Claude Cowork

Cowork is where Claude stops being a chatbot and becomes an agent. In regular Claude chat, you type a request and get a response. In Cowork, you point Claude at a folder on your computer and it works through it independently: reading files, editing drafts, creating new documents, running multi-step tasks from start to finish.

What makes Cowork different

In chat, Claude forgets everything when the session ends. In Cowork, your folder is the memory. A file called CLAUDE.md tells Claude what to read at the start of every session. Your context files fill it in on who you are, how you write, and what Adam Bike is about.

What Cowork can do:

• Read, edit, and create files in your folder
• Produce real output files, not just chat responses
• Use AskUserQuestion to check in with you mid-task
• Work through multi-step tasks without you prompting each step
• Keep your Adam Bike context loaded every single session

Set up your workspace in 3 steps

Step 1: Download Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop is the app that gives you access to Cowork. The web version of Claude does not have it.

• Download from: claude.ai/download
• Available for macOS and Windows
• Takes about 2 minutes to install

Step 2: Open Cowork and select your folder

In Claude Desktop, click the Cowork tab. Click “Select Folder” and choose the folder you want to work in. This becomes your workspace. Create a new folder for this if you want a clean start.

Contains your folder structure, pre-filled context templates, and a setup prompt. Claude fills in the personal details through an interview. You do not need to edit any file manually.

Step 3: Let Claude interview you

Paste the startprompt below into Cowork. Claude will ask you questions and fill in your context files automatically.

Your workspace structure

Once set up, your folder looks like this:

CLAUDE WORKSPACE (your folder)
├── CLAUDE.md              <- bootstrap: tells Claude what to read
├── 00_Context/
│   ├── about-me.md        <- who you are, your role, your priorities
│   ├── voice-and-style.md <- how you write, your tone of voice
│   └── working-rules.md   <- how you work with Claude
└── Projects/
    └── [project name]/
        └── brief.md

You do not need to fill these files manually. Use the startprompt below and Claude interviews you step by step.

Startprompt: let Claude set you up

Copy this into Cowork to create your about-me.md context file:

Repeat this pattern for voice-and-style.md and working-rules.md. Each file takes about 5 minutes to build through the interview.

CLAUDE.md: the key to every session

CLAUDE.md is the bootstrap file. It sits in the root of your workspace and tells Claude what to read every time a session starts. Without it, Claude starts blank. With it, Claude starts knowing who you are.

A simple CLAUDE.md looks like this:

# My Workspace

Read these files at the start of every session:
1. 00_Context/about-me.md
2. 00_Context/voice-and-style.md
3. 00_Context/working-rules.md

That is it. Three lines of instruction. The context files do the heavy lifting.

Prompts for Adam Bike

Once your workspace is set up, try these:

Global Instructions

Alongside your context files, Cowork has a second layer: Global Instructions. These apply to every session and every mode, not just your Cowork folder.

Find them in: Claude Desktop → Settings → Global Instructions.

Recommended for Adam Bike:

- Read 00_Context/ at the start of every session before doing anything else
- Always write in English
- Ask a clarifying question before starting any task that will take more than 5 minutes
- When you finish a task, summarize what you did in 3 bullet points
- Never delete or overwrite files without explicit confirmation