Getting Started with Claude Cowork

A Simple Guide for getting started with Claude cowork

Part 1: What Is Cowork (And How Is It Different)?

You already know Claude — the AI you chat with to get answers, write things, think through problems.

Cowork is different. Instead of a back-and-forth conversation, you give Claude a task, point it at a folder on your computer, and let it do the work — reading files, creating files, organizing things — while you go do something else.

Regular Claude Chat	Claude Cowork
You type, Claude responds	You describe an outcome, Claude executes
You apply changes yourself	Claude writes changes directly to your files
One prompt, one response	Multi-step tasks, runs until done
Like texting a smart friend	Like handing off to a capable coworker

The key mindset shift: You’re not prompting for answers. You’re delegating tasks.

Part 2: Setup (Do This First)

Step 1 - Install Claude Desktop

Cowork only works in the desktop app (not the web browser).

Download at: claude.com/download → Install for Mac or Windows.

Step 2 - Create Your Cowork Folder

Create a dedicated folder on your computer. This is the only place Claude can see and touch files.

📁 cowork/
  📁 inputs/       ← drop files here for Claude to work on
  📁 outputs/      ← Claude puts finished work here
  📁 tasks/        ← your MD task files live here

⚠️ Don’t point Cowork at your entire Desktop or Documents folder. Keep it scoped. You control what Claude can access.

Step 3 - Open Cowork in the App

Open Claude Desktop
Click the “Cowork” tab at the top
Click “Add Folder” → select your cowork/ folder
You’re ready.

Part 3: Your First Task

Before anything fancy, just talk to it. Plain English.

Try this:

Look at the files in my inputs/ folder.
Create a summary of each file and save the results
to outputs/file-summaries.md

That’s it. Watch it work. Come back when it’s done.

Rules for good task descriptions:

Be specific about where to read from and where to write to
Tell Claude the output format you want (.md, .xlsx, .docx, etc.)
One clear goal per task

Part 4: MD Files - Your Reusable Task Templates

This is where Cowork gets powerful.

An MD file (markdown file, .md) is a plain text file with instructions. Write what you want Claude to do once, save it, reuse it forever. Think of it as a standing operating procedure for Claude.

Why use MD files instead of typing tasks each time?

Write the instruction once, perfectly — no need to re-explain
Share the same file with teammates so everyone runs tasks the same way
Claude reads it as a briefing doc before starting work

What an MD File Looks Like

# Task: Weekly File Organizer

## What This Does
Organizes new files dropped into inputs/ and sorts them into labeled subfolders.

## Instructions
1. Scan all files in the `inputs/` folder
2. Sort them into subfolders by type:
   - `inputs/documents/` → PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD
   - `inputs/images/` → JPG, PNG, GIF
   - `inputs/data/` → CSV, XLSX
   - `inputs/other/` → everything else
3. Rename each file: `YYYY-MM-DD_original-name.ext`
4. Create `outputs/organization-log.md` listing:
   - Total files processed
   - Where each file was moved
   - Any files you weren't sure about (flag them)

## Do Not
- Delete any files
- Overwrite existing files in subfolders

## Output
Save the log to `outputs/organization-log.md`

Save this as tasks/file-organizer.md.

To run it:

Read tasks/file-organizer.md and execute the instructions.

Part 5: The MD File Formula

Every good task MD file follows this structure:

# Task: [Name of the task]

## What This Does
One sentence. What is the purpose of this task?

## Inputs
What files or data does Claude need?
Where are they located?

## Instructions
Step-by-step. Be specific. Claude follows these literally.

## Rules / Do Not
What should Claude avoid? What are the guardrails?

## Output
What file(s) should Claude create? Where? What format?

The more specific you are, the better the output. Vague instructions = vague results.

Part 6: Practice Tasks

Each of you has one task. Create the MD file, save it in tasks/, run it.

🟣 Product Notes Organizer

Scenario: You have a folder of messy product notes, random docs, and meeting summaries. You want a clean, structured brief.

Create tasks/product-brief-generator.md that tells Claude to:

Read all .txt and .md files in inputs/product-notes/
Extract: key themes, open questions, decisions made, action items
Output a clean brief at outputs/product-brief.md
Use headers: Summary / Key Decisions / Open Questions / Next Steps

Run it:

Read tasks/product-brief-generator.md and execute the instructions.

🟡 Data Cleanup Pipeline

Scenario: You have CSV exports from different sources, inconsistently formatted. You want them merged and cleaned.

Create tasks/csv-cleanup.md that tells Claude to:

Read all .csv files in inputs/data/
Standardize date columns to YYYY-MM-DD
Remove duplicate rows
Merge into one file: outputs/merged-data.csv
Log what it did at outputs/cleanup-report.md (files processed, rows removed, issues flagged)

Run it:

Read tasks/csv-cleanup.md and execute the instructions.

🔵 Meeting Notes → Action Items

Scenario: Folder of meeting notes saved as text files. You want action items extracted and tracked.

Create tasks/action-item-extractor.md that tells Claude to:

Read all files in inputs/meeting-notes/
For each file, extract: action items, owner (if mentioned), due date (if mentioned)
Compile into outputs/action-tracker.md
Format as a table: Action Item | Owner | Due Date | Source File
Flag action items where the owner is unclear

Run it:

Read tasks/action-item-extractor.md and execute the instructions.

Part 7: Scheduling Tasks

Once your MD files are working, you can automate them to run on a schedule.

In any Cowork task, type:

/schedule

Set it to run daily, weekly, or on demand. Claude will execute your MD file automatically.

Scheduled tasks only run while your computer is awake and Claude Desktop is open.

Part 8: Ground Rules

Before handing anything to Cowork:

Start scoped. One folder. Not your whole computer.
Back up first. Cowork can move and edit files. For anything important, have a backup.
Cowork ≠ chat. Don’t use it for a quick question. Use it when you need files produced.
Review outputs. Claude is fast, not infallible. Spot-check the results.
No sensitive data. Passwords, financial data, confidential info - keep it out of the Cowork folder.

Quick Reference Card

Start a task from an MD file:

Read tasks/[filename].md and execute the instructions.

MD file template:

# Task: [Name]
## What This Does
## Inputs
## Instructions
## Rules / Do Not
## Output

Folder structure:

📁 cowork/
  📁 inputs/
  📁 outputs/
  📁 tasks/   ← your .md files live here

The best way to learn Cowork is to break something small. Start with a test folder, run a low-stakes task, and see what comes back. The first time it works, you’ll immediately think of five more things to hand off.