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Anthropic Releases Claude Cowork, an Autonomous File-Aware Assistant in Mac Research Preview

Anthropic says multiple Claude instances built most of the tool in about ten days to extend agent capabilities to non‑developers.

Overview

  • Claude Cowork is available as a research preview to Claude Max subscribers on macOS.
  • The assistant can be granted access to a chosen folder to read, edit, and create files, with task queues and parallel execution for greater autonomy.
  • Anthropic’s team reports the codebase was written almost entirely by Claude, with staff guiding architecture and direction.
  • The first version was produced in roughly a week and a half through parallel work by multiple Claude instances.
  • Anthropic labels the release an early alpha and warns that file operations can be destructive if instructed, urging precise user directions, while positioning the tool as a more approachable alternative to Claude Code noted by industry observers.