Claude adds Projects to Cowork desktop with local folders and one-click imports

• Anthropic has rolled Projects in Cowork into the Claude desktop app, adding a project workspace that keeps "tasks and context in one place" while storing files and instructions locally on the machine.
• The new flow is more than a chat label: the create-project menu shows options to start from scratch, import from an existing chat project, or point Cowork at an existing folder.
• Early pre-release footage from the leaked demo also showed a dedicated local folder and project-specific scheduled tasks, suggesting Cowork projects are meant for ongoing, stateful work rather than one-off prompts.
• Availability is tied to the desktop app: Anthropic's download post says users need to update or install Claude desktop, while practitioner feedback in an early reply suggests folder-location flexibility may still matter for real workflows.

Anthropic's launch post says Projects are now live in Cowork and are meant to keep work "focused on one area" with files and instructions that "stay on your computer." That makes this a desktop-first workspace primitive for persistent context, not just another prompt preset.

The UI screenshot adds the missing implementation detail. Creating a project can mean three different setup paths: "Start from scratch," "Import from chat," or "Use an existing folder." The same screen says projects help Claude "remember how you work," which implies persistent instructions plus file-backed context across tasks inside a named workspace.

Before the official rollout, TestingCatalog's demo showed a Projects tab, a per-project "Local Folder," and a section for project-specific scheduled tasks. That combination matters for engineers because it points to a longer-running workflow model: local files as the source of truth, persistent instructions inside the project, and recurring work attached to that scope.

A separate follow-up clip showed Projects in the sidebar with a document called "Agent Workflow," reinforcing that Anthropic is building a dedicated layer around ongoing work rather than a temporary session view. Anthropic also says in the install post that users can update or download the desktop app to try it, with the app available via Claude download.

The clearest limitation in the rollout discussion came from an early user reply, which said, "Once I can point Cowork to non home directories I'll be able to use this." TestingCatalog answered in the thread reply, "That would be it," suggesting directory selection is a real practical constraint for some setups.

Anthropic also appears to be tuning the desktop experience around the launch. In a staff post, Boris Cherny said "Desktop and [the web app] should be feeling faster," which frames Projects as part of a broader push to make Cowork usable as an everyday environment rather than an experimental side feature.