Claude Cowork: Your New Digital Assistant That Works on Files Itself

Claude Cowork is a new feature of Claude that goes beyond just chat, but can also work with files directly on your computer. If you have a Claude Max subscription on macOS, you can give Claude access to one of your folders. Claude can then read those files, organize them, or create new files, just like having a digital assistant do the actual work for you.

For example, if you have notes and photos in one place, you can ask Claude to create a report from them, or clean up your Downloads folder. You just give the instructions, and the rest is done automatically.

The process goes something like this:

First, you select a folder, then Claude tells you a task, and it starts working on it for you, creating a complete plan. If any step requires permission, it asks you.

Since ClaudCowork was introduced, users have discovered many interesting and real-world uses for it. The most popular feature is organizing and cleaning up files. Some people say they’ve organized years of scattered files, receipts, PDFs, and desktop clutter in minutes.

Keeping track of expenses is also a popular example. If you have pictures of bills or receipts, CloudWorks can turn them into an Excel sheet, with the date, amount, and category included.

It’s also very useful for office tasks, like creating reports from meeting notes or creating complete minutes from project folders. Some people are using it as if they’ve given an assistant a task and then come back later to see the results.
For marketing or creative projects, people are using Cloudcowork to rename files, organize logo files into folders, or separate bad photos from photo galleries.

What’s more, some people are even running it in conjunction with a browser like Google Chrome for web research, or creating automated skills like “File Librarian.”

You have complete control over security. Cloud only works in the folders you choose, and asks for your permission before making major decisions.

This feature is currently only available to Claude Max and macOS users, and since it’s a research preview, it’s best to test it on unneeded folders first.

If you’re thinking about giving Cloud Work a try, think about: What tasks would you like it to do? Or what’s the most cluttered folder on your computer that you’d like to delegate?