Claude Cowork Troubleshooting Guide
Encountering issues with your agentic tasks? Most problems can be resolved by checking app persistence, usage monitoring, or file permissions.
Resolving Agentic Workflow Disruptions
Experience seamless task automation by following our verified troubleshooting steps for common Cowork issues.
Issue: Claude stopped working on my task
Primary Cause: App Persistence Failure
Claude Cowork requires the Claude Desktop app to remain open throughout the entire task. If you close the app or your computer enters sleep mode, the virtual machine environment will shut down, ending the session immediately.
Recommended Solution:
"Adjust your macOS Energy Saver settings to prevent sleep during critical agentic operations."
Issue: Usage limits reached unexpectedly
Primary Cause: High Token Consumption in Agentic Mode
Because it involves complex sub-agent coordination and recursive file operations, Cowork consumes significantly more usage than standard chat.
Recommended Strategy:
- Use standard chat for simple brainstorming or drafting text.
- Reserve Cowork for complex, multi-step tasks that require local file system access.
Issue: Files not found in destination
Primary Cause: Incomplete File Permissions
Claude requires explicit system-level permission to access specific folders on your macOS device. If a task finishes but you don't see the output:
Verification Steps:
- Check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders.
- Review the final execution log from Claude for the specific output path.
Advanced Support for Cowork Users
If these steps do not resolve your issue, please check the official Claude Help Center for the latest agentic research preview updates.