# Claude Cowork Cloud vs Local vs Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
> Claude Cowork cloud vs local: where your files go, what still needs your computer, when Claude Code fits, and where NotebookLM fits for sensitive research.
By Juli · Published Oct 26, 2026 · https://www.kortex-notebooklm.com/blog/claude-cowork-cloud-vs-local
You point Claude Cowork at a folder of interview transcripts, close the laptop, and the task keeps going. Handy. It also means the work isn't happening on your laptop. This guide settles Claude Cowork cloud vs local using Anthropic's own help pages: where Cowork tasks run, what happens to the files on your computer, what Claude Code does differently, and how long each keeps your data. Then it covers where a source-grounded notebook like Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) fits when the research is sensitive.
> **Key Takeaways**
> - On Pro and Max, new Claude Cowork tasks run on Anthropic's servers, with no setting to choose where a task runs ([Claude Help Center](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/15520349-use-claude-cowork-on-web-desktop-and-mobile), 2026).
> - Your folders stay on your computer. A cloud task fetches a copy of just the file it needs, and deleting the session deletes the copies.
> - For tasks that run only on your computer, Anthropic points to Claude Code. Your prompts, and the files Claude reads, still reach Anthropic's model.
> - Gemini Notebook keeps a lasting copy of each source in your Google account. Kortex MCP lets Claude ask those notebooks through your own Chrome.
## Where do Claude Cowork tasks run, cloud or local?
In the cloud. **Claude Cowork** is the part of Claude that takes a task, works through it step by step and hands back finished work, such as organized files, a formatted document or synthesized research. On Pro and Max plans, new Cowork sessions run on Anthropic's servers on every surface. In fact, Anthropic is blunt about it: "There's no setting to choose where a task runs on Pro and Max plans" (Claude Help Center, 2026). The combined Claude experience, where the message box shows no Chat or Cowork option, works the same way. There, tasks run in the cloud "and there's no option to run them locally" ([Claude Help Center](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/15811196-what-to-expect-with-claude-cowork-in-the-cloud), 2026). On Pro and Max, local sessions remain only for older tasks already running on a computer, each marked with a banner saying it runs only there.
Team and Enterprise work differently, because admins decide. An owner can turn cloud sessions off for the organization and leave local desktop Cowork available ([Claude Cowork architecture overview](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14479288-claude-cowork-architecture-overview), 2026). Where both modes are allowed, you choose when you start a session, with the **Run new tasks in the cloud** toggle under **Settings > Cowork**. However, a session can't switch modes halfway; to change, start a new one.
So what is "the cloud" here? **A Cowork cloud session** is an isolated, temporary sandbox on Anthropic-managed infrastructure. Each session gets its own sandbox, created when the session starts and destroyed when it ends. It can't reach private or internal network addresses, all outbound traffic passes through a proxy it can't bypass, and connector tokens never enter it (Claude Cowork architecture overview, 2026). That sandbox is the "Cowork cloud VM" people search for. Local Cowork sessions, by contrast, run the agent loop on your device and execute code in a Linux virtual machine on your own computer.
The trade is plain. The cloud gives you tasks that keep running with the lid closed, sessions you can pick up on desktop, web and mobile, and a phone notification when Claude finishes or needs you. What it takes away is the guarantee that the work happens on your machine.
## What happens to your local files in a Cowork cloud session?
They stay where they are, and Claude reaches in for copies. Anthropic's wording: "Your folders stay on your computer. Claude reaches only the folders you've connected, through the desktop app, and only while it's open. When a task needs a file in the cloud, Claude fetches a copy of just that file" (Claude Help Center, 2026). When you delete a session, the copies Claude fetched are deleted too.
The processing, though, happens on Anthropic's servers. The safety guide says a cloud session's work, "including any local files it opens through the desktop app, is processed on Anthropic's servers rather than staying on your computer" ([Use Claude Cowork safely](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13364135-use-claude-cowork-safely), 2026). Four more details matter if you keep research on disk:
- **Only connected folders.** Each local file or tool call is checked against your permissions before it runs.
- **The desktop app must be open.** If it's closed, cloud sessions keep running but can't reach your computer. Local MCP servers, browser use and computer use need the app too.
- **Save what you want to keep.** Files Claude delivers are saved to your Claude account. Working files it doesn't hand back aren't kept after the session ends.
- **Memory is on in the cloud.** Cloud tasks start from what Claude remembers from your chats, and what comes up carries back. To run one task without it, turn off **Memory** in the **+** menu before you send the first message.
Is a fetched file used to train Claude? That follows your account. On consumer plans, whether conversations improve Claude "follows the Help improve our AI models setting in Settings > Privacy" (Claude Help Center, 2026). Team and Enterprise data, on the other hand, sits under commercial terms and isn't used to train Claude.
This isn't a niche worry. When we analyzed the 776 answers to the Kortex MCP waitlist survey (Sep 19 to Oct 1, 2026, then in private beta), 450 people (58%) said their AI assistant can reach their local files. Only Google Drive (632) and Gmail (626) came up more often.
Tools respondents said their AI assistant can reach, out of 776 (one person could pick several). Source: Kortex MCP waitlist survey, then in private beta, Sep 19 to Oct 1, 2026.
