How to Use Claude — A Practical Guide

Start here: think before you open

Most people default to opening claude.ai chat for everything — and that works fine for simple tasks. But Claude has four distinct modes, each built for a different kind of work. The one you choose affects how much context Claude has, what it can actually do, and how much friction you'll hit. Thirty seconds of thinking before you start will save a lot of copy-pasting later.

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Is this a one-off question or a quick task? Just open Chat. No setup needed — type and go.

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Is this part of an ongoing project that needs context each time? Use a Project. Upload your reference docs once, set your instructions, and every conversation starts informed.

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Do you need Claude to work with actual files on your computer? Use Cowork. It connects to your local machine so Claude can read, write, and organise files directly — no copy-pasting in and out.

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Are you working on a codebase or software project? Use Claude Code. It runs in your terminal, reads your entire repo, edits code, runs commands, and manages GitHub — all in one place.

The common mistake: using Chat for everything because it's familiar, then spending 10 minutes copy-pasting files in, briefing Claude on context it could have remembered, and manually applying outputs to your actual documents. The other modes exist precisely to remove that friction.

💬

Claude.ai Chat

The standard, no-setup way to use Claude. Open a tab and go.

Cloud-based

Everything runs in Anthropic's cloud — you type, Claude responds. There's nothing to install and no configuration required. Each conversation starts fresh, with no memory of previous ones unless you're using Projects. The fastest way to get a response.

Typical Workflow

Open claude.ai in your browser

Start a new conversation — no preamble needed, just ask

Copy outputs you want to keep — nothing persists after you close the tab by default

For follow-up tasks, start a new chat or continue in the same thread

Best for

One-off questions Quick drafts Research summaries Brainstorming Explaining concepts Fact-checking

Not ideal for: ongoing work that needs context from previous sessions, or anything involving your local files.

📁

Projects

Organised workspaces in the cloud with persistent context.

Cloud-based

Projects are built on top of regular chat but give Claude persistent memory across conversations. You can upload reference files, set custom instructions about who you are and how you want Claude to respond, and group related conversations together. Claude remembers the project context across every session — no re-briefing required.

Typical Workflow

Create a Project in the Claude.ai sidebar and name it for the work area (e.g. "ASX Research", "Website Copy", "Health")

Upload any reference documents — Claude reads these at the start of every conversation in the project

Set custom instructions: your background, preferences, relevant context, and how you want Claude to respond

Start conversations inside the project — Claude already knows the context, so you can get straight to the point

Update your reference docs and instructions as the project evolves

Best for

Ongoing projects Business research Writing with a consistent voice Anything requiring context across sessions

Not ideal for: tasks involving your actual local files, or developer workflows involving code execution.

🖥️

Cowork

Claude connects to your computer and works directly with your files.

Local-based

Cowork is a fundamentally different experience. Instead of working in the cloud and copying results across, Claude connects to your local machine and works directly inside your folders and files. It can read what's there, write and edit documents, rename and organise files, and work alongside your actual tools — no copy-pasting required.

Typical Workflow

Open the Cowork session from Claude.ai — it connects to your local machine

Point Claude at the folder or files you want to work on

Give instructions naturally: "Clean up this folder", "Draft a summary of this PDF", "Rename these files by date"

Claude reads, edits, and creates files directly — changes happen in your actual filesystem

Review changes and iterate — Claude can undo or adjust on request

Best for

File organisation Document editing Working with local folders Tasks that span multiple files

Not ideal for: pure Q&A or research tasks, or developer/coding workflows.

⌨️

Claude Code

A developer tool that lives in your terminal and connects to GitHub.

Dev environment

Claude Code runs in your terminal as a command-line tool. It reads your entire codebase, writes and edits code, runs shell commands, and manages GitHub pull requests — all from a single interface. It's cloud-powered but operates inside your development environment, making it feel like a very capable pair-programmer sitting next to you.

Typical Workflow

Install Claude Code: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Navigate to your project directory in terminal and run claude

Claude reads your codebase and is ready for instructions — "add a search feature", "fix the login bug", "refactor this component"

Claude writes and edits files directly, runs tests, and shows you diffs before committing

Push to GitHub or create a pull request — Claude can handle the whole flow

Best for

Software development Codebase exploration Bug fixing Writing & editing code GitHub workflows Running tests

Not ideal for: non-developers, or tasks that don't involve a codebase.

Claude Code: Local vs Cloud

Claude Code itself can run two different ways — installed on your own computer, or hosted by Anthropic in the cloud (claude.ai/code, browser or mobile). Same tool, different tradeoffs.

Local — runs on your computer

+Full access to everything on your machine — your files, tools, and existing setup, exactly as they are

+Nothing to configure — works immediately on projects you already have

+Changes happen instantly and can be undone as you go

+Keeps working even with a patchy internet connection — only the AI responses need a connection, not the file access

–Only available on the machine it's installed on — no picking up from your phone

–Your computer needs to stay on and connected for the session to keep going

–Can't leave it running unattended in the background overnight

Cloud — runs on Anthropic's servers

+Keeps working after you close your laptop — check in later from any device

+Run several separate tasks at once instead of one at a time

+Good for handing off a long or heavy job so it's not tying up your own computer

+Included in your Claude subscription — no extra setup cost

–Only sees the project's code — not your personal files, saved logins, or other tools on your computer

–A little setup the first time, to connect it to the right project

–Less suited to highly custom personal setups than working directly on your own machine

Quick Comparison

Setup required

None

Minimal

Some

Install CLI

Remembers context

Per chat only

Yes

Per session

Reads local files

Uploads only

Yes

Yes (code)

Writes files

Yes

Runs commands

Limited

Yes

GitHub integration

Yes

Needs to be a developer

Helps