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AI & Automation

Your First 15 Minutes with Claude Cowork

Created by Jibrail Idris
Categories AI & Automation

Preview

Your First 15 Minutes with Claude Cowork

Recommended learning pathway

Claude Cowork + Xero

Step 1 of 4. You can enrol in any order, but we recommend taking these in sequence.

  1. 1 Your First 15 Minutes with Claude Cowork You are here
  2. 2 Claude Cowork + Xero: Invoice Automation
  3. 3 Claude Cowork + Xero: Automate Your Accounting (Basic)
  4. 4 Claude Cowork + Xero: Automate Your Accounting (Advanced)
View full pathway

Course overview

Get Claude Cowork running on your machine in one hour. Install Claude Desktop, connect officedesk CLI, write your first CLAUDE.md, and learn the safety discipline that keeps you in control.

No Xero required — this is a general setup course for anyone wanting to use Claude Cowork.

Prerequisites

  • You must have an active Claude Pro or Claude Max subscription plan. Cowork mode is not available on the Free plan.
  • You must have already downloaded and installed Claude Desktop on your machine.

What you'll learn

  • Install Claude Desktop with Cowork and verify it is running
  • Install and configure officedesk CLI
  • Connect Claude to officedesk via the MCP bridge
  • Write a CLAUDE.md configuration file for accounting workflows
  • Apply dry-run safety guardrails before any financial action
  • Understand what Claude should never touch in your Xero account

Curriculum

6 lessons · 1h total
1 What is Claude Cowork and officedesk? 10 min

Meet the stack:

  • Claude Desktop with Cowork mode — your AI pair programmer
  • officedesk CLI — the command-line bridge to your business tools
  • MCP bridge — the protocol that lets Claude and officedesk talk to each other

Understand how each component fits together and what you will set up in this course.

2 Verify Claude Desktop and Enable Cowork 10 min

Confirm Claude Desktop is installed and Cowork mode is ready before moving on to officedesk setup.

You will verify:

  • Claude Desktop launches and you are signed in with a Pro or Max account
  • The Cowork mode toggle is visible and selectable in Settings
  • Cowork mode is enabled and active (you see the Cowork panel)

If Cowork mode is missing or greyed out, your subscription plan may need an upgrade before proceeding.

3 Installing officedesk CLI 10 min

Install the officedesk CLI using the one-line installer.

macOS & Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/initdsg/officedesk.ai-cli/main/install | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/initdsg/officedesk.ai-cli/main/install.ps1 | iex

After installation, verify everything is working:

  • officedesk --version — confirm the CLI is installed
  • officedesk --list — see which plugins are discovered
  • officedesk --help — browse available commands

The CLI installs to ~/.officedesk/bin and adds itself to your PATH. You may need to restart your terminal for the PATH change to take effect.

4 The MCP Bridge: Connect Claude to officedesk 10 min

Configure the MCP server in Claude Desktop to connect to officedesk CLI.

You will:

  • Edit the MCP server configuration in Claude Desktop
  • Add the officedesk MCP server entry
  • Restart Claude Desktop and verify the connection
  • Confirm Claude can see your officedesk tools
5 Your First CLAUDE.md 10 min

What is a CLAUDE.md and why you need one. It is the instruction manual Claude reads before every task — your business context, tools, preferences, and rules in one file.

You will write your first CLAUDE.md covering:

  • Your business context (what you do, who you serve)
  • Your tools (what Claude can use)
  • Your preferences (how you like work done)
  • Your rules (what Claude must never do)
6 Safety: Guardrails and Dry-Run Discipline 10 min

Learn how Claude Code’s permission system keeps you in control of every action.

You will configure:

  • Plan Mode — let Claude explore and plan before making any changes
  • Permission prompts — Claude asks before editing files, running commands, or accessing the network
  • Deny rules — block Claude from touching sensitive paths (bank data, secrets, production configs)

These guardrails, combined with your CLAUDE.md instructions, are the difference between automation and disaster.