Set up a project folder in Claude Cowork
Attach a folder on your computer to a Cowork project so each task starts with its files and instructions.
You’ll need the latest Claude Desktop on Mac or Windows and a paid Claude plan. Cowork is the part of Claude that carries out multi-step work with your files. This walkthrough uses a folder already on your computer.
Outcome
A saved Cowork project attached to This Project, with its files and instructions checked.
Member starter
Members onlyStart with your agent
Copy the directions into Claude Cowork. Your agent can help with the setup; the steps below explain what to do and what to check.
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How it works
If your workshop notes, outline, and exercises already live in a folder, Claude Cowork can work with them there. A project pairs that folder with instructions Claude reuses in every task, such as where to save drafts and which originals to leave alone.
You choose the folder, review what access Claude gets, and add a few instructions. Then you ask Claude to list the files, which confirms the project uses the right folder before anything changes. Keep Claude Desktop open while Cowork needs those local files.
Attach your project folder and verify Claude can read it
01 Open Projects in Cowork
A Cowork project pairs a folder with instructions Claude reuses. You start one from the Projects list.
Open Claude Desktop. If you see separate Chat and Cowork options, choose
Cowork. OpenProjectsand select the + button.Check: The project options appear, including
Use an existing folder.If you cannot find
Projects, update Claude Desktop to the latest version.02 Choose the folder for this work
Claude can use everything in the folder you pick. For a workshop, pick its notes and exercises folder, not a parent folder that also holds unrelated work.
Choose
Use an existing folderand select the folder for this work.Check: The selected folder contains the files you intended to share.
Check the folder’s contents if you have several folders with similar names.
03 Review the requested folder access
Folder access lets Claude read, edit, and permanently delete files in that folder, though it asks before any permanent delete. Check exactly which folder you are granting, especially when nearby folders hold unrelated material.
Check the folder named in the access dialog before approving. If it is wrong, cancel and select the intended folder.
Check: The approved access matches the folder for this work.
Ask Claude to explain any permission you do not understand before you approve it. Follow your organization’s rules for work files.
04 Add instructions you want reused
Instructions saved with the project apply to every task in it (each new request you start inside the project), so you state a preference once instead of in each request. For example: “Save new workshop drafts in Drafts and leave Originals unchanged.”
Name the project, choose where to save it if asked, and add your instructions: what to read, where to save work, and what to leave alone.
Check: The instructions describe how you want this folder used.
Start with a few instructions this project needs, then refine them after you test a task.
05 Create the project and check its files
Confirm Claude sees the right folder before it changes anything. A file list tests the setup without editing; compare it with the folder on your computer.
Review the folder and instructions, then click
Create. Start a task inside the project and ask Claude to list the files directly inside the folder without changing them.Check: The file names match your selected folder.
If files are missing, check the selected folder and access before trying an editing task.
06 Return to the project for the next task
For related work, start from the saved project so the new task gets its folder and instructions. A task started elsewhere may not have them, even on the same subject.
Select the project in the sidebar to start a new task, then ask Claude which files it would use for your next request.
Check: The new task starts with the project’s folder and instructions.
Review important file changes even when the project is already set up.
Understanding
Where your project lives and where Claude works
A project made from an existing folder stays on your computer, but that does not mean all of Claude’s processing happens there. Claude reaches your folder through the desktop app, so keep Claude Desktop open while a task needs the files. Projects created in Cowork without an existing folder save to your Claude account instead.
If you get stuck
Claude shows the wrong folder name under the message box.
Open the project’s settings and replace that folder with the folder for this work.
The permission dialog names a folder with more files than you want Claude to access.
Cancel and select a narrower folder. Claude can read, edit, and delete files inside any folder you approve.
You want Cowork to use material saved in a Claude chat project.
A chat project is a project made in regular Claude chat that holds files and instructions for conversations. Keep shared online material there, then link it from your Cowork project’s settings. The two projects stay separate.
The project does not appear in the sidebar after Create.
Return to Projects in Cowork. If the Create button was grayed out, the project was not saved; fill in the name and folder and click Create again. Otherwise, search for the name you entered.
Sources and further reading
Official sources and check dates
The dates below show when each official source was checked against the steps on this page.