Desktop app features
The Claude desktop app is a native application for macOS and Windows that brings Claude's full capabilities directly to your computer, integrating with your local filesystem, applications, and workflows. Unlike the web interface, the desktop app offers a multi-tab experience covering Chat, Cowork (agentic task automation), and Claude Code, allowing Claude to read and write local files, run background tasks in an isolated virtual machine, and connect to desktop apps like email, calendar, and messaging through installable extensions.
Cowork is the desktop app's standout agentic feature: it lets Claude handle complex, multi-step tasks autonomously in the background — such as processing batches of documents, generating reports, or running scheduled analyses — while you continue working elsewhere. The agent operates inside an isolated VM for security, with full access to local files and MCP integrations you grant it.
Desktop Extensions are installable packages (bundled MCP servers) that connect Claude to local apps and data sources with one click. Extensions are code-signed, store sensitive data like API keys in encrypted storage, and can be managed by Team and Enterprise admins. The app is available to all plan tiers, though Cowork and Claude Code require a paid plan.
When you’d use it
- ◆Research and Document Drafting — A writer uses the desktop app's Chat tab with filesystem access to pull in local notes and drafts, ask Claude to synthesize them, and output polished content — all without manually copying text into a browser.
- ◆Email and Calendar Management — A professional installs the email and calendar Desktop Extensions to let Claude summarize incoming messages, draft replies, flag scheduling conflicts, and prepare agendas from local calendar data.
- ◆Batch Document Processing — A financial analyst points Cowork at a folder of 40 unstructured PDF expense receipts, instructs it to extract vendor data, categorize expenses, and produce a formatted Excel file — then walks away while Claude completes the task in the background.
- ◆Scheduled Recurring Reports — A sales manager sets up a Cowork scheduled task to run every Monday morning, automatically reading the latest CSV sales data and generating a PowerPoint slide deck with revenue trends and forecasts, saved to a local reports folder.
- ◆Agentic Software Development — A developer opens a local project folder in the Claude Code tab, asks Claude to refactor authentication middleware, and reviews a visual side-by-side Git diff of proposed changes before approving them line by line — without leaving the app.
What changed recently
- ◆2026-05 — Claude Cowork became generally available on macOS and Windows through the Claude desktop app. Cowork brings agentic capabilities (previously limited to Claude Code) to general knowledge work, running in an isolated local VM with access to local files and MCP integrations.
- ◆2026-05 — Skills feature launched: Claude can now use Skills (folders containing instructions, scripts, and resources) to improve performance on specific tasks within Cowork.
- ◆2026-05 — Mobile task access added for Pro and Max plans: users can message Claude from iOS or Android to manage and receive results from Cowork tasks, bridging desktop and mobile.
- ◆2026-04-14 — Major desktop app redesign shipped: introduced multi-session sidebar, parallel background sessions, Git worktree isolation, visual diff review, and an integrated terminal file editor — repositioning the desktop app as a full agentic development environment.
This is the short version
The full chapter has three worked examples, the common pitfalls, and the workflow that makes it pay — plus the other 84 features, kept current.
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