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Cowork setup

Claude Cowork is Claude's desktop agent. It works inside a folder on your computer — reading files, writing documents, and taking action across your apps. It's the shift from "chatbot you paste things into" to "AI that sits alongside your actual work."

This page walks you through setup in 20–30 minutes.

What you need​

  • Claude desktop app (Mac or Windows) — claude.ai/download
  • Claude Max subscription (£90/month, not the standard Pro plan) — Cowork requires this tier
  • A folder on your computer where Cowork will live
  • 20–30 minutes

Folder structure​

This is the structure we use with every client. It's flat, deliberate, and built around how senior teams actually work.

Cowork/
├── README.md                  ← what this workspace is, how to use it
├── claude.md                  ← standing instructions for Claude
├── about-me.md                ← who you are, your business, current focus
├── working-style.md           ← how you want Claude to work with you
├── tone-of-voice.md           ← your writing style guide
├── tone-of-voice-examples/    ← real examples of your writing
├── clients/                   ← one file per client or account
├── projects/                  ← one folder per active project
└── finance/                   ← financial data, P&L, models, dashboards

Five markdown files at the root. Four purpose-built folders. Nothing else.

Get a head start: download the starter folder​

We've made the whole folder structure available on Google Drive, with placeholder files for every markdown file pre-populated with prompts and questions to fill out.

→ Download the Cowork starter folder

To use it:

  1. Open the link above
  2. Click File → Make a copy (or download the whole folder to your machine)
  3. Save it somewhere sensible (Desktop or Documents is fine)
  4. In the Claude desktop app, point Cowork at this folder
note

Cowork can only read folders you own. If you're using Drive, you must make a copy to your own Drive first. If you'd rather work locally, download the folder and save it anywhere on your computer.

What goes in each file​

README.md​

A short overview of what this workspace is. One paragraph. You'll rarely touch it after setup, but it's helpful when sharing the workspace with a teammate or assistant.

claude.md (the most important file)​

Your standing instructions. Read by Claude before every task. Things like:

  • Tone preferences ("write like I do, not like a consultancy")
  • Format defaults ("default to bullet points unless the task is conversational")
  • Things to always do ("always cite sources for stats")
  • Things to never do ("never use em dashes")
  • How to handle ambiguity ("ask before guessing on anything client-facing")

If you find yourself explaining the same thing to Claude twice, it belongs in claude.md.

about-me.md​

Who you are and what you do. Your role, your business, your current quarterly focus, who your customers are, what you sell, who your competitors are. Aim for one page. This file changes maybe once a quarter.

working-style.md​

How you want Claude to work with you. This is different from claude.md. Examples:

  • Do you want Claude to ask clarifying questions before starting, or just go?
  • Plan-first or execute-first?
  • Long detailed answers or terse ones?
  • When stuck, ask or guess?

tone-of-voice.md​

Your writing style guide. Generated from your own writing — see the setup prompt below.

tone-of-voice-examples/​

A folder of 5–15 examples of your actual writing: emails, LinkedIn posts, proposals. Claude reads these to ground its tone work in real samples, not just descriptions.

clients/​

One markdown file per client (or account, or partner). Each file: who they are, your relationship history, current state of play, key contacts, anything Claude should know before drafting anything for them.

projects/​

One folder per active project. Inside each folder: a brief.md with the goal, plus any source material — meeting transcripts, emails, briefs, source documents.

finance/​

Financial context: P&L, cashflow models, sales dashboards, anything you'd want Claude to reason over when answering business questions. Sensitive — keep this folder local rather than in shared Drive if you're working with confidential numbers.

The setup prompt​

Once you've downloaded the folder and pointed Cowork at it, paste this prompt to fill out your files in one sitting. It interviews you across all five markdown files and writes them.

We're going to set up my Cowork workspace. I want you to interview me
to fill out five files: claude.md, about-me.md, working-style.md,
tone-of-voice.md, and README.md.

Process:
1. Ask me up to 5 questions per file, one file at a time.
2. After my answers, draft the file and save it to the workspace.
3. Show me the draft, ask if I want to refine, then move on.
4. For tone-of-voice.md, after you've drafted it from my answers,
   read my last 60 sent emails (Gmail connector) and revise the file
   based on what you actually find in my writing.

Start with claude.md.

Global instructions​

In Claude desktop settings, add this as a global instruction:

Before every task, read my claude.md, about-me.md, and working-style.md files. Treat them as authoritative for tone, format, and how to work with me.

This ensures Claude pulls context every session, even when starting a new chat.

tip

Start small. One about-me.md and one project folder is enough for the first week. Add the rest as you find yourself needing them. Don't try to populate everything before you start using it.