reports from scattered notes.

📊

Data Processing

Create spreadsheets with working formulas from receipt screenshots or raw data.

🔄

Multi Step Workflows

Break complex work into smaller tasks and coordinate parallel workstreams automatically.

🔌

Connected Services

Pull data from Google Drive, Slack, and other apps via MCP connectors.

Security: sandboxed by design

Cowork runs inside a virtual machine isolated from your main operating system. Claude can only access folders you explicitly mount and requires your approval before permanently deleting any files. Each session runs in a sandboxed environment with defined boundaries and human in the loop controls for high impact actions.

	Cowork	Computer Use (API)
Target user	Everyone (no technical setup)	Developers (API integration required)
What it controls	Files in a mounted folder	Full desktop (screen, mouse, keyboard)
Availability	Desktop app, Pro+ plans	API only
Security model	Sandboxed VM, folder scoped	Full system access (your responsibility)
Memory across sessions	No (starts fresh each time)	No (stateless by default)

Good to know

Cowork conversations are stored locally on your computer, not on Anthropic's servers.
Activity is not captured in Audit Logs, Compliance API, or Data Exports. Do not use Cowork for regulated workloads.
Still a research preview: expect rough edges and occasional limitations.
Available on macOS and Windows desktop apps for Pro plan and above.