Claude Cowork Guide
🌐 Languages: English | Français
Table of Contents
Complete guide to Claude's desktop assistant for knowledge workers and small businesses. Invoices, quotes, follow-ups, prospecting : automated without coding.
⚡ Quick Start
1. Enable Cowork
Settings → Features → Enable Cowork → Grant folder access
2. First workflow
mkdir -p ~/Cowork-Workspace/{input,output}
# Add files to input/, then:
"Organize the files in ~/Cowork-Workspace/input/ by type"
3. Go further
- 📋 Cheatsheet : Print this
- 📖 Complete guide : 10 min
- 🎯 Interactive onboarding : Personalized path
Prerequisites
- Subscription: Pro ($20/mo) or Max ($100-200/mo)
- Platform: macOS and Windows
- App: Claude Desktop (latest version)
Why this guide?
The problem: Official docs are dense. Tutorials get outdated quickly. You need ready-to-use workflows, not feature lists.
This guide: 29 business workflows, 70 copy-paste prompts, 11 official plugins documented, Desktop Commander guide, Skills/Customize Tab documentation, practical examples.
Reading time: Getting started 5 min | Complete guide 45 min
👨💻 Are you a developer?
Claude Code is the guide for developers : same AI, terminal interface, code execution.
🎯 Learning Paths
Beginner : First week (5 steps)
- Overview : What Cowork can do
- Getting Started : Installation and first workflow
- File Organization : Practical example
- Prompts Library : 20 ready prompts
- Cheatsheet : Print this
Decision Maker : Overview (4 steps)
- Content : Capabilities and resources
- Golden Rules : Essential principles
- Security : Best practices
- Comparison : vs Copilot/Gemini/ChatGPT
Power User : Deep dive (6 steps)
-
Complete Capabilities : Feature matrix
-
All Workflows : 29 step-by-step guides
-
Troubleshooting : Error resolution
-
FAQ : 20+ questions
-
Advanced Prompts : Research and synthesis
-
Glossary : Terminology
📚 Content
Guides (5 files)
| Guide | What you'll learn | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | What Cowork can do | 5 min |
| Getting Started | Installation, first workflow | 10 min |
| Capabilities | What works, what doesn't | 8 min |
| Security | Best practices | 12 min |
| Troubleshooting | Common issues | 8 min |
Plugins (11 official)
Claude Cowork supports 11 official plugins: Asana, Canva, Cloudflare, Figma, GitHub, Google Drive, Jira, Linear, Notion, Sentry, Slack. Plugins extend Cowork's capabilities by connecting to external tools directly.
Workflows (29 guides)
📋 Administrative (8)
- Invoice Generation : Professional templates
- Quote → Invoice : Automatic transformation
- Payment Reminders : R1, R2, R3, legal notice
- Compliance Checklist : Required documents
- Client Follow-up Tracker : Excel dashboard
- Price Comparison : Multi-supplier with scoring
- Financial Model Validation : Excel formula and assumption audit
- Workforce Planning : HR growth, payroll costs
💼 Sales & Marketing (6)
- Prospect Research : Company data, decision makers
- Short-Term Rental Prospecting : Listing analysis, revenue estimates
- Quote Creation : Detailed with variants
- Competitor Analysis : Pricing, offers, reviews
- Presentation Slides : PowerPoint/Keynote
- Newsletter Creation : Responsive HTML
🔧 Operations (5)
- Project Planning : Gantt, milestones, dependencies
- Inventory Tracking : Restocking alerts
- Work Log : Compliant documentation
- Quality Checklist : Standardized lists
- Supplier Orders : Optimized procurement
📣 Communication (5)
- Social Media Posts : LinkedIn/Facebook/Instagram
- Email Templates : Reusable library
- Review Responses : Google/Facebook
- Website Audit : Site diagnosis and action plan
- Knowledge Transfer : Training, succession
🗂️ Organization (5)
- File Organization : Automatic folder sorting
- Expense Tracking : Receipts to Excel
- Meeting Prep : Client/supplier briefings
- Scheduled Automation : Recurring task automation
- Memory Setup : Cross-session memory with Desktop Commander
Ready-to-use prompts (70)
| Collection | Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Files | 20 | Organize, rename, deduplicate |
| Documents | 15 | Reports, summaries, Excel |
| Extraction | 15 | PDF, OCR, images |
| Research | 17 | Web, synthesis |
References
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Cheatsheet | 1-page printable |
| Comparison | vs Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT |
| FAQ | 20+ questions |
| Glossary | Cowork terminology |
🔑 Golden Rules
- Always review the plan before approval : Cowork proposes, you decide
- Dedicated folder only : Never grant access to Documents/Desktop/system
- No credentials : Keep passwords and API keys elsewhere
- Verify sources : Downloaded files may contain malicious prompts
- Disconnect VPN : Issue #1, breaks VM networking
- Backup before deletion : No undo possible
See Security Guide for detailed practices.
🌍 About
Origins & Philosophy
This guide exists because official docs are dense and tutorials get outdated quickly.
Philosophy: Practical over theoretical. Real workflows, not feature lists.
Focus v1.1: Small businesses and knowledge workers worldwide.
Created with Claude Code. Maintained by Florian BRUNIAUX.
Related: Claude Code Guide : For developers
Privacy
Cowork sends prompts, files, and results to Anthropic servers.
| Plan | Retention | Training |
|---|---|---|
| Default | 5 years | Yes |
| Opt-out | 30 days | No |
| Enterprise | 0 | No |
Action: Disable training
Current Limitations (February 2026)
Platform: macOS and Windows
Known issues:
- VPN incompatible (VM routing conflict)
- Usage resets every 5 hours
- Pro: ~1-1.5h intensive use before limit
- OCR: ~97% fields, ~63% line items accuracy
Status: Research preview (expect bugs)
🤝 Contributing
Found an error? Have a workflow to share?
How to help: ⭐ Star the repo • 🐛 Report issues • 📝 Submit workflows
→ CONTRIBUTING.md | Open an issue
📄 License
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Follow: Releases | Discussions | LinkedIn
Version 1.12.0 | juillet 2026 | Part of Claude Code Ultimate Guide | Crafted with Claude