Claude Cowork Goes Cloud-Only on Pro and Max - The "Only on your computer" Setting Is Removed

Pro and Max subscribers using Claude Cowork can no longer choose to keep tasks on your own machine. An Anthropic help article states that from October 6, 2026, any Cowork task newly started on those plans executes in the cloud, and that the “Only on your computer” option under Settings > General has been taken out¹. Users who still had that option selected are switched to cloud execution the next time they launch the desktop app, with a notice shown at that point. No setup is required, and the change cannot be reversed.

The help article that explains how to use Cowork now contains a section titled “What changed for Pro and Max plans on October 6.” It covers what happens to tasks already running locally and points people who want local execution toward Claude Code.

What changed

Summarizing the help article, the changes for Pro and Max are as follows¹:

• All new sessions are cloud-based, regardless of whether they are started from desktop, web, or mobile
• There is no setting for picking where a task executes
• Users who had selected “Only on your computer” are moved over on their next desktop app launch, with no option to return

In the cloud, the work is carried out by Anthropic’s servers, not by the user’s machine, and the Claude account holds sessions and files. The benefits listed are that work carries on after a laptop is shut and that scheduled tasks fire even when no device is online.

The difference between the two execution environments is laid out in an architecture overview written for Enterprise admins, which says the setup it describes applies to every plan². In a local session, the agent loop runs directly on the user’s device, while shell commands and code that Claude writes execute inside an isolated VM on that device (Apple Virtualization.framework on macOS, Hyper-V on Windows). In a cloud session, both code execution and the agent loop move to a short-lived sandbox on infrastructure Anthropic manages. Each sandbox is set up at the start of a session and torn down at its end, and it shares no state with other sessions. By default it cannot reach the user’s internal network or private addresses.

Tasks started locally stay where they are

Work that was already underway before the switch is not moved to the cloud. Per the help article, tasks begun on your own computer before October 6 remain there, and you can continue them through to completion¹. Those tasks display a banner indicating that they execute only on that computer.

Scheduled tasks follow the same rule: ones already running on your machine continue to run there, and any newly created scheduled task runs in the cloud. The architecture overview likewise says that on Pro and Max, local sessions apply only to work begun on the device prior to that date, scheduled tasks included².

What happens to your folders and files

For anyone using Cowork for work, the key questions are where the files live and what gets sent to Anthropic’s servers.

According to the help article, the folders themselves remain on the user’s computer¹. Claude can reach only connected folders, its route to them is the desktop app, and access lasts only as long as that app is running. When a cloud task needs a file, Claude retrieves a copy of that single file, and deleting the session also deletes those retrieved copies under Anthropic’s data retention practices. Whether chats feed into model improvement is governed by the “Help improve our AI models” setting under Settings > Privacy.

The architecture overview, however, states plainly that in a cloud session the agent’s work is handled on Anthropic’s servers and does not stay on the device, and that this includes local files Claude opens via the desktop app². Folders staying on your machine and the contents of the files you work with being processed in the cloud are two separate things. If you were using Cowork on the condition that processing happens locally, this change removes that premise.

The dependence on the desktop app also remains. Reading local files, using local connectors, driving a browser, and controlling the computer all need the desktop app to be open, even when the session itself is cloud-hosted¹. With the app shut, the session carries on but cannot get to local files. Plugins or connectors that bundle a local MCP server likewise function only through the desktop app. If you have scheduled tasks that read or write files on your machine, this condition is worth checking.

The help article also notes that for a task that should neither draw on nor add to memory, you should switch “Memory” off from the ”+” menu ahead of starting it¹. When this site covered the topic in August, the explanation at the time was that memory sharing applied only to Cowork running in the cloud, and that locally run Cowork sessions did not use memory. For Pro and Max users who had chosen local execution, this ”+” menu setting is likely to become relevant from their next new task onward.

Claude Code for local execution

The help article recommends the desktop app’s Claude Code for new tasks that should run only on your own computer¹. Its description is that Claude Code operates on your machine and keeps both folders and history local.

It gives three steps for carrying an existing Cowork task over:

1. Open the task and choose “Download task data”
2. Extract the downloaded archive and open the resulting folder in Claude Code
3. Run /port-task-data to carry over the context so far

For a backup of all your data, there is an “Export your Cowork data” option on a card shown on the desktop home screen. The article also asks people who want to separate work and personal use of Claude to use different accounts, and says that shared logins are not supported.

Team and Enterprise help describes an organization-level switch

The “What changed” section of the help article, as its heading says, concerns the Pro and Max plans¹. The Team and Enterprise help article (updated October 5) explains that an owner can enable or disable cloud execution organization-wide through “Run Cowork in the cloud” under Organization settings > Cowork³. The default is on for Team and off for Enterprise; on Enterprise, an owner enables it and then grants the capability to groups through custom roles. The architecture overview also says organization settings can disable cloud sessions while keeping desktop Cowork’s local mode available².

A way to set the execution location at the organization level is described in the Team and Enterprise help, but Pro and Max have no setting for choosing where tasks run at all. If you have been doing work that internal rules require to be processed locally under a Pro or Max account, the options to look into are moving to Claude Code or checking an organizational plan and its admin settings.

Part of a broader shift to the cloud

On July 7, 2026, Cowork’s expansion to web and mobile was announced, introducing a setup where sessions follow you across devices and work keeps going with the laptop closed. As features built on cloud execution have kept arriving, this latest step for Pro and Max appears to be a reorganization in which local execution is taken out of Cowork and handed to Claude Code.

Tasks and scheduled tasks you started locally will keep running for now, so nothing stops immediately. But every new task will run in the cloud. If any of your workflows assumed local execution, it is worth separating whether that assumption is a real business requirement or just a preference, and if it is a requirement, reviewing the steps for moving to Claude Code.

Sources

1. Use Claude Cowork on web, desktop, and mobile - Anthropic Help Center (updated October 6, 2026)
2. Claude Cowork architecture overview - Anthropic Help Center (updated October 6, 2026)
3. Use Claude Cowork on Team and Enterprise plans - Anthropic Help Center (updated October 5, 2026)