Claude Dispatch: What It Is, How to Set It Up, and What You Can Actually Do With It [2026]

Claude Cowork Dispatch lets you text Claude from your phone and have it execute tasks on your computer while you're away. It launched on March 17, 2026 as a research preview, and it changes how Cowork functions entirely — from a tool you sit in front of to an agent you manage from anywhere.

Here's everything you need to know.

What Is Claude Dispatch?

Claude Dispatch is a feature inside Claude Cowork that turns your phone into a remote control for your desktop AI agent, letting you send tasks from anywhere and receive results back on your mobile device.

You send Claude a message from your phone, and it runs the task on your computer using your files, connectors, plugins, and skills — then reports results back to your phone.

Your desktop is the computational engine. Your phone is the walkie-talkie.

The key difference from regular Cowork: you no longer need to be sitting at your computer. You can be at the gym, in a taxi, at dinner — anywhere with your phone. Claude works on your desktop in the background, and you get results pushed back to your mobile device.

How Dispatch Works Under the Hood

The architecture is straightforward:

1. You text Claude from the Dispatch section of the Claude mobile app.
2. Claude Cowork receives the message on your desktop computer.
3. Cowork executes the task using your local files, browser, connectors (Gmail, Slack, Notion, etc.), and any skills you've configured.
4. Dispatch spins up sub-agents — each task launches as a separate Cowork conversation (labeled "Dispatch" in the sidebar) that runs in parallel.
5. Results are sent back to your phone within the same persistent conversation thread.

This is not cloud-based mobile AI. The processing happens locally on your machine. Files stay on your computer. If your computer sleeps or loses internet, Dispatch stops working.

What Do You Need to Use Claude Dispatch?

Claude Dispatch requires the latest Claude Desktop app (macOS or Windows), the Claude mobile app, a Pro or Max subscription, and your desktop computer must remain awake and connected to the internet.

• Claude Desktop app (latest version) — macOS or Windows
• Claude mobile app (latest version) — iOS or Android
• Claude Pro plan ($20/month) or Max plan ($100-200/month)
• Your desktop computer must be awake and connected to the internet
• Active internet connection on your phone

Dispatch was initially Max-plan only at launch, but rolled out to Pro plan users within days.

How Do You Set Up Claude Dispatch in 5 Minutes?

Setting up Claude Dispatch takes under 5 minutes — update both apps, open the Dispatch tab in Cowork, scan a QR code with your phone, grant file permissions, and start sending tasks.

Step 1: Update or Install Claude Desktop

Download the latest version from claude.com/download. Select your operating system (Mac or Windows). If you already have Claude Desktop, update it to the latest version.

Step 2: Update the Claude Mobile App

Download or update the Claude app on your phone (iOS or Android).

Step 3: Open Cowork and Find Dispatch

On your desktop, open Claude and switch to the Cowork tab (keyboard shortcut: Cmd+2 on Mac). On the left sidebar, click Dispatch. You'll see a setup screen that says "Co-working on the go."

Step 4: Pair Your Phone

Click Get Started. You'll see a QR code or pairing link. Open the Claude app on your phone, navigate to Dispatch in the sidebar, and scan the QR code or tap the pairing link.

Step 5: Grant Permissions

Claude will ask for access to your files (Desktop, Documents, etc.). Click Allow for each prompt. Enable Keep Awake so your computer doesn't sleep while Dispatch is active. Enable Allow Browser Actions if you want Claude to use Chrome automation.

Step 6: Start Using It

On your phone, open the Dispatch conversation and send your first message. You'll see it appear on your desktop Cowork instance immediately.

Tip: If Dispatch doesn't appear in your sidebar, try deleting and reinstalling the Claude Desktop app. Some users report this forces the update that adds the feature.

What Can You Actually Do With Claude Dispatch?

Because Dispatch has access to everything Cowork can do — files, browser, connectors, skills — the range of tasks spans file access, email management, meeting prep, lead research, expense reporting, and browser-based automation.

1. Remote File Access and Search

Ask Claude to find, read, or summarize any file on your computer from your phone.

"Hey, there's a file on my desktop called project-notes.md. Can you summarize the key action items?"

This works with PDFs, spreadsheets, Word docs, markdown files, and text files. Useful when you need information from your laptop but you're not near it.

2. Email Inbox Management

With Gmail connected via Cowork's connectors, you can trigger an inbox sweep from your phone.

"Sweep my inbox. Find unread emails that need replies and draft responses for me."

Claude will scan your inbox, identify urgent emails, draft contextual replies based on your previous email history, and save them as drafts in Gmail for you to review.

3. Meeting Prep on the Go

Before a meeting, text Dispatch to pull your calendar, check email history with attendees, and find relevant documents.

"I have a meeting in an hour. Prep me — who's attending, what did we discuss last time, and what are my action items?"

Claude pulls from Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive to generate a briefing. The full dashboard is available on your desktop when you get back; a summary goes to your phone immediately.

4. Lead Scraping and Research

If you have research or scraping skills configured in Cowork, trigger them remotely.

"Scrape 200 agency owners in California with 1-10 employees."

Claude runs your skill, contacts the internet, runs scrapers, and delivers results back to your phone — complete with phone numbers, emails, and other data points.

5. Expense Reports from Receipts

Point Claude at a folder of PDF receipts and get an expense report generated automatically.

"Scan my receipts folder and create an expense report with spending by category."

Claude reads every PDF, extracts amounts and vendors, categorizes spending, and generates an interactive HTML dashboard saved to your desktop.

6. Content Creation and Thumbnails

Trigger creative workflows from your phone — slide decks, thumbnail generation, research reports.

