Claude Cowork's local-only switch disappears October 6

From October 6, 2026, a Cowork task on a Pro or Max plan runs on Anthropic's servers, and when it needs a file from your laptop, it gets a copy of that one file through the desktop app. The details are in a Claude help center article, which also says the "Only on your computer" option in Settings > General will be removed.

At a glance

• On Pro and Max, every new Cowork task will start in the cloud, while tasks already running on your computer stay there and you can keep working on them until they are done.
• Your folders stay on your computer: Claude reaches only the folders you connected, through the open desktop app, and deletes its fetched file copies when you delete the session.
• The catch is that cloud Cowork is still in beta, and anyone who needs strictly local work is sent to Claude Code, where projects and scheduled tasks do not carry over.

If you have not been following, Cowork started, according to VentureBeat, as a research preview for Max subscribers in the macOS desktop app, pointed at a folder on your machine, and grew out of people using Claude Code for non-coding work. According to Digitalapplied, on July 7, 2026 Anthropic announced Cowork on web and mobile in beta, Max first, running as remote sessions on Anthropic's servers.

On October 6, new Pro and Max tasks start in the cloud and the local option disappears

The date is October 6, 2026, and the change covers Pro and Max plans. From then on, new Cowork tasks run in the cloud, and the Only on your computer option is removed from Settings > General. Anthropic says there is nothing you need to set up.

Work in progress stays where it is. Tasks you already started on your computer remain there, and you can finish them. Each one shows a note at the top with a button that downloads its transcript, in case you want to continue that work in Claude Code.

Scheduled tasks follow the new default. They move to the cloud as well, including the ones that use files on your computer, and those still need the desktop app open to run.

Cloud Cowork is in beta, and local files, browser use and computer use carry asterisks outside desktop

The cloud version is labelled beta, and the help article admits some features aren't available yet. According to its table, you can start, steer and review tasks, resume a session from another surface, and use connectors, skills and plugins, file previews, scheduled tasks and projects on desktop, web and mobile.

The gaps are in the fine print. Live artifacts created before August 19, 2026 appear only in the desktop column, and newer artifacts work on more surfaces. Local file access, browser use and computer use carry an asterisk on web and mobile. They reach things on your computer, so they need the Claude Desktop app open even when the session runs in the cloud.

Sessions follow your account, so you can switch surfaces mid-task. Anthropic's example: start a task in the Chrome side panel while looking at a dashboard, then pick it up on desktop to work with the downloaded files. When Claude finishes or needs your input, your phone gets a notification.

Claude sees only the folders you connect, and only while the desktop app is open

The work runs on Anthropic's servers, and sessions and files are saved to your Claude account. Your folders stay on your computer. Claude reaches only the ones you've connected, through the desktop app, and only while that app is open.

When a task needs a file, Claude fetches a copy of just that file. Picture a librarian who photocopies the one page you asked for and leaves the shelf in place. When you delete the session, the copies go with it, under Anthropic's data retention practices. Training use follows the Help improve our AI models setting in Settings > Privacy.

According to Lab Space, the Cloud Security Alliance's research site, local Cowork isolated each session in a full virtual machine on the host's hypervisor. Lab Space also reports that on July 23, 2026 Oren Yomtov of Accomplish AI published SharedRoot, a sandbox escape from that VM to the host Mac filesystem. Anthropic rated it Informative and has not fixed it for local execution, while the cloud default avoids that path.

Claude Code is the route for work that has to stay on one machine

For work that has to stay on one machine, the help article points to Claude Code in the desktop app, which runs on your computer and keeps your folders and history there. To bring past work along, download a task's transcript from its note, or your full Cowork history from the notice in the app, and open it in Claude Code.

Two things do not make the trip: your projects and your scheduled tasks. The same page adds that if you use Claude at work and at home and want to keep them apart, you should use a separate account for each, since shared logins aren't supported.

The help page leaves some gaps. It gives no date for cloud Cowork leaving beta, and the source text does not explain what the asterisks on web and mobile mean. In our view, scheduled tasks lose the most: they move to the cloud yet still need the desktop app open when they touch local files, and they cannot come along to Claude Code.

Six days before the switch

Until October 6, 2026, Pro and Max users still have the Only on your computer option in Settings > General. After that date, local tasks already underway can be finished, each with its transcript download button. No date has been given for cloud Cowork to leave beta, and this page does not say whether Team and Enterprise plans follow the same schedule. Those plans are covered in a separate help article.