# Claude Desktop's local folders don't keep the work on your machine

> Connecting a local folder in Claude Desktop doesn't keep the work local. Cowork's agent loop and code run on Anthropic's servers, as do the files it opens.

- URL: https://roobrief.com/en/posts/claude-desktop-projects-local-folder
- Language: en
- Published: 2026-10-21T05:15:00.000Z
- Tags: ai
- Source: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14479288-claude-cowork-architecture-overview

**When you connect a local folder in Claude Desktop, the model, the agent loop and code execution all run on Anthropic's servers by default. Your computer just hands files back and forth.**

The ability to attach folders from your own machine lives in Cowork projects in the Claude Desktop app for macOS and Windows. Cowork brings the agent architecture behind Claude Code to a mode that doesn't need a terminal, and it's available on the paid Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. AI agents are programs that carry out multi-step tasks for you on their own. Once a folder is connected to a project, Claude reads and writes files there directly, with no manual uploads or downloads.

## Your folder stays local, the work doesn't

According to Anthropic's Cowork architecture documentation, Cowork sessions now run in the cloud by default. That's the case on Pro and Max, while Team and Enterprise have it in beta on web and mobile. The agent loop, which repeatedly handles the conversation and runs code, executes in a temporary, isolated sandbox on Anthropic's servers that is destroyed when the session ends.

When a session needs a local file, the request goes through the desktop app on your computer. Access is limited to the folders you connected, and each local tool call is checked against your permissions. If the desktop app is closed or offline, the session can't reach your machine. The documentation also states that files Claude opens through the desktop app are processed on Anthropic's servers rather than staying on the device.

Local sessions, where the agent loop runs on your computer and code runs in a local virtual machine, still exist, but only for existing deployments. On Pro and Max, only tasks and scheduled tasks started on the device before Oct. 6, 2026, run locally.

## Why it feels slow and burns through limits

A regular chat is one question and one answer. A Cowork task goes back and forth many times: listing the folder, opening files, making edits, checking results. Each step sends files between Anthropic's servers and your machine and runs inference (using a finished model to produce answers) again, so it won't feel as instant as a local editor.

The same loop drains usage faster. Anthropic's help center lists message length, attachment size, conversation length, tool usage and multi-step tasks such as running code or creating files as factors that affect usage limits. Paid plans have a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit, both shown under Settings > Usage. Anthropic's notes on its new projects beta also say that running several threads at once uses up usage faster.

## What's unconfirmed or easy to misread

- Connecting a local folder isn't on-device execution. You need an internet connection and a running desktop app.
- Anthropic hasn't published how many times more tokens a Cowork task uses than a regular chat. A token is a small piece of text, roughly part of a word, that AI models read and write.
- The desktop app moves projects created from a folder into your Claude account, but only the name, description, instructions and a copy of the memory move. The folders and files aren't uploaded and stay on your computer.

## What to check now

What follows is **our estimate and advice**, based on Anthropic's help documentation.

- Don't connect a parent folder full of build output or dependency folders like `node_modules`. Attach only the folders the task needs.
- For a single error message or one function, a regular chat is faster and uses less of your limit. Turn to Cowork when several files need to change together.
- For company code, check your internal policy first, since files Claude opens are processed on Anthropic's servers.

## What to watch

Anthropic is merging chat and Cowork into one experience where Claude decides on its own whether to answer right away or treat a request as a task, rolling it out to Pro and Max first. Once that lands, requests may move into cloud sessions without you picking a mode, so the usage page will be worth checking more often. Also watch for when cloud sessions on Team and Enterprise leave beta.

## Sources

- [Claude Cowork architecture overview](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14479288-claude-cowork-architecture-overview) (Claude Help Center)
- [Get started with Claude Cowork](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-get-started-with-claude-cowork) (Claude Help Center)
- [Organize your tasks with projects in Claude Cowork](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14116274-organize-your-tasks-with-projects-in-claude-cowork) (Claude Help Center)
- [Usage limit best practices](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9797557-usage-limit-best-practices) (Claude Help Center)
- [What are projects?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects) (Claude Help Center)