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What You'll Need

• A Mac or Windows computer
• The Claude desktop app (download here)
• A paid Claude plan (Pro at $20/month or higher) </aside>

Step 1: Open Cowork

Open the Claude desktop app. You'll see three tabs at the top:

• Chat (left) is the standard interface for questions and conversation
• Cowork (middle) takes on multi-step tasks and works with your files
• Code (right) is the developer-focused advanced mode

Click Cowork to get started.

Step 2: Select a Folder

This is what makes Cowork different. Click "Work in a folder" and pick a folder on your computer.

You're giving Claude a shared workspace. It can explore, read, and create files inside that folder. No uploading one file at a time.

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Tip: Even if you don't have files to work with yet, select a folder anyway. Cowork saves anything it creates right there for you.

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Step 3: Give It a Task

Think in tasks, not question. Instead of asking something general, hand Cowork something off your real to-do list.

A few to try:

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With existing files:

• "Analyze these meeting notes and create an action items summary"
• "Organize these files using the PARA Method"

Without existing files:

• "Plan a 4-night road trip near [your city]"
• "Research the best project management tools for a small team and create a comparison doc" </aside>