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How to use Claude Cowork: setup, first task, plugins and scheduled tasks

By the AgentMsgr team · Updated November 7, 2026 · 5 min read

How to use Claude Cowork in 2026: with a paid Claude plan, open Claude on your computer, the web or your phone, describe the finished result you want, and let it plan and work while you check in. On Pro, Max and Ultra accounts that have moved to the merged Claude, there's no separate Cowork switch any more. You just ask.

This guide follows Anthropic's current help center, not the setup steps in older guides, several of which still say you need a Mac, a Max plan or a 2 GB download. It ends with the prompt pattern we use for jobs where a mistake would be expensive. New to Cowork? Start with what Claude Cowork is.

Before you start: the plan, the app and where Cowork is

• A paid plan. Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise. The Free plan doesn't include Cowork; our Claude Cowork pricing guide compares the plans.
• Any Claude app. The desktop app on Mac or Windows (Linux in beta), the web, the mobile app, or the Claude in Chrome side panel.
• Where the option is. On an account that hasn't merged yet, pick Cowork at the bottom left of the message box, and Chat to switch back. On a merged account there's nothing to pick: any conversation can take on a task.
• When you need the desktop app. Only for files on your computer, a browser running on your own machine, or control of desktop apps. Everything else runs in Anthropic's cloud.

Your first Claude Cowork task, step by step

1. Optional: run /setup-claude. Anthropic's tutorial suggests it: you pick your role, and it installs a matching plugin and connects the tools you use.
2. Choose where it works. Use "Work in a folder" in the chat bar for files on your computer, or work inside a Project, which keeps its own files and memory.
3. Describe the result, not the steps. Say what you want back, in what format, from which inputs. For example: a one-page Word summary of last quarter's sales from the three spreadsheets in this folder, with a table of the top ten customers.
4. Check the permission mode. Auto is the default on personal plans: Claude safety-checks each action itself. Switch to Manual, which asks before acting, for anything hard to undo.
5. Watch and steer. Cowork shows its plan and progress at each step, and you can redirect it mid-task or pick the session up on another device.
6. Review the output before you send it anywhere. Cowork is good, not infallible.

How to give Claude Cowork your files, apps and a browser

Files: Cowork can only read and write in folders you've connected, so give it a dedicated working folder rather than your whole drive, and keep a backup.

Apps: connect them under Customize, then Connectors (or from the + menu): pick the service, click Connect and sign in. Your sign-in tokens stay out of the sandbox where Cowork's code runs.

The web: the desktop app uses its own built-in browser by default. To use Claude in Chrome instead, change it under Settings, then Cowork. Controlling your desktop apps directly is a research preview that asks permission app by app.

How to add Claude Cowork plugins and skills

Plugins package skills, connectors, slash commands and sub-agents for a kind of work, such as sales, finance, legal or marketing. Add one under Customize, then Plugins, then Discover, or upload a plugin file. The Knowledge Work marketplace is on by default, and you can add other marketplaces from Anthropic or a Git repository. Run a plugin's commands as /plugin-name:command, and use its Customize button to tailor it. Plugins are saved to your account and also show up in Claude Code.

Skills are reusable instructions for one task you do often. Add them under Customize, then Skills, by uploading a ZIP file or browsing the directory; the code execution and file creation setting has to be on. Claude uses a skill automatically when it fits, or you call it with /skill-name. The easiest way to make one: finish a task you'll repeat, then ask Claude to package what you just did into a skill.

How to schedule tasks in Claude Cowork

Type /schedule, or open Scheduled in the sidebar and choose New task, then either let Claude set it up or set it up manually. You can run a task hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays, or only when you start it. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud, so they keep going while your computer sleeps; the exception is a task that needs your local files or apps, which only runs on your computer.

Two habits from Anthropic's safety advice: start with low-risk jobs such as summaries and reports, and pause schedules you've stopped reading, because each run spends part of your Claude usage limit.

How to write a Cowork prompt for jobs that can't go wrong

We used Cowork to add webhook steps to eight phone-menu workflows inside a CRM's visual builder, a job our browser extension couldn't do because its clicks didn't register inside the builder. A wrong click there would have broken live phone lines, so the prompt did most of the safety work. Here's the pattern, with the specifics taken out:

Our Cowork prompt patternGoal: [the one change you want]. Change nothing else.
Where: [the exact pages, files or records, as links or paths].
Check first: before changing each one, confirm [a detail that proves it's the right item]. If it doesn't match, skip it and tell me.
Steps: [numbered actions, with exact names and values].
Gate: you can look around now, but ask me before you change anything.
Test first: do the first item only, then stop and tell me how to check it worked. Wait for my OK before the rest.
Rules: don't delete, rename or move anything. If something looks different from what I described, stop and report what you see. Don't improvise. If anything asks for a password, a payment or a permission change, stop and ask me.
Report: list each item as done or skipped (and why), with a screenshot of each.

The two lines that matter most are the gate and the test. Ours had Cowork finish the first workflow, then stop and wait while we placed a real phone call to confirm the new step worked, before it could touch the other seven. More jobs like this are in our Claude Cowork use cases guide.

Claude Cowork tips that save usage

• Group related work into one task instead of several small ones.
• Start a new conversation for unrelated work; long threads cost more per step.
• Say when you only want a quick answer, so Claude doesn't start a full task.
• Keep reference files in a Project: reused content is cached and counts less.
• Check Settings, then Usage, before starting a big job.

Sources: Anthropic help center: getting started, web, desktop and mobile, connectors, plugins, skills, scheduled tasks, using Cowork safely, usage tips, Dispatch; Anthropic Academy: get started in three steps, customize Cowork. The prompt pattern and workflow job are our own, from September 2026. Checked November 7, 2026.

Questions about using Claude Cowork