How to use
Claude Cowork.

1. Open Claude Cowork and check access

Use the latest Claude app or open Claude on the web. On desktop, web, and mobile, select Cowork in the message box. Access is available on paid plans; Enterprise availability on some surfaces depends on an administrator. Follow the official setup instructions for your account.

For this tutorial, give the session the three practice source files. Uploaded files and a connected local folder are different ways to provide context. If using local files, begin on desktop and keep the app open for that access. Cloud sessions can continue independently, but a disconnected desktop cannot supply its local files. Desktop and cloud details.

You can read this tutorial and inspect the kit without a paid Claude account. Running the Cowork assignments requires access to Cowork; the free kit does not include a subscription.

2. Give it one deliverable to finish

Start with an outcome you already know how to review: a kickoff brief, a weekly update, or a meeting action plan. Name the reader and the decision the output should support.

Our first example is a fictional Beacon Studio / Harbor Goods handoff. Your job is to turn sales notes, an approved proposal, and a client intake into three internal drafts: a kickoff brief, an action list, and a follow-up asking for unresolved decisions.

The key question is whether the source material supports the commitment. A confident summary that silently approves more work would create a problem for the delivery team.

3. Give Cowork a clear source packet

The kickoff exercise contains these three files. You can also recreate the small practice case from the facts below.

1. Put copies of these files in the workflow’s 01-inputs folder, or upload those files into the session.
2. Keep 03-reference for your own review. Do the exercise before showing Cowork the answer key.
3. Use a new 02-my-output folder for drafts if local access is available; otherwise request downloadable files.
4. State that the approved proposal controls approved scope. A later request does not silently change the agreement.

• S01 · Sales notes, August 26: Morgan, Harbor’s marketing lead, requests a September 10 landing-page launch and asks about paid-ad creative. Morgan says brand assets and copy will arrive September 3. Casey will confirm the delivery plan.
• S02 · Approved proposal, August 28: USD 4,800 fixed for one landing page, copy cleanup from supplied material, and one revision round. Paid-ad creative, media management, and extra pages are excluded. Delivery is ten business days after all required assets arrive and the plan is confirmed. No exact launch date is committed. Casey owns the plan; Morgan owns assets and approvals. Extra scope needs written agreement.
• S03 · Client intake, August 29: brand assets and approved copy are still outstanding. Morgan repeats September 10 as a preferred date and requests three paid-ad graphics. Casey must reconcile those requests with the proposal. The immediate task is an internal draft.

4. Paste this first Cowork assignment

Use this with the three kickoff source files available:

Prepare an internal kickoff for the fictional Beacon Studio / Harbor Goods project using only S01, S02, and S03. Confirm which files you can read. Preserve the original files. First identify the scope and date conflicts and return your plan for review. The approved proposal controls approved scope; keep unresolved decisions open.

After I approve, create kickoff-brief.md, action-list.md, and internal-follow-up.md in a new output folder where available, or return downloadable drafts. The brief should cover the client, goal, scope, exclusions, fee, owners, and open questions. The action list needs an owner, timing, status, and source for each item. Cite source IDs beside material facts. The internal follow-up should ask for the unresolved date and scope decisions.

Do not treat September 10 as committed or $4,800 as paid. Do not invent a deadline, approval, or missing fact. Ask before replacing files. Do not connect accounts or send messages for this exercise. Finish with the checks performed and what a person still needs to confirm.

5. Review the plan before it creates files

Look for three things in the proposed approach: all three sources are accounted for, the proposal controls approved scope, and both conflicts remain visible. If Cowork cannot read one of the files, supply it before asking for a finished brief.

Correct the plan if it assumes the requested launch date is confirmed, includes the three graphics as agreed work, or calculates a delivery date without the missing information. Once the plan is sound, approve creating the drafts.

A dedicated practice folder makes the task easier to manage. The actual access boundary comes from the permissions you grant, so confirm the selected folder rather than assuming its name limits access.

6. Compare the output with the known answer

A useful kickoff summary would read like this:

Beacon Studio will deliver one landing page, copy cleanup, and one revision round for USD 4,800 fixed. Payment status is unknown. Paid-ad creative is excluded. September 10 is requested but unconfirmed; the proposal sets delivery at ten business days after complete assets and plan confirmation. Morgan’s brand assets and approved copy are still outstanding, with September 3 stated for handoff. Casey must confirm the delivery plan and resolve the graphics request with Morgan. [S01, S02, S03]

Different wording is fine. These checks should survive:

• The approved fee stays $4,800; it is not evidence of payment, profit, or an overdue invoice.
• Three paid-ad graphics remain an open scope request. They do not become included work.
• September 10 stays requested, not confirmed. No exact delivery date can be calculated from these sources.
• Morgan owns assets and approvals. Casey owns the delivery plan. Unknown deadlines remain open.
• The follow-up is an internal draft. Creating it does not mean anyone received a message.

7. Change one fact and check it again

In a separate copy of S03, change the request from three paid-ad graphics to five. Rerun the assignment. The open request should become five, while the approved scope and $4,800 fee stay the same. Restore the original afterward.

This catches a common failure: repeating the reference answer without following the updated source. The weekly-report and meeting exercises include their own change tests.

Two more Claude Cowork workflows to try

Once you have completed the kickoff, use the same pattern on a different job. Each workflow has its own input packet and reference outputs.

• Weekly status report: reconcile a six-task export with dated notes. Two tasks are complete; four remain unfinished. Identify the one overdue, unassigned blocker and distinguish it from the task due today. Return a report, a six-row review, and an exceptions note.
• Meeting to action plan: reconcile meeting notes with two existing actions. Preserve their IDs and count them once. Keep an unassigned access review, unapproved CRM idea, and proposed check-in separate from agreed work. Return a summary, action plan, and internal follow-up.

Use Cowork on your own work

Choose an outcome, identify the approved sources, and define what a correct result must preserve. Fill in the reusable brief with the audience, source versions, deliverables, and review rules. Start with a small assignment you can inspect from beginning to end.

If the task is a spreadsheet report, use our Claude for Excel starter kit. For a presentation, use the Claude for PowerPoint starter kit. If you are deciding which tool fits the job, read Claude Cowork vs Claude Code.

Before making work recurring, run it with a second source packet, check what changed, and decide who reviews the result. A successful practice exercise is a starting point for that decision.