Unified Claude in Claude Desktop on 3P changedthird-party/claude-desktop/unified-claude
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33> Unified Claude combines Chat and Cowork into one experience, with Cowork's agentic capabilities.
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5> [!NOTE]
6>
7> Unified Claude is in beta. It is opt-in until November 10, 2026. From that date, Unified Claude is [on by default](#enabling-unified-claude). Cowork is then on too, even where you turned Cowork off. New [Enterprise Admin Console](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md) organizations start with Unified Claude on.
5Unified Claude combines Chat and Cowork into one experience in Claude Desktop 3P. Users get a single Claude interface for both quick chats and longer agentic tasks. [Code](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/code.md) stays separate. Unified Claude is [on by default](#enabling-unified-claude) in current versions of Claude Desktop.
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9Unified Claude combines Chat and Cowork into one experience in Claude Desktop 3P. Users get a single Claude interface for both quick chats and longer agentic tasks. [Code](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/code.md) stays separate.
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117Unified Claude contains the same capabilities as Cowork on Desktop 3P today, including bash execution, subagents, and scheduled tasks. The Chat experience is going away, but you can restrict specific Cowork capabilities in Unified Claude through your other settings options and tool policies.
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139Unified Claude runs without Cowork capabilities if the user's machine cannot launch the VM. If so, the application will revert to non-VM capabilities under Unified Claude.
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2218
2319## Enabling Unified Claude
2420
25Unified Claude is opt-in until November 10, 2026. When a current version of Claude Desktop starts after 12:00 PM Pacific Time on that date, it reads an unset [`desktopHome`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#desktophome) as `standard`, the value that turns on Unified Claude. Unified Claude is then on by default.
21When a current version of Claude Desktop starts, it reads an unset [`desktopHome`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#desktophome) as `standard`, the value that turns on Unified Claude. Unified Claude is then on by default. The [configuration changelog](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration-changelog.md) lists the releases that changed this default.
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2723> [!WARNING]
2824>
2925> The default applies even where [`chatTabEnabled`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#chattabenabled), [`chatAdvancedFileAnalysisEnabled`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#chatadvancedfileanalysisenabled), or [`coworkTabEnabled`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#coworktabenabled) is `false`. Cowork is on even where you turned it off.
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31If you use [`chatSessionRetentionDays`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#chatsessionretentiondays), set [`coworkSessionRetentionDays`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#coworksessionretentiondays) as well, before November 10, 2026, or earlier if you turn on Unified Claude yourself. `coworkSessionRetentionDays` covers new conversations that are Cowork sessions, along with users' other Cowork tasks, as described under [Automatic deletion of idle sessions](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#automatic-deletion-of-idle-sessions).
27If you use [`chatSessionRetentionDays`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#chatsessionretentiondays), set [`coworkSessionRetentionDays`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#coworksessionretentiondays) as well. `coworkSessionRetentionDays` covers new conversations that are Cowork sessions, along with users' other Cowork tasks, as described under [Automatic deletion of idle sessions](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/data-storage.md#automatic-deletion-of-idle-sessions).
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33With Unified Claude on, a device that can run Cowork needs the VM workspace bundle that Cowork uses. A device that doesn't have the bundle downloads it (more than 1 GB) from `downloads.claude.ai` when the user starts their first new conversation. If a proxy or firewall limits downloads on your network, make the changes under [Cowork workspace or Claude CLI fails to download](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#cowork-workspace-or-claude-cli-fails-to-download) before November 10, 2026, or earlier if you turn on Unified Claude yourself.
29With Unified Claude on, a device that can run Cowork needs the VM workspace bundle that Cowork uses. A device that doesn't have the bundle downloads it (more than 1 GB) from `downloads.claude.ai` when the user starts their first new conversation. If a proxy or firewall limits downloads on your network, make the changes under [Cowork workspace or Claude CLI fails to download](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/installation.md#cowork-workspace-or-claude-cli-fails-to-download).
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35To turn on Unified Claude yourself, use the setting for your deployment:
31To control Unified Claude, use the setting for your deployment:
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37* **Enterprise Admin Console**: Go to Capabilities and toggle on "Opt into the new Chat and Cowork unified view."
38* **MDM or a bootstrap server**: For MDM and bootstrap deployments, the [`desktopHome`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#desktophome) key controls Unified Claude. Create and set `desktopHome` to `standard` in your [MDM profile](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/mdm.md) or [bootstrap response](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/bootstrap.md). Claude Desktop reads a value it doesn't recognize as `off`. Until November 10, 2026, removing the key turns Unified Claude off.
33* **Enterprise Admin Console**: In **Organization settings**, go to the **Capabilities** page under **Desktop 3P** and find the **Unified Claude** switch under **Allowed surfaces**, as described under [Unified Claude in the admin console](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/admin-console.md#unified-claude-in-the-admin-console).
34* **MDM or a bootstrap server**: The [`desktopHome`](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/configuration#desktophome) key controls Unified Claude. To turn on Unified Claude in earlier versions of Claude Desktop, set `desktopHome` to `standard` in your [MDM profile](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/mdm.md) or [bootstrap response](https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/bootstrap.md). Claude Desktop reads a value it doesn't recognize, such as `Standard`, as `off`.
3935
4036## How Unified Claude interacts with Chat and Cowork settings
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