# ClaudeCowork > Independent, community-written operator's manual for Claude Cowork — Anthropic's agentic mode in the Claude desktop, web, and mobile apps that lets Claude work directly with your files, folders, and connected apps to complete real multi-step work. Tested workflows, copy-paste prompt packs, connector setup guides, weekly news drops, and safety practices. Key facts about Claude Cowork: - Claude Cowork lets Claude work directly with local files and connected apps to complete multi-step tasks — organizing files and folders, drafting and formatting documents and spreadsheets, pulling data from connected apps, and running scheduled automations — instead of only answering questions in chat. - Cowork is included with Claude's paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise); it is not available on the free tier. It launched in the Claude desktop app (macOS and Windows) in January 2026 and expanded to web and mobile with cloud sessions in July 2026. - Connectors give Cowork explicit, limited, revocable access to tools like Gmail, Google Drive, GitHub, Slack, and Notion. You approve each connector individually, control what it can read and write, can disconnect it anytime, and every connector action is logged. - ClaudeCowork.com is an independent community site. It is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic, and is not official Anthropic documentation. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. All workflows and prompts are originally authored and tested. ## Start here - [Getting started guide](https://www.claudecowork.com/start-here/): from zero to your first Cowork task — download the Claude desktop app, subscribe to a paid plan, switch to Cowork mode - [What is Claude Cowork?](https://www.claudecowork.com/): homepage overview with FAQ (what it does, pricing, supported connectors) - [Safety guide](https://www.claudecowork.com/safety/): permission scopes, read-only-first patterns, and verification habits for delegating work safely - [About this site](https://www.claudecowork.com/about/): who runs ClaudeCowork.com and the independence disclaimer ## Workflows (tested, step-by-step) - [All workflows](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/): each includes the problem it solves, required access, a step-by-step plan, a full prompt pack, and a verification checklist - [Organize your Downloads folder](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/organize-downloads/) - [Excel to PowerPoint](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/excel-to-powerpoint/): turn a spreadsheet into presentation slides - [PDF to report](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/pdf-to-report/): extract and summarize PDFs into a structured report - [Research brief](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/research-brief/) - [KPI slides](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/kpi-slides/) - [Google Calendar morning briefing](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/google-calendar-morning-briefing/) - [Run your first scheduled task](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/run-first-scheduled-task/) - [Set up a Cowork project](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/set-up-cowork-project/) - [Standardize documents](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/standardize-docs/) - [Use computer use for tasks](https://www.claudecowork.com/workflows/use-computer-use-for-tasks/) ## Prompt packs (copy-paste-ready) - [All prompt packs](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/): curated prompt sets optimized for delegating work to Cowork - [Read-only analyzer](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/read-only-analyzer/): safe-by-default analysis prompts that never modify files - [Folder organization](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/folder-organization/) - [Data extraction](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/data-extraction/) - [Spreadsheet cleaner](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/spreadsheet-cleaner/) - [Safety verification](https://www.claudecowork.com/prompt-packs/safety-verification/): prompts for double-checking Cowork's output ## Connector setup guides - [All connectors](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/): 100+ guides — what Cowork can do with each app, how to connect, permissions, and FAQ - [GitHub](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/github/) - [Gmail](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/gmail/) - [Google Drive](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/google-drive/) - [Slack](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/slack/) - [Notion](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/notion/) - [Datadog](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/datadog/) - [Salesforce](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/salesforce/) - [HubSpot](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/hubspot/) - [Stripe](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/stripe/) - [monday.com](https://www.claudecowork.com/connectors/monday/) ## Plugins - [All plugins](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/): the 11 official Claude Cowork plugins — role-based bundles of skills, slash commands, connectors, and sub-agents — with install steps and FAQs - [Productivity plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/productivity/) - [Sales plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/sales/) - [Customer Support plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/customer-support/) - [Product Management plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/product-management/) - [Marketing plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/marketing/) - [Legal plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/legal/) - [Finance plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/finance/) - [Data plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/data/) - [Enterprise Search plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/enterprise-search/) - [Bio Research plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/bio-research/) - [Cowork Plugin Management plugin](https://www.claudecowork.com/plugins/cowork-plugin-management/) ## Comparisons - [Comparisons hub](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/): how Cowork compares to Zapier, Make, ChatGPT, Python scripts, and traditional RPA - [Cowork vs Zapier](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/cowork-vs-zapier/) - [Cowork vs Make.com](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/cowork-vs-make/) - [Cowork vs Python scripts](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/cowork-vs-python/) - [Cowork vs ChatGPT in the browser](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/cowork-vs-chatgpt/) - [Cowork vs traditional RPA](https://www.claudecowork.com/comparisons/cowork-vs-rpa/) ## Guides by role - [Claude Cowork for Sales Teams](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/sales/) - [Claude Cowork for Marketers](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/marketing/) - [Claude Cowork for Finance Teams](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/finance/) - [Claude Cowork for Legal Teams](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/legal/) - [Claude Cowork for Customer Support Teams](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/customer-support/) - [Claude Cowork for Product Managers](https://www.claudecowork.com/for/product-management/) ## News - [The Drop](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/): weekly Cowork news, curated resources, and one actionable tip - [Drop #27 - Cowork Is Now Just Claude (September 23, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-27/): Anthropic merges Cowork into the main Claude app and lets Claude decide whether a request is a chat or a task; Claude Docs and Claude Slides arrive in beta, the Small Business plugin grows to 43 workflows and 27 new integrations, and Claude Opus 5.5 lands at 40% lower cost with higher usage limits. - [Drop #26 - Claude Brings Its Own Browser (September 9, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-26/): Cowork gets a browser built into the Claude desktop app - no extension, its own logins, and the same safeguards as Claude in Chrome; plus Claude Fable 5.1 ships and runs at Medium effort in Cowork, and a new command reports what installed skills cost in context. - [Drop #25 - One Memory, Everywhere You Work (August 26, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-25/): Claude Cowork now shares the same memory you use in chat, with every saved topic readable and editable; plus computer use, the browser use tool, the Skills API, and the Files API reach general availability. - [Drop #24 - Cowork Moves Into the Browser Tab (August 19, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-24/): The Claude in Chrome side panel is now a Claude Cowork session, Claude Tag reads whole Slack channels, and Anthropic explains the text watermark coming to future Claude models. - [Drop #23 - Anthropic Builds Its Own Guardrails Into Cowork (August 12, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-23/): Anthropic ships inference hooks (real-time DLP), skill and plugin security scanning, and Compliance API coverage for Cowork and Claude Code sessions - [Drop #22 - A Security Vendor Adds Guardrails for Claude Cowork (August 5, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-22/): AI governance platform Opsin adds coverage for Claude Cowork, giving security teams visibility into sessions, risk alerts on sensitive tool calls, and governance over which connectors are in use. - [Drop #21 - Claude Opus 5 Becomes the Default, and MCP Goes Stateless (July 29, 2026)](https://www.claudecowork.com/drops/drop-21/): Claude Opus 5 becomes the default model on Claude Max, and the MCP 2026-07-28 spec moves the Model Context Protocol to a stateless core with hardened auth. - [Newsletter](https://www.claudecowork.com/newsletter/): one new Cowork workflow and prompt pack weekly ## Optional - [llms-full.txt](https://www.claudecowork.com/llms-full.txt): expanded version of this file with full plugin, comparison, and connector detail - [Automations](https://www.claudecowork.com/automations/): guides for scheduled and recurring Cowork tasks - [Privacy](https://www.claudecowork.com/privacy/), [Terms](https://www.claudecowork.com/terms/), [DMCA](https://www.claudecowork.com/dmca/)