Claude Dispatch (research preview, launched March 2026) lets you command your desktop AI agents from your phone. Send a text prompt and return to a finished dashboard, report, or spreadsheet on your desktop.

What Is Dispatch?

Dispatch is a walkie-talkie between your phone and your desktop running Claude Cowork. You control what happens on your desktop via natural language from anywhere.

Key limitation: Your desktop must remain powered on and Cowork must stay running. When your laptop sleeps or Cowork closes, Dispatch stops. There's no cloud computation—everything happens locally on your computer.

Setup (2 Minutes)

Requirements

  • Claude Cowork installed on Mac or Windows
  • Claude mobile app on iOS or Android
  • Max subscription (currently)
  • Local network connection (not required if using Claude Desktop's network mode)

Step 1: Open Cowork

Launch Claude Cowork on your desktop and log in.

Step 2: Enable Dispatch

Click the "Dispatch" button in the top menu.

Cowork generates a QR code.

Step 3: Scan QR Code

Open the Claude mobile app on your phone and tap the camera icon. Scan the QR code shown on your desktop.

Your phone and desktop are now paired.

Done

You're connected. The same conversation context now exists on both devices.

How It Works

Dispatch creates a persistent single conversation thread between your phone and desktop. Type a command on your phone, and Claude processes it using everything available on your desktop:

  • Your local files
  • Connected plugins (Slack, email, etc.)
  • Configured workflows
  • Installed skills
  • APIs reachable from your network

All computation happens on your desktop. Your phone is just the remote control.

Usage Examples

Simple Lookups

Phone: "What was my last Slack message in #product?"

Desktop: Queries Slack, retrieves message, sends back context.

Result: 30 seconds, reliable.

File Searches

Phone: "Find all spreadsheets with Q1 in the name and send me the locations"

Desktop: Searches local files, returns paths.

Result: Simple, works well.

Summaries

Phone: "Summarize my emails from today"

Desktop: Reads email inbox, creates summary.

Result: Works reliably.

Complex Tasks

Phone: "Create an expense report from my receipts folder, categorize by project, and export to Excel"

Desktop:

  1. Reads receipt PDFs
  2. Extracts amounts and dates
  3. Categorizes by project
  4. Creates Excel file
  5. Saves to your Documents folder

Result: About 50% success rate on complex tasks. May need clarification or manual intervention.

Reliability & Limitations

Dispatch currently has significant limitations documented in real-world testing:

Success Rates by Task Type

Task Type Success Rate Notes
File search 90% Very reliable
Summaries 85% Works well on bounded data
Simple analysis 75% Short tasks succeed consistently
Complex workflows 50% May need debugging or human help
Multi-step sequences 40% More steps = more failure points
Real-time operations 60% API calls, service interactions

Common Issues

Timeout: Phone loses connection → command fails silently

  • Fix: Resend command, check desktop is awake

Incomplete output: Large results truncated

  • Fix: Ask for a summary instead of full details

Lost context: Complex multi-step tasks lose track

  • Fix: Break into smaller, sequential tasks

API failures: External APIs timeout or reject requests

  • Fix: Build retry logic into workflows

Desktop asleep: Laptop goes to sleep mid-task

  • Fix: Keep laptop on, disable sleep during important tasks

Comparison: Dispatch vs Cowork Desktop

Feature Dispatch (Phone) Cowork Desktop
Control Remote (phone text) Direct (desktop)
Availability Anywhere At your computer
Task complexity Simple to medium Any complexity
Success rate 50% average 95%+
Setup time 2 minutes 5 minutes
Best for Quick tasks on-the-go Complex workflows
Learning curve Very low Medium

Best Practices

Do Use Dispatch For

  1. Quick lookups — Search files, find information
  2. Simple summaries — Digest emails, documents
  3. Status checks — "Is the server responding?"
  4. Adding to queues — "Add a new support ticket"
  5. Approval tasks — Review and approve pending items

Don't Use Dispatch For

  1. Complex multi-step sequences — Breaks down often
  2. Real-time interactions — Too much latency
  3. Critical operations — Not reliable enough
  4. Long-running tasks — Laptop might sleep

Writing Better Commands

Vague: "Can you do a report?"

  • Result: Confused, incomplete

Specific: "Create an expense report from receipts in ~/Documents/March2026/ with columns for date, vendor, amount, and project. Save as March_Expenses.xlsx"

  • Result: Much more likely to succeed

Sequenced: "Step 1: Analyze last 30 days of sales data. Step 2: Compare to February. Step 3: Email summary to [email protected]"

  • Result: Breaks into manageable pieces

Desktop Requirements

Your computer must meet these requirements for Dispatch to work:

  • Power: Laptop must stay on and plugged in
  • Cowork: Application must be running and logged in
  • Network: Connected to the internet
  • Performance: Minimal other processes (lots of background apps slow response)

Security Considerations

What Dispatch Can Access

With Dispatch enabled, your phone can command your desktop to:

  • Read any local file
  • Execute any command
  • Access any API your desktop can reach
  • Use any integrated service (Slack, email, etc.)

Protecting Yourself

  1. Strong phone lock — PIN, fingerprint, or face recognition
  2. Revoke pairing — Turn off Dispatch when not in use
  3. Separate agent — Create a read-only "mobile" agent with limited permissions
  4. Audit logs — Check what Dispatch executed
  5. VPN — Use for sensitive tasks from public networks

Troubleshooting

Phone Can't Find Desktop

Issue: QR code scan doesn't work

Fixes:

  • Ensure both on same WiFi network
  • Restart Cowork
  • Generate new QR code
  • Check firewall settings

Commands Timeout

Issue: "Dispatch offline" message

Fixes:

  • Check desktop is awake
  • Ping desktop from phone
  • Restart Cowork
  • Check network connection

Incomplete Results

Issue: Task started but didn't finish

Fixes:

  • Make request more specific
  • Break into smaller tasks
  • Check desktop logs for errors
  • Increase timeout in settings

Pairing Lost

Issue: Previously paired phone can't connect

Fixes:

  • Click "Dispatch" again on desktop to re-enable
  • Scan new QR code
  • Restart both apps

Advanced Configuration

Create a Mobile-Only Agent

For more control, create a dedicated agent with limited permissions:

---
name: mobile-assistant
description: >
  Limited agent for Dispatch mode with read-only access.
model: haiku  # Faster for mobile
maxTurns: 20
disallowedTools: [Bash, Write, Edit]
---

# Mobile Assistant

Fast, read-only agent for phone control.
Cannot make destructive changes.

Then, in Dispatch settings, specify this agent for phone commands.

Increase Dispatch Timeout

In Cowork settings → Dispatch:

dispatch:
  timeout: 60  # seconds (default 30)
  retry: 2
  logging: verbose

Desktop-to-Phone Notifications

Configure Cowork to send results back to your phone:

dispatch_notifications:
  enabled: true
  on_complete: true
  on_error: true
  on_timeout: true

When Dispatch Isn't Enough

If Dispatch fails on complex tasks, you have options:

  1. Come back to desktop — Full Cowork capability
  2. Redesign as workflow — Schedule it to run automatically
  3. Create a skill — Teach Cowork to do it better
  4. Split into pieces — Break complex task into simple steps

Checklist

  • Have Max subscription and Claude mobile app
  • Install Claude Cowork desktop
  • Enable Dispatch and test QR code
  • Send first simple command from phone
  • Test file search capability
  • Try email summary task
  • Check what tasks fail and why
  • Create read-only mobile agent
  • Review security and disable when not needed
  • Bookmark best practices

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