Connect Claude Cowork
Choose the correct AgentKeeper evidence and enforcement path for remote Cowork, local Cowork, plugins, MCP Gateway, and telemetry.
Cowork sessions run remotely by default. Existing desktop deployments can also run local sessions. Confirm the execution mode before choosing a control: a workstation integration cannot govern an action that executes only in Anthropic's cloud.
See Anthropic's Cowork architecture overview for the current remote and local execution model.
Choose the coverage path
| Path | What it proves | Enforcement boundary |
|---|---|---|
| AgentKeeper Cowork plugin | Cowork events emitted to a loaded plugin | A block is possible only for an event the loaded plugin receives before execution. |
| MCP Gateway | Calls from a client explicitly routed through the Gateway | Gateway policy can block the routed MCP call before it reaches the server. Direct or alternate MCP routes bypass the Gateway. |
| OpenTelemetry | Provider-emitted Cowork telemetry reached AgentKeeper | Audit and investigation only. Telemetry arrives after the activity and cannot block it. |
| Compliance or provider export | Provider-side records exported to AgentKeeper | Audit only. Anthropic currently states that Cowork is not included in its Compliance API or audit-log exports. |
| Endpoint or EDR discovery | The desktop app, plugin artifact, or configuration is present | Inventory evidence only; it does not prove that a Cowork session used the integration. |
Remote Cowork actions that do not traverse a loaded plugin, the AgentKeeper MCP Gateway, or another supported pre-execution integration are outside local enforcement coverage. Local Cowork also requires the plugin to be loaded in the session; installing a ZIP is not loaded-hook proof.
Install for a pilot workstation
On macOS and supported vendor desktop Linux environments, run:
curl -fsSL https://www.agentkeeper.dev/cowork-install.sh | \
AGENTKEEPER_API_URL=https://www.agentkeeper.dev bash
On Windows, use the PowerShell command generated by Setup > Cowork in the AgentKeeper dashboard. For managed Team or Enterprise distribution, publish the AgentKeeper plugin through the organization's Claude plugin marketplace rather than asking every user to upload a ZIP.
The current plugin packages are also available from the artifact feed:
RHEL and Rocky Linux endpoint packages can discover Cowork artifacts, but Cowork enforcement on those distributions is not supported. Treat those rows as discovery-only.
Validate a real session
- Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop after installation.
- Start a Cowork task in the execution mode you intend to support.
- Run one harmless action that should be allowed.
- In AgentKeeper Activity, confirm a fresh Cowork event for the expected workstation, user, and source.
- Run a safe controlled action covered by a known blocking policy.
- Confirm the action is refused before execution and Activity records the blocked decision.
A package receipt, plugin ZIP, status command, self-test, OTLP event, or discovery row is not a substitute for steps 4 through 6.
Troubleshoot and maintain
- No Cowork Activity: confirm the session mode, desktop account, plugin load, and source filter. Then use Missing Activity.
- MCP activity appears but plugin activity does not: the call is covered only by the routed Gateway boundary. See MCP Gateway.
- OTLP appears without a block: expected; OTLP is telemetry-only.
- After upgrades, restart Claude Desktop and repeat the live-event and controlled-block tests.
- Before removal, record the plugin version and policy, remove the plugin from the organization marketplace or local install, then confirm that its AgentKeeper-owned entries are gone.