Most people open Cowork, stare at a blank box and close it. The difference between that and an assistant that knows your work is about eight setup steps. This walkthrough clicks through each one, with RevOps-flavored examples and the guardrails we use at JayOh.
Illustrative recreation of the Claude Cowork desktop app with fictional sample data. Not the actual product; screens and labels can change as Cowork ships updates.
Workspace, first task, instructions, memory, connectors, folder structure, plugins, schedules.
One folder Cowork works in. Anything Claude should touch goes inside; everything else stays out.
Try a tidy-up, add corrections mid-run and watch the Progress panel.
Who you are, tone, safety rules and the files to always read, applied to every session.
Three files that give every session context, voice and continuity.
Add connectors and set each tool to allow, ask or block; drafts yes, sends no.
Finished files in outputs, per-project brief and memory in projects.
Pick a role plugin and customize it for your company.
Instructions, connectors and context on a timer, with history and granted permissions visible.
We roll Cowork out to revenue teams with shared instructions, scoped connectors and a starter skill library. As an Anthropic partner we also handle the governance side; see JayOh, Claude partner.
Short answers before you set this up.
Install the Claude desktop app on a paid plan, open the Cowork tab, create one workspace folder, write global instructions, add about-me and memory files, connect your apps with scoped permissions, then add projects, plugins and scheduled tasks as you need them.
Rules Claude reads at the start of every Cowork session. Use them for who you are, how you want answers and safety rules such as never deleting, sending or publishing without checking with you.
Projects have memory, and you can keep a memory.md file that Claude appends to after each session. Point your global instructions at it so every new session reads it first.
Cowork runs in the Claude desktop app on Mac or Windows on a paid plan. It works on folders you grant it on your computer, can use connectors to apps like Gmail, Google Drive, Slack and HubSpot, and can control a browser or desktop apps when you allow it. The website is Chat, not Cowork.
More Claude walkthroughs and guides from JayOh.
JayOh sets up Claude for revenue teams: shared instructions, connector policy, skills and schedules, done once and done right.
We engineer growth systems. JayOh builds the RevOps architecture, GTM execution and data infrastructure that turn messy revenue operations into predictable pipeline for B2B SaaS and PE-backed teams.
