Working with Claude - CoWork

This brings me to my third article in this series about Claude. Now, there is no way in a simple blog post to explain something as broad as generative AI. Having said, that you have to start somewhere, so this is more about helping you find a footing with these tools and these modes.

Progression

We started with general chat, which most people use for finding answers. Then we started to talk about projects. Projects are powerful because you can add resources (documents) the AI can use for reference and you can prime the AI with a standing prompt that it will use for each subsequent chat in the same project. So the combination of chat histories, resources, and the prompt create a very cool container for work.

However, there is one limitation to Projects - the work is largely abstract. Yes, the AI can generate some documents (artifacts), that you can save, or publish. However… what if… the AI could work with and create documents directly on your computer?

Welcome to CoWork.

CoWork

Cowork is yet again different from General Chat, and Projects in several important ways.

1. It is task oriented.
2. Each conversation acts like its own container
3. It can work with files on your computer

Rather than try to explain this, let me give you some examples:

Examples

Here are the first three prompts I sent to my general Chat:

who is charles bolg? he talks about community?

is there a setting on the ipad to control the font? when text appears italics it is incredibly tiny and offset, almost like it's a subscript or footnote, not italic text.

I am trying to use blink shell and claude on my ipad with windows but I can't seem to figure out the window controls.

Every single one of those “general” chats started with a question. I needed/wanted an answer. The conversations for the most part were short (The author’s name is Charles Vogl by the way, love how Claude figured out who I was talking about.)

My most recent Project Chats are different. They started like this:

Side note - I started reading "Paul and the Person" by Susan Eastman, and she makes a comment about it being a "Narrow Text" - reminds me of our conversations... oh it's just a chat... and 20,000 words later...

what are the steps for setting up ssh to a remove server for automatic login? I forgot to set up my laptop with those keys and now I find myself needing to reach my mac mini - which... I may not be able to because I'm probably not running tailwind. That sucks. But I certainly can reach a digital ocean droplet from anywhere in the world. What are the steps?

I need to write a document I can share with a friend about all the ways organizations hire speakers and facilitators. Can I give you a list of what I know and then you frame it out into an markdown document (I can turn into google doc with paste markdown) to share with her?

These prompts are categorically different from the general chat prompts because they are designed to start conversations. More than answer a question… in the first one

1. I want to talk about a theologically dense text I am reading. Conversation helps consolidate learning. I am not “asking a question” expecting an answer. I am turning to Claude to have an interesting conversation about something that is meaningful and important to me. WARNING: These kinds of conversations are like Catnip for the curious mind.
2. The second request, I have set Claude up in this project to be an IT expert. I am asking him to guide me through a series of steps that I will need to execute to perform some work. He is coaching me in real time to extend my capability and capacity. NOTE: This is not work the agent can do directly in this application, nor would I want him to do because it involves setting up system access.
3. I want the agent’s help creating a useful document, which involves me rambling/brain-dumping everything I know about a topic into otter.ai, then together Claude and I shape it into a useful document I can share with someone else. NOTE: I work with markdown to move ideas and structured content from Claude to another system like google docs.

The one thing these two examples have in common? For the most part, the work happens inside the Claude application. I copy and paste text into a terminal window, or another document.

Cowork is different.

I have absolutely not explored all the power in Cowork. Full stop. The feature I use the most is New Task, but Cowork also contains Projects, and Scheduled, and Live Artifacts and Dispatch and Customize.

What I use the most often is New Task and that’s what I’m going to talk about, but there is a super power lurking in Customize… which I will write about in an upcoming article.

So what is an example of a Cowork prompt?

Now we are about to start cooking with gas…

There is a file in this folder (the Area - Rymare folder), called dex_contacts.csv. I would like your help creating a python script. What I want the script create markdown files for every contact using the PeopleCard template write it into my Obsidian Vault.

In addition to this prompt, I added the folder where my Obsidian Vault resides and the downloads folder where the dex_context.csv is. This again, is categorically different from asking Claude to answer a question, or start a conversation to help improve my understanding, or walk me through a series of steps I need to take to complete some work.

In Cowork, Claude is going to tackle a tedious job and my systems will be different and materially improved after this “task” is finished.

When you enter cowork, Claude literally becomes your coworker.

And here are some of the tasks I have asked him to do for me.

1. Fix a theme in my Obsidian Vault so my task lists render correctly.
2. Create product offering flyers I can hand out a conference
3. Debug an n8n workflow that is acting up.

I could go on and on, but I largely use Cowork to… well perform actual work. Something I would have needed a programmer, or an assistant to do. Is this starting to give you ideas beyond simply asking questions in General Chat?

Summary

Cowork is a powerful mode that turns Claude into a partner, someone working along side you doing work on your computer, with your documents at your direction.

Try this Prompt in Claude:

Can you explain cowork to me? How does it differ from general chat and projects?  How do cowork projects differ from Chat projects?  What are some things you can do for me in Cowork mode?

Have fun, Chat soon.

Scott