Claude Cowork vs Claude Code: What's the Difference?
You will see for yourself how Claude Cowork and Claude Code differ in folder access, outside apps and parallel work, and know which one to use for which job.
Was Sie brauchen
The Claude desktop app (for Cowork)
Claude Code installed on your computer
A work folder, plus a second folder such as Downloads
Optional: an API key for an app you use (I use TheirStack)
Schritt für Schritt
Understand the one key difference
Claude Cowork lives in a sandbox: it is locked inside the single folder you pick, so project A cannot see project B. Claude Code is installed on your computer and can reach any folder you allow, plus apps that are not in Claude's usual connectors.
Test Cowork's folder limit
Open the Claude desktop app, go to Cowork and select your work folder. Ask it to look inside a folder outside that one. Cowork will ask you to add the folder to the project. Click Add Folder and approve the permission; it now shows both folders in the context panel on the right.
Prompt to paste in CoworkHey, Claude, can you please open the Downloads folder for me? Just tell me what's inside there.
Test an app outside your connectors
Check what Cowork can reach under Connectors. Then ask Cowork to use an API key stored in your folder for an app that is not a connector. It will reply that it runs in a sandbox and cannot do it. Close the request without allowing it.
Prompt to paste in Cowork (swap in your app)TheirStack is connected on this workspace through an API key. Can you please use that API key to check how many credits are remaining in my account?
Use Cowork for tools that only serve you
Keep Cowork for things that only reach you: a personal CRM, a small marketing app, or a web app you deploy. Use the Artifacts feature, which can now connect to real-time data.
Run the same folder test in Claude Code
Claude Code also works natively with Git, which keeps versions of everything you change. Open Claude Code in the same work folder and ask about your Downloads folder. It checks without asking for permission. This matters because your information is scattered across your computer, and Claude Code can go find what is missing.
Prompt to paste in Claude CodeHey, Claude, what's inside of my Downloads folder, please? Don't name any application, just tell me how many gigabytes of data are in there.
Connect an app with an API key in Claude Code
An API key connects your account to an app without your login credentials. Ask Claude Code to use the key stored in your workspace. While it works, leave the session and ask something else in another one: both tools run in parallel. Claude Code returns the answer (my account showed zero credits).
Prompt to paste in Claude Code (swap in your app)Hey, there's a TheirStack API key inside of this workspace. Can you tell me how many credits are remaining? I just want how many credits are remaining inside of that account. Don't show me anything else.
Try subagents in Cowork
Subagents break a task into smaller tasks. Cowork uses them partly by default, but to be sure, ask for them explicitly. My run showed two subagents, one for France and one for Germany. Subagents matter most for large data analysis, such as a CRM or a YouTube channel.
Prompt to paste in CoworkHey, Claude, can you please search for the latest news on AI in France and Germany, and please use two subagents for this.
Know what Claude Code adds: dynamic workflows
Claude Code has agents of predetermined types (general use, scan, explore) and also dynamic workflows, where it creates custom subagents for your exact task. Use them for market research, building apps, overhauling UIs, analyzing CRMs or marketing campaign data.
Choose, and avoid vendor lock-in
I recommend switching to Claude Code as soon as possible: the work you do there belongs to you and is simple to move to other agentic tools such as Codex or OpenCode. Moving out of Cowork is much harder, and AI providers may charge more over time.
Worauf Sie achten sollten
Cowork cannot see a folder you did not add to the project, so it will not go looking for missing information elsewhere on your computer.
Cowork cannot call apps through an API key stored in your folder; it only reaches what your Connectors cover.
If you want Cowork to use subagents, ask for them explicitly; it only does so partly by default.
Work built inside Cowork is harder to migrate to another AI tool than work done with Claude Code.
