Best practices for working safely

In this lesson, you'll learn to set up your workspace so the important stuff stays protected, write prompts that don't leave room for the wrong action, and recognize the moments when "stop and think" matters more than speed.

Your part in working safely with Cowork

You already know from Lesson 2 that Claude always asks before deleting, and — in the default permission mode — before sending or sharing too. That's the floor. This lesson is what you bring on top — the pre-emptive moves that keep an autonomous tool with file, app, and connector access from doing something you didn't intend.

Set up so mistakes can't reach what matters

The single highest-leverage move is the folder you point Claude at. It's the boundary for what Claude can read, write, and (with your confirmation) delete.

• Use a dedicated working folder, not a catch-all. Pointing Claude at Documents, Downloads, or Desktop is the equivalent of letting a new colleague rummage through every file you have. Make a folder for the work. Move (or copy) in what's needed. Point Claude there.
• Back up anything irreplaceable before you start. If a file matters and a fresh copy can't be regenerated — old client deliverables, contracts you can't get re-issued, anything you'd be sorry to lose — make sure a copy lives somewhere Cowork can't reach. Cloud backup, a separate folder, a drive that isn't connected. Claude won't delete without asking, but the cost of clicking through the wrong confirmation is the cost of the file.
• Test new workflows on copies first. For example if you're building a scheduled task that'll run every Friday, the first run goes against a copy of the data. Once you've seen it behave, point it at the live folder.

Write prompts that leave no room for the wrong action

How you ask matters as much as what folder you point at.

• Be specific about destructive verbs. "Cut the section" can be read as "remove from view" or "delete from the file." "Update the file" can mean "rewrite it" or "add to it." If the wrong reading would be irrecoverable, name what you mean: "Remove the section from the draft, but keep the file." "Add a new appendix; don't rewrite the existing sections."
• Name the bounds in the prompt. "Only the 3 most recently updated files in this folder." "Only contracts that closed in Q3." "Don't message anyone — draft only." This narrows what Cowork is doing and gives you a clear line for spotting drift.