Where the task runs and where files live
By the end, you will distinguish a cloud task from access to a local file. Examples do not show access to your account.
Separate execution location, storage location and permission to access. A cloud task may reach a local file through an open Desktop app. This does not mean the entire folder moved to the cloud, or that no cloud file copies exist.
Documentation checked on September 30, 2026 describes rollout and a future October 6 change for Pro and Max. Inspect your task. One account or old screenshot does not establish behavior for every plan.
Prepare a folder with copies only
Create cowork-practice with course-status.txt:
Fictional practice report
Unit 1: ready
Unit 2: under review
Unit 3: being edited
Publication date: not set
Do not connect all Downloads, customer folders or repositories containing secrets. Inspect access before connecting. Choose read-only if offered and sufficient. Keep original work outside the practice folder.
Request read-only work
Read only course-status.txt in the connected practice folder.
Return the status of the three units and missing details.
Do not edit, delete, move or create files. Do not enter another folder.
If access is unavailable, say so instead of guessing content.
Illustrative output:
Unit 1 is ready; Unit 2 is under review; Unit 3 is being edited.
The publication date is not set.
Compare with the file and inspect the folder for unrequested outputs. No modification is part of success.
Understand the Desktop bridge
The Cowork guide limits local access to connected folders and approved capabilities. The described cloud-to-local route requires Desktop to remain open and is tied to a task started in Desktop. Closing the app can leave cloud work running while removing local access.
Study the task screen and documentation after the exercise. Do not close the app during real writing merely to test a failure. Continued cloud execution does not guarantee access to the next local file.
Uploading is different: it provides a copy, not a live folder connection. Later source edits do not necessarily update the upload.
Create a separate output without damaging the source
After verifying read-only work:
Create course-summary-draft.txt in the practice folder if writing there is allowed.
Leave course-status.txt unchanged.
Include all three statuses and the unset publication date.
If local writing is unavailable, return text and state that no local file was saved.
Inspect the folder and open both files. Check the new destination and unchanged source. A file in Claude or a download link is not necessarily a file saved in the requested local folder.
Do not approve deletion or folder reorganization for a simple summary. A new destination needs a new check.
Future announcement and source limits
The official guide says that from October 6, 2026 new Pro and Max tasks will run in the cloud and Only on your computer will be removed. Existing local tasks remain local. It describes required files copied through Desktop while folders remain on the computer.
As of this chapter's verification date, that is future information. After the date, recheck the source and interface. Do not infer that local Code tasks or every plan change in the same way.
Scheduling documentation still uses differing local-folder wording. The scheduling exercise therefore starts with account-stored inputs rather than promising local access with the computer off. Conflicting documentation is a reason to verify, not guess.
Practice at three levels
Easy: read without changing
Read the report. Success: accurate summary and no created or modified file.
Intermediate: correct destination
Request a separate summary where writing is available. Success: new file exists, source is unchanged and the report accurately describes the destination.
Challenging: access map
Write down execution location, source location and what happens when Desktop is unavailable. Success: no assumption that cloud work always reaches every computer.
Troubleshooting and safe cleanup
No file access: check open app, connected folder and supported task route. Do not connect the entire disk.
Old summary: distinguish an uploaded copy from a current local file.
Wrong save location: inspect output destination and permissions. Download or copy after checking rather than claiming local writing succeeded.
Exposure concern: stop real-data use and inspect folders, account copies and permissions. A “local” label alone is not a privacy check.
Remove the practice-folder connection through the appropriate settings when no longer needed. Inspect remaining account and computer copies before cleanup.