Understanding your tools · Card 01
"Local" vs Cloud
in Cowork Mode
What does it mean when the sidebar says "Local"? And where does your data actually go?
Stored locally
Your project data
Projects, task history, and files live on your desktop machine. They do not sync to your Anthropic account, phone app, or other devices.
Goes to the web
The AI processing
Every prompt you send is still processed on Anthropic's servers. This is how the AI works — it's not running on your laptop.
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Both things are true at once. The processing goes out to the web — but the record of it stays on your desktop. This is an unusual setup compared to most cloud apps, where everything syncs everywhere.
What this means in practice
You won't see your Cowork projects if you open Claude on your phone or in a browser on another computer.
Your project data is tied to the specific installation of the desktop app on that machine.
The AI is not "offline" — it still requires an internet connection to process your requests.
Files you save to the workspace folder are accessible on your computer like any normal file — you can back them up, share them, or move them as needed.
Analogy
Think of it like using a desktop email client (like Outlook): your emails are downloaded and stored locally on your machine, but sending and receiving still goes through remote mail servers. The record lives with you; the processing happens elsewhere.