Scheduled tasks in Claude Cowork save a prompt as instructions and run it on a cadence you choose. They are available on paid plans only. Tasks run remotely, so they keep going when your computer sleeps, but any task that needs local files or apps runs only on your computer.
What a scheduled task is
Per Anthropic's help article, you describe a task once and Claude saves the prompt as the task's instructions. A scheduled task can use the same connectors, skills and plugins as a regular Cowork task. Typical uses listed there include daily briefings, weekly reports, recurring research, file organization and team status updates.
Each run is its own Cowork session, and you review the result when it is ready.
Plans and where they run
Scheduled tasks are on all paid plans: Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Cowork itself is on desktop for all paid plans, and on web and mobile for Pro and Max. For Team, web and mobile are in beta, and for Enterprise they depend on an owner enabling them.
The article also notes a change: Pro and Max tasks created before October 6 that run on your computer continue to run there. The remote versus local split matters for planning. A morning briefing built from connectors can run in the cloud. A task that renames files in a folder on your laptop cannot.
Frequencies and settings
Available cadences are hourly, daily, weekly, weekdays, or manual. Setting a task up by hand asks for a name, a prompt, an approval mode, a frequency, and optionally a model and a folder. The help article says approval mode is required but does not explain the options on that page, so check the in-product wording before relying on a setting.
Three ways to create one
- Describe the task and its frequency in any conversation, answer Claude's questions, review the proposed name, schedule and instructions, then choose Schedule.
- Use New task on the Scheduled tasks page and let Claude build it.
- Set it up manually and fill in each field.
From the Scheduled sidebar you can review upcoming and past runs, edit instructions or cadence, pause, resume, delete, or run a task on demand.
What the page does not say
The article states no usage or run limits. Cowork's own help page warns that multi-step tasks use much more of your plan allowance than quick questions, so a task that runs hourly can add up. Check Settings, then Usage, after a few days.
For Team and Enterprise, admins control Cowork access with a toggle, so a missing Scheduled sidebar may be a policy choice.
Writing a good scheduled prompt
Because nobody is watching a run, write the prompt so it stands alone: name the sources, define what done looks like, and say what to do when data is missing. Review the first few runs before you trust the output.
If scheduled tasks pull from code repositories, gold.safeguard.sh/scan offers a free dependency scan from Safeguard.
Quick check
Will a scheduled task run if my laptop is closed?
Yes for tasks that run remotely. Tasks that need local files or apps run only on your computer.
Which plans have scheduled tasks?
Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, according to the help article.
Sources
- Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork (Claude Help Center)
- Get started with Claude Cowork (Claude Help Center)
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
