Scheduled tasks, Dispatch, and Computer Use

Most people use Cowork reactively — open it, run a task, review the output, close it. The advanced users use it proactively. Their workflows run on a schedule, queue from a phone, and navigate web apps without them sitting at a keyboard. This lesson covers the three capabilities that make that possible: /schedule, Dispatch, and Computer Use.

/schedule

Type /schedule in any Cowork task to convert it into a recurring job. A configuration dialog walks you through the schedule — daily, weekly, specific days and times. Once saved, the task appears in the Scheduled sidebar in Claude Desktop, where you can view, pause, edit, or delete it.

Any Cowork task can be scheduled. The simple ones are as valuable as the elaborate ones: a Friday afternoon competitive sweep, a Monday inbox triage brief, a monthly project status summary. The overhead of setting up a schedule is low; the cumulative time saved is high.

The crucial constraint: scheduled tasks only run while your computer is awake and Claude Desktop is open. The task fires at the scheduled time only if both conditions are met. Closed laptop, suspended machine, or a closed app means the task skips — it does not queue for later.

The three workarounds:

• Schedule during work hours. If your machine is already open when the task fires, there's no problem. A 9am Monday brief works fine if you're at your desk before 9am.
• Always-on desktop or mini-PC. A machine that never sleeps, running Claude Desktop continuously. Tasks fire reliably.
• Cloud VM. An Azure, AWS, or DigitalOcean instance running Windows or macOS with Claude Desktop installed — approximately $10–15/month. The cleanest solution if you don't have dedicated hardware.

Dispatch

Dispatch pairs Claude mobile with your desktop via QR code. Once paired:

• You can queue Cowork tasks from your phone
• Your desktop executes those tasks while you're away
• Results come back to the same conversation on your phone

The practical version: before you leave for your commute, open Claude on your phone and queue the tasks you want done by the time you reach your desk. Walk in, open your laptop, and the deliverables are in out/ waiting for you.

This inverts the typical workflow. Instead of sitting down, deciding what to run, and waiting for Cowork to finish — you decide on the move, queue it, and walk into a finished result. The desktop does the work while you're in transit.

Dispatch tasks draw on the same skills, context files, and folder structure as tasks you run directly in Claude Desktop. The execution is identical; only the queueing mechanism changes.

Computer Use

Computer Use gives Claude access to Chrome — it can click, type, scroll, and navigate web apps. Combined with Cowork's file access and task execution, this means Cowork can interact with web-based tools that don't have direct connector integrations.

The preference order matters: Cowork prefers connectors over browser over screen. Connectors are more reliable, faster, and require less permission overhead. Browser is second. Screen (full computer control) is last because it's the least precise — pixel-level interactions are more fragile than structured API calls. Only use Computer Use for web tasks when no connector exists.

Practical use cases:

• Unsubscribing from newsletters — navigate to each sender's unsubscribe page, click through the confirmation
• Filling web forms — submit data to tools without APIs
• Competitor site navigation — read competitor landing pages, pricing pages, and documentation for a competitive audit
• Booking workflows — interact with booking systems that don't expose calendar integrations

Permission model: Cowork asks for permission before accessing each app or site. It cannot silently access services you haven't approved in that session. The permission is scoped per app — approving access to a competitor's website doesn't grant access to your banking portal.

When to use which

| Need | Use | |---|---| | Recurring structured data from connected services | Connector (calendar, email, Slack, Notion) | | Recurring task on a schedule | /schedule | | Queue tasks away from your desk | Dispatch | | Web interaction without a connector | Computer Use (browser) | | Full computer control (last resort) | Computer Use (screen) |

The choice isn't always obvious at first. The practical rule: use the most reliable mechanism available. If a connector exists, use it. If not, use the browser. Only use screen when the browser isn't sufficient.