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Is Your Computer Ready for Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork requires specific local hardware and software to function as an autonomous AI agent, alongside cloud-side operational limits.

These programs will check your system:

macOS

https://claude.ai/api/desktop/darwin/universal/cowork-readiness-check/latest/redirect

The primary requirements include:

  • Hardware: Mac with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) is required, with at least 8GB of RAM recommended. Intel chips not supported.
  • OS: macOS Sonoma or later.

Windows ARM64

https://claude.ai/api/desktop/win32/arm64/cowork-readiness-check/latest/redirect

The primary requirements include:

  • Hardware: Intel Core i7 / Core Ultra 7 (12th-Gen or newer) or AMD Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 9
  • OS: Windows 11 Pro

Windows x64

https://claude.ai/api/desktop/win32/x64/cowork-readiness-check/latest/redirect

The primary requirements include:

  • Hardware: Intel Core i7 / Core Ultra 7 (12th-Gen or newer) or AMD Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 9
  • OS: Windows 10 1809+ or Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, 64-bit

System Requirements Summary

Chat-only Minimum Cowork Minimum
RAM 8GB 16GB+ (Cowork), 2GB (Claude Desktop)
Disk 1GB for the app 5GB+ for Cowork's VM image + project work-trees
Processor Negligible — runs in web browser Intel Core i7 / Core Ultra 7 (12th-Gen or newer) or AMD Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 9; Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) — Intel chips not supported
Storage Negligible — runs in web browser 256GB SSD minimum, 512GB recommended
Network Outbound HTTPS to api.anthropic.com Same, plus OAuth callbacks on localhost for Connectors
Account Free for Chat-only Cowork requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise
Node.js Not required Required for MCP servers

Supported Operating Systems

Operating System Version Notes
macOS macOS Sonoma (14.0) or later All Cowork features supported on supported Mac hardware
Windows Windows 10 1809+ or Windows 11, 64-bit Cowork requires Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform. Older Windows 10 builds or Home edition may pass the basic OS check but still fail the VM step — they are missing required features.
Linux ⚠️ Not officially supported Only claude.ai and Claude Projects; no Cowork
ChromeOS ⚠️ Not officially supported Only claude.ai supported; no Cowork

Known Issues, Limitations & Workarounds

Issue Notes
Old laptops with 4–8GB RAM and spinning hard drives Not recommended
Windows Home ⚠️ Not supported. May work on newer builds with Virtual Machine Platform enabled, but not guaranteed.
Mac with Intel Chips ⚠️ Not supported
Windows 10 machines that can't upgrade to 11 ⚠️ Windows 10 no longer receives security updates
Chromebooks ⚠️ Not supported — cannot run Claude Desktop or Node.js natively
VPNs VPN software creates routing conflicts with Cowork's internal VM networking. ⚠️ Workaround required.
Biggest Bottlenecks RAM and disk speed — SSD and minimum 16GB RAM recommended

How to Check Your System

Windows (ARM64 and x64)

  1. Click Start or use the search bar — type "about" or "about your PC"
  2. Open About your PC

System > About will display:

  • For ARM devices, Device Info will report: ARM64-based process, ARM64 or ARM64EC
  • Processor examples: Qualcomm / Microsoft SQ1 / SQ2 / SQ3 / Snapdragon X Elite
  • Processor — e.g., Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790S CPU @ 3.20GHz
  • Installed RAM — e.g., 32.0 GB
  • Storage — e.g., 118 GB of 932 GB used
  • Edition — e.g., Windows 11 Pro
  • Version — e.g., 25H2

macOS

  1. Click the Apple menu (top-left)
  2. Select About This Mac

This shows your macOS version, processor/chip type, and memory.

Compatible macOS Versions

macOS Version Release Status Succeeded By
macOS Sonoma (14) Released 2023 macOS Sequoia (15)
macOS Sequoia (15) Released Sept 16, 2024 macOS Tahoe (26)
macOS Tahoe (26) Released Sept 15, 2025 macOS Golden Gate (27)
macOS Golden Gate (27) Announced June 8, 2026 (WWDC); releasing late 2026 — Cowork has not yet been tested on Golden Gate —

ArchieCur created in collaboration with Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) · v1.0.0 · June 2026