Claude Cowork in practice. For the first task, give it a copy of your Downloads folder

The Downloads folder on an office computer usually looks much the same. Photos from a phone, an old printer installer, three versions of the same quote and a file called "document (2).pdf" that nobody can explain. There is never time to tidy it. That makes a good first task for Claude Cowork, as long as it gets a copy of the folder and not the original.

We explained how an agent differs from a chat in What is an AI agent. This one stays practical, with one concrete task.

Claude Cowork after the September change

In Cowork, Claude works on files in a folder you point it to. It reads them, sorts them and creates new ones. It reaches files on your computer only through the Claude desktop app and only while the app is open. The app runs on macOS and Windows, and Cowork is available on the paid Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans.

On 16 September 2026 Anthropic described a change that affects the name too. Cowork and the regular chat are merging into one conversation, and Anthropic's help pages now say plainly that Claude Cowork is just Claude. You no longer pick a mode, because Claude decides whether to give a quick answer or take on longer work. The change is rolling out gradually, starting with Pro and Max, and accounts on the same plan may get it at different times.

If your message box still shows Chat and Cowork as separate options, the new version has not reached you yet. Once it does, you cannot switch back to separate modes. Your chats, tasks, projects and settings carry over on their own. Everything Cowork could do then works in any conversation, so the steps below fit both versions.

A first task, tidying a copy of Downloads

Before you copy anything, go through Downloads and set aside what an AI should not read. Anthropic advises against giving Claude access to files with sensitive information, such as financial documents. Keep invoices, ID scans and contracts with client details out of the copy.

Then three steps.

1. Make a new folder, for example "Downloads copy", and copy the rest of the files into it.
2. In the Claude app, give access to that one folder only. You will later see it in Settings, under Trusted folders.
3. Keep the default setting where Claude asks before each action and you choose whether to allow it.

The request itself can look like this.

Tidy up the files in this folder. Create subfolders by file type, for example photos, documents, installers and archives. Do not delete anything. Move duplicates and files you cannot place into a folder called "To check". When you finish, save a file here that lists what you moved where.

We include the ban on deleting even though, according to Anthropic, Claude asks for permission before it permanently deletes a file anyway. The ban in the request sets the limits from the start and saves you some clicking. We wrote more about limits like this in how to write prompts.

While it works, you can stop Claude or change its direction. Don't close the app until it is done. Since 6 October 2026, new tasks on Pro and Max run in the cloud, but Claude reaches the files on your computer only while the desktop app is open. It then fetches copies of just the files it needs.

When it finishes, open the folder and read the list. Look into "To check" first, because that is where everything Claude had trouble with ends up.

Why a copy and not the original

Claude really does move files and create folders. A mistake here is not a bad answer in a chat. It is a file in the wrong place. On a copy, that kind of mistake breaks nothing.

The second reason is the Downloads folder itself, which is full of files from the internet. Anthropic warns about an attack where someone hides instructions in content Claude reads during an ordinary task. It is called prompt injection. Such an attack needs two things. Claude has to read untrusted content, and it has to be able to do something harmful. A small folder of copies and a request for permission at each step make the second part harder.

The third reason is your usage limit. A task with many steps uses more of it than a quick question, and the mode where Claude acts without asking at each step uses even more. For a first try, a small folder is better.

Tasks on a schedule

Once tidying the copy works, it is tempting to have Claude do it every week by itself. Anthropic calls these scheduled tasks. They are available on all paid plans.

In the new version of Claude you describe the task in a conversation and say how often it should run. Claude asks about the details and then shows you the name, the schedule and the instructions to approve. A task can repeat hourly, daily, weekly or on weekdays. You can also leave it to run only when you start it yourself.

Scheduled tasks run in the cloud by default, so they can run even when your computer is off. The exception is a task that needs files from your disk or programs on your computer. That kind runs only locally, with the Claude app open. A weekly tidy-up of Downloads is exactly that kind of task.

Anthropic also advises keeping sensitive data and actions with serious consequences out of scheduled tasks. Such a task runs without you at the computer, so nobody sees a mistake straight away.

Start with a copy of one folder and a request that forbids deleting. If the list at the end adds up, the same approach works for other folders that fill up on their own, like the one with photos from your phone.