🌐 Languages: English | Français
Complete guide to Claude's desktop assistant for knowledge workers and small businesses. Invoices, quotes, follow-ups, prospecting — automated without coding.
Settings → Features → Enable Cowork → Grant folder access
mkdir -p ~/Cowork-Workspace/{input,output}
# Add files to input/, then:"Organize the files in ~/Cowork-Workspace/input/ by type"
- 📋 Cheatsheet — Print this
- 📖 Complete guide — 10 min
Prerequisites
- Subscription: Pro ($20/mo) or Max ($100-200/mo)
- Platform: macOS and Windows
- App: Claude Desktop (latest version)
The problem: Official docs are dense. Tutorials get outdated quickly. You need ready-to-use workflows, not feature lists.
This guide: 28 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
Claude Code is the guide for developers — same AI, terminal interface, code execution.
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)
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Complete Capabilities — Feature matrix
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All Workflows — 28 step-by-step guides
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Troubleshooting — Error resolution
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FAQ — 20+ questions
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Advanced Prompts — Research and synthesis
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Glossary — Terminology
| 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 |
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.
📋 Administrative (6)
- 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
💼 Sales & Marketing (5)
- Prospect Research — Company data, decision makers
- 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 (6)
- 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 (6)
- 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 |
- 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.
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
Found an error? Have a workflow to share?
How to help: ⭐ Star the repo • 🐛 Report issues • 📝 Submit workflows
→ CONTRIBUTING.md | Open an issue
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Follow: Releases | Discussions | LinkedIn
Version 1.5.0 | February 2026 | Part of Claude Code Ultimate Guide | Crafted with Claude