In Claude Cowork, Dispatch is the ability to kick off a task with Claude from your phone that keeps running on your computer.
Send Claude a task from the mobile app wherever you are; Claude does the work on your computer with your files, your browser, the apps you've installed, and replies when it's done. With computer use, Claude can even open apps on your computer and work them with mouse and keyboard the way you would — exporting a file, filling a form, clicking through a tool that has no other way in.
Dispatch gives Claude access to your computer to complete tasks you send from your phone. Pair the devices you own and trust, and see Using Claude owork safely for the full guidance.
Dispatch is useful because of the Claude instance running on your machine, with access to the same things you reach for when you're sitting at your desk. What that covers:
Connectors work in the background entirely. This provides direct access to your tools, with nothing appearing on your computer screen.
Claude in Chrome works in a tab in your browser; you can keep using your computer and other tabs at the same time.
Computer use opens apps and clicks, your screen is in use by Claude as long as Claude needs it for the task. Computer use is optional, and it stays off unless you choose it. Dispatch still works without it; Claude just won't reach into apps that need cursor-and-keyboard control.
You're away from your desk, but realize a file you need access to is on your computer. Using your phone with the Claude mobile app installed, you can reach your computer to access local files and complete tasks. Here’s an example workflow:
First, follow the set up instructions for Dispatch from your Claude Desktop app to connect your devices. Once connected, open Claude on your Claude mobile app, tap Dispatch, and describe what you need done. The more specific you are about where things are and what you want back, the smoother it goes.
There's a PowerPoint file on my desktop called Northgate Strategy. Export it to PDF and attach it to my 2PM calendar invite today.
Claude picks up the message and starts working through it using whatever tools reach each part of the task. Your calendar is a connected service, so finding the meeting takes a moment and happens entirely in the background. The presentation app doesn't have a connector, so Claude opens it directly on your screen with computer use, loads the file, exports to PDF, and saves it.
Claude messages you back in the Dispatch thread when it's done. Open the calendar invite from your phone to check the attachment is there. If something's off — the wrong file, the wrong meeting — reply in the same thread with what needs to change and Claude will correct it.
Send a message from your phone on the commute, and the doc is waiting on your computer when you sit down. Claude pulls from your connected calendar, inbox, and Slack in one pass. Once it works, tell Claude to run it every morning as a scheduled task.
The client needs one change and you're not near your laptop. Message Dispatch and Claude opens the app on your laptop to make the fix. You review the draft from your phone and send when ready.
Not every app has a connector. For desktop apps, PDF editors, and internal tools without an integration, computer use opens the app on your screen and clicks through the way you would. Slower than a connector, but it reaches what nothing else can.
If your computer is awake waiting on a job that runs for hours, you don't have to wait there with it. Message Dispatch from wherever you are and Claude checks whether it's done, starts the next step, and tells you if something needs your input. For instance, you could tell Claude, ‘when the video export on my computer finishes, start the next one in the queue’.
This feature is a research preview, and is still being actively developed. A few things worth knowing: