How to download Claude Desktop on your computer and phone, and where to start

Claude for your computer is available from a single official page, claude.com/download: Windows 10 and later, macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later, while Linux (Ubuntu and Debian) is currently in beta. Chat for text and questions is also available on the free plan. Cowork for working with files on your computer and Claude Code for coding become available with Pro.

Most people open a chat, write a prompt and get an answer. And they think that is all there is to it. But there are 9 tools, and each handles a different task. You can work in the browser, but you are very limited there.

So install the app. Installation on Windows and Mac takes 4 steps: download, open the file, launch the app and sign in. On Linux it is almost the same, just through a package manager.

Below, I have broken Claude Desktop down by section: what each one does and how it all works. First we will download and install it, then I will show you how Cowork differs from chat, how Code differs from everything else, and which section to start with. Let's get started.

Where to download Claude: the official option for each system#

The app is available on every plan: Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.

Avoid XAPK files from third-party servers and “download from our website” buttons on other sites. Install only from claude.com/download or the app stores, where the publisher is Anthropic.

You can find more information about working with models in the Ailoot documentation.

How to install Claude on Windows and Mac, step by step#

Windows or Mac — it does not matter; you can install it on either. The steps are the same:

1. Open claude.com/download, select your system and click Download. An installer file will download to your computer.
2. Open the downloaded file and complete the installation. Claude will appear among your applications.
3. Launch Claude from the Start menu on Windows or the Applications folder on Mac. A sign-in window will open.
4. Sign in to your account. Your chats, projects, memory and settings will sync automatically: they are shared across the web, computer and phone under the same account.

If Windows says the file is being used by another program after an update, a separate article explains what to do.

Linux. First add Anthropic's key and repository: the commands are on the Install Claude Desktop help page. Then install the app:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install claude-desktop

You can also install it using a .deb package. The app does not update itself: new versions arrive with system updates.

Phone. Find the Claude app by Anthropic in the App Store or Google Play and sign in with the same account. The download page has a Mobile section offering to link your phone to the app on your computer.

App or browser: why install Claude on your computer at all?#

The browser has only these sections: chats, creating a chat, projects and artifacts. That is enough for questions and answers.

The app also gives you:

• Cowork and Claude Code, covered in the next section;
• desktop extensions: these are installed on your computer and give Claude access to your files, browsers and applications;
• extensions for Chrome, Slack, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (beta);
• Quick Entry: open Claude with a keyboard shortcut from anywhere in your system.

Chat, Cowork and Code: what each section does in the app#

Projects are a separate feature. All your prompts, files and context are in one place, and Claude remembers everything within a project across chats.

Cowork. It differs from chat because it is a kind of workspace. You can do more than ask questions: you can save information locally, update it, manage files and control your computer. Claude works with real files in folders on your computer; you do not need to upload them into the chat window.

In Chat, you ask a question. In Cowork, you set a task and Claude carries it out: it is already something a little different. Essentially, Cowork brings the capabilities of the Claude Code agent into a regular interface without a terminal.

Before you start, Cowork gives you a choice: ask first before doing anything, or act without asking. For your first tasks, choose “ask”: you will see what the agent intends to touch.

Code. You can view a running server, inspect code changes and follow a pull request without leaving the app. For example, desktop Claude Code now has an iOS simulator right beside the chat: it is a public beta, Mac only, and requires Xcode.

Terminal-based Claude Code is installed separately; it is a different installation, which I covered from the official website in a separate article.

Where to start after installation#

Choose a section for your task:

• text, emails, ideas — Chat;
• working with files in a folder — Cowork;
• your own coding project — Code.

Then make your initial settings:

1. Open Settings > Extensions and install desktop extensions for the applications you work with.
2. Connect your connectors. Google Drive and Slack work everywhere: in the browser, in the desktop app and on your phone.
3. Enable Claude in Chrome in any conversation. Claude in the app can then visit websites in the browser, click buttons and fill in forms on its own.
4. Open Claude with the Quick Entry keyboard shortcut. On Linux with Wayland, it works only through the GlobalShortcuts portal.

An honest warning about usage limits: they run out very quickly, and 20 dollars is certainly nowhere near enough. So start with one task in one section and see it through to a result before opening Cowork and Code in parallel.

You installed it, but cannot sign in#

There is one account for the web, computer and phone: if you have already signed in to Claude in a browser, use the same method to sign in to the app.

You do not need a subscription to sign in: the app opens on every plan, including Free. If Cowork and Code are missing after you sign in, your account is on the free plan.

If you do not have an account yet and registration is stuck at phone number verification, reinstalling the app will not help: the app only signs in to an existing account.

Which section did you start with: Chat, Cowork or Code?

To continue your work, visit Ailoot.