2.3 Dispatch · 🎥 Instructor demo

Info
⏱ Duration: ~15 min (🎥 instructor demo) · 🎯 Goal: understand what Dispatch is, how to set it up, and why its phone→desktop chain demands extra governance.
Info
Pro/Max only (beta): Dispatch is in beta for Pro and Max plans only —not Team or Enterprise. Since this cohort is assumed Team/Enterprise, this section is an instructor demo (not hands-on).

A director is rarely at their computer. Dispatch solves that: you message Claude from your phone and it works on your desktop —with your local files, connectors, plugins, and apps— and returns the finished work.

Step 1 — Understand what it is and how it differs

Verbatim: “With Dispatch, you can message Claude from your phone and have it work on your desktop computer, using your local files, connectors, plugins, and apps, then come back to the finished work.”

Warning
KEY difference vs. a cloud session: Dispatch runs on your desktop, so your computer must be awake with the Claude app open while it works. A cloud session runs on Anthropic’s servers and keeps working even when your computer is off.

Step 2 — How it works

  • It’s a single persistent thread that never resets —it retains context across tasks (memory).
  • Automatic routing: development tasks → Claude Code; knowledge work → Cowork (each appears in its own sidebar).
  • Includes editable memory, scheduled tasks, and computer use (drives desktop apps like Excel or internal dashboards).

Step 3 — Setup

Verbatim: update Desktop + mobile to the latest version → open Cowork → click “Dispatch” in the left side panel → “Get started” → toggle on file access and keep-computer-awake → “Finish setup” → start messaging in the Dispatch section.

Step 4 — Phone→desktop chain safety

Warning
Chain warning (verbatim): “Giving a mobile AI agent remote control of a desktop AI agent creates a chain where instructions from your phone can trigger real actions on your computer.” Trust every app and service in the chain, and know how to revoke access.

Step 5 — Limitations

  • The computer must be awake and the app open.
  • One continuous thread only —you can’t start or manage multiple threads.
  • On Linux, computer use is not available (file/connector/plugin tasks still work).

✅ Checkpoint

You can explain the difference between Dispatch (runs on your desktop, needs it awake) and a cloud session; you identify it as beta Pro/Max only; and you can articulate why the phone→desktop chain requires trusting the whole chain and knowing how to revoke access.

Got it? — 2 questions

1. Why does Dispatch need your computer awake but a cloud session doesn’t? Dispatch runs the tasks on your own desktop; the cloud session runs on Anthropic’s servers and continues even when your computer is off.

2. What is the governance risk of the phone→desktop chain? Instructions from your phone can trigger real actions on your computer, so you must trust the whole chain and know how to revoke access.

Workshop Claude Avanzado · Grupo Salinas · v1.0 · 2026