"Create a presentation about our Q1 results using the data in the Q1 folder."

7. Slack Catch-Up

With Slack connected, get a summary of everything you missed.

"Catch me up on Slack. What happened in the last 24 hours that I need to know about?"

Claude scans channels, identifies important messages, flags items that need your attention, and gives you a clean summary.

8. Browser-Based Tasks

With the Claude Chrome extension enabled, Dispatch can control your browser — fill forms, check analytics, navigate websites.

"Go to YouTube Studio and tell me the click-through rate on my latest video."

This extends to any browser-based task: form filling, competitor research, checking dashboards, and more.

How Does Parallel Task Execution Work in Claude Dispatch?

Dispatch supports parallel task execution where each task spins up as an independent sub-agent — you can send three, five, or even ten different tasks simultaneously, but each must be independent since they don't share information.

For example, in one session you could trigger:

• Agent 1: Sweep your email inbox
• Agent 2: Research a topic and generate a report
• Agent 3: Prep you for your next meeting

Each runs simultaneously. On your desktop, each task appears as a separate Cowork conversation labeled "Dispatch."

Important caveat: Parallel tasks must be independent. Each agent runs on its own without sharing information. If task B depends on the output of task A (e.g., "research X, then email the team about what you found"), you'll need to run them sequentially — send task A, wait for results, then send task B.

How Do You Connect Apps and Extend Claude Dispatch?

Dispatch inherits everything from your Cowork environment — 38+ built-in connectors, MCP server support for thousands of additional apps, and custom skills and plugins you upload as markdown files or zip bundles.

Built-In Connectors

Claude Cowork connects to 38+ applications out of the box, including:

• Productivity: Notion, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive
• Communication: Gmail, Slack, Microsoft Teams
• Management: Google Calendar, Todoist, Asana, Trello
• Development: GitHub, GitLab, Figma
• Other: Canva, Bitly, and more

To connect an app, go to Cowork > Customize > Connectors, and follow the OAuth flow for each service.

Extending with MCP Servers

If your app isn't in the built-in connectors list, you can use MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers to connect to thousands more. Tools like Zapier MCP connect to 8,000+ apps with 30,000+ actions. Set up the MCP server, copy the connection URL, and paste it into Cowork's connector settings.

Skills and Plugins

Skills are markdown files with instructions that teach Claude how to perform specific workflows. You can create your own or install plugins (bundled collections of skills, tools, and workflows). To install a plugin, go to Cowork > Customize > Personal Plugins > Upload Plugin, and upload a .zip file.

Everything you set up in Cowork — connectors, skills, plugins — automatically becomes available through Dispatch.

What Are Claude Dispatch's Current Limitations?

As a March 2026 research preview, Dispatch requires your desktop to stay awake, lacks push notifications for task completion, has a ~50% success rate on complex tasks, and cannot proactively schedule tasks like OpenClaw's cron jobs.

1. Desktop must stay awake. If your computer sleeps or loses internet, Dispatch stops. Many users are buying dedicated Mac Minis or keeping a laptop permanently plugged in and awake for this purpose.
2. Single conversation thread. As of launch, Dispatch uses one persistent thread. You can't spin up 17 parallel conversations — though each task within that thread launches its own sub-agent.
3. No push notifications for completion. You don't get notified when a task finishes. You have to check the Dispatch thread on your phone.
4. HTML outputs aren't viewable on mobile. When Claude generates dashboards or HTML files, they're saved to your desktop. Your phone gets a text summary, but you can't see the full interactive output until you're back at your computer.
5. ~50% success rate on complex tasks. Simple operations (file search, summaries, email drafts) work reliably. Complex multi-step workflows with browser automation can be inconsistent.
6. No proactive scheduling from Dispatch. Unlike OpenClaw's cron jobs, Dispatch can't proactively reach out to you. You can set up scheduled tasks in Cowork, but they only run when the desktop app is open.
7. Claude models only. Dispatch uses Claude's own models (Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6). You can't plug in GPT, Gemini, or open-source models.
8. macOS and Windows only. No Linux support for the desktop app.

Should You Buy a Dedicated Computer for Claude Dispatch?

A pattern emerging among power users is buying a dedicated, always-on computer (typically a Mac Mini) specifically for Claude Cowork and Dispatch — the same pattern that OpenClaw users adopted for 24/7 agent availability.

The logic is simple:

• Keep it plugged in and awake 24/7
• Install Claude Desktop with all your connectors, skills, and plugins
• Use Dispatch from your phone whenever you need something done
• Run scheduled tasks that execute even when you're asleep (as long as the machine is on)

This is the same pattern that OpenClaw users adopted — but with Anthropic's security model, built-in connectors, and no API key management.

How Much Does Claude Dispatch Cost?

Claude Dispatch is included in your existing Claude subscription with no additional per-message or per-task charges — Pro plan at $20/month or Max plan at $100-200/month.

There are no additional per-message or per-task charges. Dispatch usage counts against your plan's usage limits, which Anthropic subsidizes — making it significantly cheaper than raw API calls.

What Is the Bottom Line on Claude Dispatch?

Claude Dispatch turns Cowork from a desktop-only assistant into a remote agent you manage from your pocket — setup takes under 5 minutes, it works with everything already in Cowork, and it's included in your Pro or Max subscription.

It's still a research preview with rough edges — complex tasks can fail, you can't see HTML outputs on mobile, and your computer needs to stay awake. But for the core use cases — email management, file access, meeting prep, research, and triggering pre-built skills — it works today and saves real time.

If you're already using Claude Cowork, Dispatch is a no-brainer addition. If you're not yet on Cowork, Dispatch might be the reason to start.

Last updated: March 2026