Your first task

Enough theory. Let's run something. The whole first-run flow takes about a minute.

The five steps

1. Open the Claude desktop app. If you don't have it, grab it from claude.com/download.
2. Find the mode selector and click Cowork. This opens your Tasks view.
3. Describe your task in plain language in the input box.
4. Review the plan Claude shows you.
5. Let it run, and stay nearby to nudge it.

Connect a folder first

Cowork can only touch folders you explicitly connect: it can't wander your whole computer. So point it at the one folder this task is about. Nothing outside that folder is in play.

Start small and low-stakes. A great beginner task is tidying up a Downloads folder:

Here's my Downloads folder. Sort everything into subfolders by type — images, PDFs, installers, and archives. Put anything you're unsure about in a folder called "To review."

What you'll see

Claude reads what's in the folder, then lays out a plan: the subfolders it'll create and how it'll sort things. You approve, and it goes to work, moving files while you watch each step tick off.

Pick a folder where a little rearranging is safe: not the one holding your only copy of anything important.

That's it. You just handed off real work and got a real result: no commands, no code.

Next: how plans, approval, and steering keep you in control.