Claude Cowork is available on desktop, web, mobile, and in the Claude in Chrome side panel. Your sessions and files live with your Claude account and go where you go, on any device. This article explains how to start a Cowork session and what's available on each surface.
Start a Cowork session
On desktop, web, and mobile, chat and Cowork share one home, so you start both from the same place. Find the message box, select "Cowork" in the bottom left corner, then describe your task. To go back to a regular conversation, select "Chat."
If you have the new Claude experience, there's no "Cowork" option to select. Describe your task in any conversation, and Claude takes it from there.
The Chrome side panel works differently. Opening the side panel starts a Cowork session directly, with no selector to switch between chat and Cowork.
How Cowork in the cloud works
When using Cowork in the cloud, Claude's work runs on Anthropic's servers instead of your computer, and your sessions and files are saved to your Claude account. This changes what Cowork can do:
What's changing for Pro and Max plans on October 6
On October 6, 2026, new Cowork tasks on Pro and Max plans run in the cloud. The Only on your computer option in Settings > General will be removed, and there's nothing you need to set up.
Tasks you already started on your computer stay there, and you can keep working on them until they're done. Each one shows a note at the top with a button to download its transcript, in case you want to continue that work in Claude Code.
Your folders stay on your computer. Claude reaches only the folders you've connected, through the desktop app, and only while it's open. When a task needs a file in the cloud, Claude fetches a copy of just that file. When you delete a session, the copies Claude fetched are deleted too, per our data retention practices. Whether your conversations are used to improve Claude follows the Help improve our AI models setting in Settings > Privacy.
Your scheduled tasks move to the cloud too, including ones that use files on your computer. Tasks that use files on your computer need the desktop app open. See Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork.
If you want tasks to run on your computer
Some work has to stay on one machine. Claude Code in the desktop app runs on your computer and keeps your folders and history there. Get Claude Code desktop. To bring past work with you, download a task's transcript from the note at the top of the task, or download your full Cowork history from the notice in the app, and open it in Claude Code. Your projects and scheduled tasks don't carry over to Claude Code.
If you use Claude at work and at home and want them separate, use a separate account for each. Shared logins aren't supported.
What's available on each surface
Cowork in the cloud is in beta, and some features aren’t available yet. Here's what you can use on each surface today:
A few notes on the table:
What requires the desktop app
Some capabilities reach things on your computer, so they need the Claude Desktop app open on your machine, even when your session runs in the cloud:
Move between surfaces
When using Cowork in the cloud, sessions follow your account, so you can switch surfaces mid-task:
For example, start a task in the Chrome side panel while you're looking at a dashboard, then pick it up on desktop to work with the downloaded files.
When Claude finishes a task or needs your input, you'll get a notification on your phone. To get started, see Get started with Claude Cowork.