You’re on the train, and you remember: that sales data still needs summarising before tomorrow’s meeting. Normally, you’d make a mental note and forget about it. With Dispatch, you open the Claude app on your phone, type “Summarise the sales data from Q1 and create a chart of revenue per month”, and by the time you get home, the report is sitting in your folder.
Dispatch is a bridge between the Claude mobile app and Claude Desktop. You send instructions from your phone; Claude executes them on your computer. One persistent conversation, two devices.
How it works
The concept is straightforward. Your phone sends the instruction; your desktop does the work.
When you type a message in Dispatch on your phone, it’s relayed to your desktop’s Cowork session. Claude then has access to everything Cowork normally provides: your local files, connected services (Slack, Gmail, Google Drive), plugins, skills, and even computer use if you’ve enabled it. When the task is done, you get a push notification on your phone, and you can review the result from either device.
There’s one continuous thread — not separate sessions. If you ask Claude to work on your budget spreadsheet in the morning and then ask a follow-up question about it in the afternoon, Claude still has the context.
What you need
- Claude Desktop (latest version) installed and running on your Mac or Windows PC
- Claude mobile app (latest version) on iOS or Android
- A Pro ($20/month) or Max ($100/month) subscription
- Your computer must stay awake — Claude can’t work on a sleeping machine
That last point matters. If your laptop lid is closed or it goes to sleep, Dispatch tasks won’t execute until it wakes up. On Mac, you can adjust sleep settings in System Settings → Energy. On Windows, go to Settings → System → Power & battery.
Setting it up
The setup takes about two minutes:
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Update both apps. Make sure you have the latest Claude Desktop and the latest mobile app. Dispatch won’t appear on older versions.
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Open Cowork on your desktop. In the left panel, you’ll see a “Dispatch” section.
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Click “Get started” and follow the pairing steps. You’ll toggle on file access and configure wake settings.
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Open the Claude app on your phone. Dispatch should now appear. If it doesn’t, force-close the app and reopen it.
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Send a test message. Try something simple: “Create a text file called dispatch-test.txt with today’s date.” Check your desktop to verify it worked.
That’s it. The pairing is persistent — you don’t need to redo it every time.
What you can actually do with it
Dispatch isn’t a separate feature with its own capabilities. It’s a remote control for Cowork. Anything Cowork can do, Dispatch can trigger. Some practical scenarios:
While commuting
Read the Excel file "budget-2026.xlsx" in my Finance folder.
Create a one-page summary of spending per category,
with a comparison to last year. Save it as a PDF.
By the time you arrive at the office, the PDF is ready.
From a meeting
Search my Gmail for the latest email from Acme Corp.
Summarise the key points and any action items.
Useful when someone references an email you haven’t read yet, and you want a quick catch-up without pulling out your laptop.
On a Saturday afternoon
Check the folder "Client Projects/Website Redesign" for any
files modified this week. Give me a summary of what changed.
A quick status check without sitting down at your desk.
Preparing for tomorrow
Create a PowerPoint presentation about our Q1 results.
Use the data from quarterly-data.csv in my Reports folder.
8 slides, professional style, include a revenue chart.
Claude builds the presentation on your desktop. You review it on your phone, request changes (“Make the chart bigger on slide 4”), and Claude iterates — all from your couch.
Things to know
One thread, always. Dispatch maintains a single continuous conversation. There’s no way to start a fresh thread without clearing the existing one. This is a limitation, but also an advantage: Claude always has the full context of everything you’ve discussed.
Your computer must be on. This is the most common frustration. If your machine sleeps, tasks queue but don’t execute. Some people set their computer to never sleep when plugged in, or use tools like Amphetamine (Mac) or Caffeine (Windows) to keep it awake during work hours.
Push notifications are your friend. Enable notifications for the Claude mobile app. Dispatch sends a notification when a task completes or when Claude needs your approval for something (like accessing a new app via computer use).
It’s a research preview. Dispatch is still being refined. Expect occasional hiccups — a task that doesn’t sync, or a notification that arrives late. Nothing that should stop you from using it, but worth knowing.
Security considerations
When you enable Dispatch, your phone can trigger actions on your desktop — file operations, service interactions, even browser control if computer use is enabled. This is powerful but worth thinking about.
Make sure you’re comfortable with the services Claude has access to. If you’ve connected Gmail and Slack via connectors, Dispatch can read those from your phone. If you’ve enabled computer use, Dispatch can trigger screen interactions. Review your connected services before enabling Dispatch, and disable any you’re not actively using.
What’s next?
- New to Cowork? Start with the beginner’s guide
- Want Claude to work on a schedule without you? See scheduled tasks
- Interested in letting Claude control your screen? Read about computer use