Anthropic announced a new tool that brings Claude Code’s advanced capabilities to people without technical skills, letting them perform various tasks without writing any code. It’s called Cowork; the tool can access your computer’s folders and read, modify, or delete files on your behalf.
Claude Cowork can create new projects using information from folders on your computer. This enables tasks such as generating reports from your notes. Anthropic says you can use the tool to organize old receipts, create expense-tracking spreadsheets, or clean up a messy downloads folder.
These are tasks most people avoid because they’re tedious and time-consuming. Sorting through hundreds of receipts to track expenses takes hours. Organizing a downloads folder filled with months of random files feels overwhelming. Cowork handles these tasks automatically.
The tool works by understanding what you want to accomplish, then executing the necessary file operations to achieve that goal. Instead of manually opening each receipt, entering data into a spreadsheet, and categorizing expenses, you tell Cowork what you need, and it does the work.
Cowork can also use Claude’s existing connectors to create documents, presentations, and other projects based on information from third-party apps.
If you have data in Google Sheets, notes in Notion, or information in other connected apps, Cowork can pull that data and use it to generate new materials.
The tool works with the Claude Chrome extension to complete actions that require browser access. This means Cowork can interact with web-based services and applications directly through your browser. It can fill forms, navigate websites, or perform other browser-based tasks as part of completing your requests.
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This browser integration extends Cowork’s capabilities beyond local files on your computer.
Anthropic explains Cowork is “designed to make using Claude for new work as simple as possible.” Users don’t need to repeatedly provide context or manually convert the output to the correct format.
You can queue multiple tasks and let Claude work through them simultaneously. The experience feels more like working with a teammate than constantly going back and forth with a chatbot.
Traditional chatbot interactions require you to explain context every time you start a new conversation. If you’re working on a project over several days, you have to remind the AI what you’re doing, what files matter, and what you’re trying to accomplish. That wastes time and creates friction.
Cowork remembers context because it has persistent access to your files and folders. It understands your project structure and can work independently once you’ve given it instructions.
Queue up several tasks in the morning, and Cowork processes them while you focus on other work.
Claude Cowork and Information Access
Cowork’s ability to access local files has some potential risks. To address privacy concerns, Anthropic says the tool can only read or edit files you explicitly grant access to. You control which folders and files Cowork can see.
However, since Cowork can delete local files when instructed, Anthropic advises users to be precise in their prompts to reduce the risk of unintended actions.
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Vague instructions like “clean up my files” could lead to Cowork deleting things you wanted to keep. Specific instructions, such as “delete PDF files in my downloads folder older than 90 days,” reduce that risk.
Anthropic also warns about prompt-injection attacks, which could be particularly problematic if Cowork has access to sensitive files.
Prompt injection happens when malicious text in a file tricks the AI into performing unintended actions. If Cowork reads a document containing hidden instructions, it might execute those instructions without your knowledge.
While Anthropic built guidelines to mitigate such threats, it acknowledges that protections against prompt injection remain “an active area of development.” This is an honest admission that the technology isn’t perfect yet.
Cowork is currently rolling out as a research preview for Claude Max subscribers on macOS. Users on other plans or platforms can join a waitlist to get access later.
