How to turn on Claude Cowork: where it is, Windows and Mac requirements and common errors

You pay for Claude, open the app and cannot find Cowork. Or you find it, but on Windows it will not work with your files. To turn on Claude Cowork today you need three things: a paid plan, knowing where the option ended up after Anthropic's latest changes and, if you want it to work with folders on your computer, a properly installed desktop app. In this guide you will find the requirements, the steps for each platform, what an admin needs to enable in a company and how to fix the most common Windows errors. Everything was checked against the official Claude help center on November 7, 2026.

The short answer

• Plan: Cowork is available on paid plans (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise). It is not on the free plan.
• Where it is: in the Claude message box, select Cowork. If you do not see the "Chat" and "Cowork" options, you already have the new experience and there is nothing to turn on.
• Local files: for Claude to work with folders on your computer you need the desktop app open. On Windows, you also need Virtual Machine Platform enabled and admin rights during installation.
• Companies: on Team and Enterprise it is on by default, but the organization owner can turn it off.

What you need before you start

Source: Get started with Claude Cowork, official Claude help center.

Where Cowork is in Claude

The steps are the same on the web, the desktop app and mobile:

1. Open Claude at claude.ai, in the desktop app or in the mobile app.
2. In the message box, select Cowork.
3. Describe the task you want done.
4. Review the plan Claude proposes and let it work.

If the "Chat" and "Cowork" options do not appear, it is not an error: Anthropic is merging both experiences and your account already has them combined. In the Claude in Chrome side panel, opening the panel starts a Cowork session directly.

What changed on October 6, 2026

Since October 6, 2026, new Cowork tasks on Pro, Max and Ultra plans run in the cloud, on Anthropic's servers, according to the official help article on web, desktop and mobile. On those plans there is no setting to choose where a task runs.

For you this changes two things:

• You can close your laptop and the task keeps going. Scheduled tasks run even when your device is off.
• Local files still depend on the desktop app. Claude only reaches folders you connected and only while the app is open. The same goes for browser use and computer use.

Many guides still describe Cowork as something that runs in a virtual machine on your computer. For new tasks on Pro, Max and Ultra that is no longer the case.

How to turn on Cowork on Windows, step by step

Windows is where almost all problems show up, because Cowork needs a system feature that is off by default. According to the official guide to deploy Claude Desktop on Windows:

1. Download the app from claude.com/download. There are installers for x64 and ARM64 devices.
2. Install it with admin rights. Without admin rights Claude still installs, but Cowork on desktop is not available.
3. Turn on Virtual Machine Platform. Search for "Turn Windows features on or off", check "Virtual Machine Platform" and confirm. On managed devices, IT can do it through PowerShell.
4. Restart using Restart, not Shut down. With Windows fast startup, shutting down and turning on again can leave the services uninitialized.
5. Open Claude, sign in and select Cowork.

If you use VMware or VirtualBox on the same computer, your technical team needs to confirm the Windows hypervisor launches automatically. And Cowork does not work inside virtual machines or remote desktops without nested virtualization.

Common Windows errors and how to fix them

A warning from the official help center: with error 0x80073CF6, the repair can delete local data from the previous app, such as settings and files saved only inside Cowork. Your chat history and your folders are not affected.

On Mac and Linux

On Mac you just download the app from claude.com/download, sign in and select Cowork in the message box. The official help center does not list extra system requirements for macOS. The Linux app is in beta.

If your company uses Team or Enterprise

According to the help article on using Cowork on Team and Enterprise:

• Cowork is on by default. The owner can turn it off for the whole organization in Organization settings > Cowork. In organizations with HIPAA enabled it is off.
• Cloud sessions have a separate control. On Team they are on and on Enterprise they are off by default.
• On Enterprise it can be enabled by group with custom roles.
• Network egress follows the settings in Capabilities > Code execution.

If someone in the company cannot see Cowork, the first step is to check this screen with the account owner.

First steps once it is on

1. Connect a working folder, not your whole drive. Cowork sees no files until you connect a folder.
2. Connect your tools (Drive, Gmail, Slack, your CRM) with connectors. If you need to connect your own systems, we explain it in how to connect Claude to your CRM or ERP with MCP.
3. Write global instructions in Cowork settings: tone, formats and your team's rules.
4. Start with approval permissions. Even in the most autonomous mode, Claude asks for confirmation before downloading, deleting or changing sharing permissions.

To understand which tasks are worth delegating, read our guide on what Claude Cowork is and how to use it in your company.

Conclusion

Turning on Claude Cowork is quick if you know what to check: a paid plan, the selector in the message box and, on Windows, Virtual Machine Platform plus an admin install. The part that takes more work comes next: connecting company tools, setting permissions and writing instructions so Cowork does real work.

At We make it Lab we run Claude implementations with connectors, Skills and permissions set up around your processes. If you want Cowork to work with your systems, message us on WhatsApp.

Sources

• Claude Help Center: Get started with Claude Cowork (checked on November 7, 2026)
• Claude Help Center: Use Claude Cowork on web, desktop, and mobile (checked on November 7, 2026)
• Claude Help Center: deploy Claude Desktop for Windows (checked on November 7, 2026)
• Claude Help Center: use Claude Cowork on Team and Enterprise plans (checked on November 7, 2026)