How to Set Up Claude Cowork: A Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide ⚡

Cowork is a mode inside the Claude desktop app that turns Claude from a chatbot into an agent. Instead of just answering questions, it can read your files, write documents, check your email, update your calendar, and run tasks on a schedule while you sleep.

The entire system runs on two simple text files. No code. No technical setup. If you can type a sentence, you can build this.

Regular chat mode is for quick questions. Cowork is for goals. You tell it what you want done and it delivers a result without you watching every step.

• Memory: Chat forgets everything between sessions. Cowork remembers your preferences forever.
• Files: Chat cannot touch your computer. Cowork reads and writes files in your folder.
• Tools: Chat has no access to email or calendar. Cowork connects to Gmail, Notion, Calendar, and more.
• Automation: Chat requires you for every message. Cowork runs tasks on a schedule while you sleep.

Cowork works in a loop: observe (read your files and tools), think (decide what to do), act (make the change). It keeps looping until the task is done.

Download the Claude desktop app from claude.ai/download. Install it and sign in. You will need at least the Pro plan ($20/month) for daily use. Click the Cowork tab at the top to switch from chat into Cowork.

Create a folder called Cowork OS in your Documents. Back in Claude, click Select a folder and choose your Cowork OS folder. Click the star next to it so Cowork always opens there by default.

Pick Sonnet as your default model. It handles 80% of tasks well and uses about a fifth of the tokens that Opus does. Switch to Opus only when Sonnet's result is not good enough.

Your entire system lives in two text files inside your Cowork OS folder:

• claude.md: Your instruction manual. Who you are, how you work, what rules to follow.
• memory.md: Claude's notepad. Preferences, active projects, things to remember.

Without these files, Claude starts every session as a blank slate. With them, it remembers your voice, projects, and rules forever.

Your root folder has one claude.md and one memory.md. Later, you can create subfolders (workstations) for specific areas. Each workstation gets its own claude.md and memory.md with rules that stack on top of the global ones.

Create Your claude.md

Open a new Cowork session and paste this prompt:

I'd like to create a claude.md file that you'll read at the start of every session. Ask me questions to build it out. Include:

1. Who I am and what I do
2. How I want you to talk to me
3. Tools I use (email, calendar, Notion, etc.)
4. Safety rules (never send, delete, or publish without checking first)
5. A memory system (read memory.md at session start, update it when I correct you)

Keep the file under 300 lines.

Claude will interview you and generate the file. Review it, edit anything that feels off, and save it in your Cowork OS folder.

Key sections to include:

• Identity: Your name, role, business
• Communication: Direct, plain English, no jargon
• Memory System: Read memory.md at session start
• Routing Map: Task types mapped to workstation folders
• Safety Rules: Never send emails without approval, never delete files without asking

Keep it under 300 lines. Claude loads this every session, and longer files burn tokens before you even start working.

Create Your memory.md

Paste this prompt:

Create a memory.md file in my root folder with two sections:

1. What you know about me (facts, preferences, how I work)
2. Active projects and deadlines

Then read it at the start of every session and update it whenever I correct you or tell you something new.

Test it by asking a preference question in a new session. If it answers correctly, your memory system is working.

Tell Claude your active projects right after setup. This gives it immediate context for everything you will ask it to do.

This makes Claude write like you instead of like a generic AI. Create a voice-principles.md file in a 00-resources folder inside your Cowork OS. Paste examples of your writing and ask Claude to extract the patterns.

Then add this rule to your root claude.md: Before writing any content, read 00-resources/voice-principles.md to match my writing style.

This way Claude only loads your voice profile when it is actually writing something, not on every session. Saves tokens and keeps things fast.

Click Customize in the sidebar, then Connectors, then Browse Connectors. Connect the tools you already use:

• Gmail: Read, draft, and send emails
• Google Calendar: Check schedule, create events, find conflicts
• Notion: Read pages, update databases, create notes
• Slack: Read channels, draft replies, summarize threads

For Notion, create a context-map.md file in your 00-resources folder listing key databases and pages with their URLs. This stops Claude from wasting tokens searching for the right database.

Workstations are subfolders for specific areas of your life. Each gets its own claude.md, memory.md, and resources folder. Root-level files apply everywhere. Workstation files add specifics for that area.

Start with two or three. Common ones:

• Email HQ: Triage, draft replies, follow-ups
• Newsletter: Research, outline, draft, schedule
• Finances: Track expenses, invoice, forecast
• Content: Ideation, scripting, editing, publishing
• Brand Deals: Sponsor outreach, rate cards, contract review

Only add a new workstation when you actually need one.

Skills are SOPs for AI. You explain a process once, turn it into a skill, and Claude runs it the same way every time without you re-explaining.

To create one, do the task with Claude until you are happy. Then say: Create a skill called [name] that captures everything we just did. Include the steps, the prompt template, and any files you reference.

Good starter skills:

• Morning Briefing: Daily calendar + email + todo review
• Social Caption Writer: Writes captions for multiple platforms
• Inbox Triage: Categorizes emails, drafts replies for urgent ones

This is where Cowork starts working without you. Create tasks that run on a timer using everything you have set up.

Only requirement: your computer needs to be on and connected to the internet. Start with two or three tasks and watch your usage before adding more.

Common scheduled tasks:

• Morning Briefing: Every weekday at 7 AM. Read calendar, check email, scan todos, give a prioritized plan.
• Social Posting: Mon, Wed, Fri at 9 AM. Check content calendar, draft next post, save to queue.
• Newsletter Prep: Tues & Sat 8 AM. Search trending AI news, check content calendar, outline next newsletter.

Dispatch lets you control your Claude desktop from the Claude mobile app. Text it from your phone and it runs on your Mac at home.

Enable it in the Claude desktop app under Settings > Dispatch. From your phone, text things like: Run my morning briefing and text me the summary, or Draft an email to [person] about [topic] and put it in my Gmail drafts.

Consider a Mac Mini that stays on at your desk. Enable prevent sleep in Cowork settings. Your scheduled tasks run while you are out, and you check results from your phone.

At the end of every session, run this prompt:

Audit this session. Look for:

1. Preferences I stated that aren't saved in memory.md yet
2. Corrections I made that should become rules in claude.md
3. Tasks that repeat often and should become skills
4. Any mistakes I should prevent next time

This one habit saves hours over time.

• No claude.md file: Create it before doing anything else. Without it, Claude knows nothing about you.
• No memory.md file: Without it, Claude forgets everything between sessions.
• Repeating rules across workstations: Root rules apply everywhere. Workstations only add new ones.
• Not running session audits: Audit at the end of every session so preferences stick.
• Too many permissions at once: Start read-only. Expand as you build trust.

Turn three to five manual processes into skills each week. Within a month, you will have 15-20 skills handling your routine work. Within three months, most repetitive tasks are on autopilot. The system gets better every single session.

Open the Claude desktop app. Create your Cowork OS folder. Run the claude.md interview prompt. You will have a working assistant before lunch.

Download the full PDF below for the complete 20-page walkthrough with every prompt, folder structure diagram, and pro tips.