### What about a Cowork project tied to a local folder?
A Cowork project can use a folder on your computer as its context. Claude Desktop saves the project's name, instructions and a copy of its memory to your Claude account, while the folders and files stay put: "Nothing is uploaded or deleted" ([Organize your tasks with projects](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14116274-organize-your-tasks-with-projects-in-claude-cowork), 2026). Projects tied to a local folder support Cowork sessions on desktop only.
Think of a folder-backed project as a standing permission slip. Every task in it can fetch copies from that folder whenever the desktop app is open. So scope the folder to the project, not to your whole Documents folder.
## Can Cowork cloud scheduled tasks reach your computer?
Plan them as if they can't. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud "even when your computer is asleep or the Claude Desktop app is closed" ([Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13854387-schedule-recurring-tasks-in-claude-cowork), 2026). As a result, they "work with your connectors and the files saved to your Claude account". Another Anthropic page states it outright: scheduled tasks created in the cloud "can't use local folders or local connectors" (Claude Help Center, 2026). Cadences are hourly, daily, weekly, weekdays or manual.
The safety guide adds a rule for unwatched runs: "Don't schedule tasks that access sensitive files, send messages on your behalf, make purchases, or take other actions that are difficult to undo" (Use Claude Cowork safely, 2026). For example, a morning briefing built from Gmail and public news fits. A weekly digest of client contracts sitting on your laptop doesn't.
## How is Claude Code different from Cowork?
**Claude Code** is Anthropic's agentic coding tool, and it runs on your computer. For new tasks that must run only there, Anthropic's own answer is to "use Claude Code in the desktop app. It runs on your computer and keeps your folders and history there" (Claude Help Center, 2026). It's the **Code** tab in the Claude Desktop app, and also a terminal command. In the Code tab, the environment selector under the prompt box picks where Claude runs: on your machine, in the cloud, or over SSH ([Claude Code desktop docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop), 2026). Pick your machine, since Claude Code on the web is a cloud session too.
Moving a Cowork task over takes three steps:
1. Open the task and select **Download task data**.
2. Unzip the download and open the folder in Claude Code.
3. Run `/port-task-data` to pick up with your context.
Here's the catch most cloud-vs-local arguments miss: local isn't offline. Anthropic's data page says Claude Code "runs locally", then adds that to reach the model it "sends data over the network", including "all user prompts and model outputs" ([Claude Code data usage](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/data-usage), 2026). Any file Claude reads becomes part of a prompt, so its contents reach Anthropic either way. What local changes is everything around that. Nothing is staged in a cloud sandbox, no account-stored session holds your files, and nothing reaches your folders while the app is closed. In addition, Claude Code keeps session transcripts on your machine, in plain text under `~/.claude/projects/`, for 30 days by default. Your laptop becomes part of what you protect.
Want your phone in the loop? **Remote Control** connects the Claude mobile app or claude.ai/code to a Claude Code session running on your machine, on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Execution and file access stay on your computer, though the transcript is stored on Anthropic's servers while you're connected, and the computer has to stay on ([Remote Control docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control), 2026). If "Code" in the name puts you off, Paul J Lipsky's [tour of Claude Code for non-technical users](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WTqqWBPCsk) is good further watching.
## How long does Anthropic keep Cowork and Claude Code data?
It depends on your plan and one privacy switch, not on cloud vs local. For Free, Pro and Max, including Claude Code on those accounts, Anthropic sets these periods ([Anthropic Privacy Center](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data), 2026):
| Plan or setting | What Anthropic keeps |
|---|---|
| Personal plan, model improvement off | 30-day retention; a deleted chat leaves back-end storage within 30 days |
| Personal plan, model improvement on | Up to 5 years, de-identified, in training pipelines |
| Feedback (thumbs up or down, bug reports) | 5 years |
| Flagged for a Usage Policy violation | Inputs and outputs up to 2 years |
| Team, Enterprise and API | Not used for training; 30-day standard retention for Claude Code; zero data retention for qualified Enterprise accounts |
The 30-day figures and the Team, Enterprise and API row come from Anthropic's Claude Code data usage page (2026). For sensitive research on a personal plan, three moves do most of the work. First, turn model improvement off at claude.ai/settings/data-privacy-controls. Second, don't rate answers in a sensitive session. Third, delete Cowork sessions you're done with, which also deletes the file copies they fetched.
## Where does Gemini Notebook fit for sensitive research?
A notebook is the third option: a deliberate, lasting copy in Google's cloud. When you add a source to Gemini Notebook, the file lives in your Google account until you delete it. That's the opposite of Cowork's per-task copies, and it's the point. You choose the sources once, and every answer is grounded in them, with citations. Google says notebook content "will not be used to directly train our foundational AI models, unless you choose to provide feedback", and reviewed feedback is kept for up to 3 years ([Gemini Notebook Help](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/17004255?hl=en), 2026). On work and school accounts, uploads, queries and responses aren't reviewed by humans or used to train AI models, even with feedback. Our [Gemini Notebook privacy guide](/blog/gemini-notebook-privacy) covers sharing, the Gemini app and deletion in detail.
Here's where a copy of your file ends up in each setup:
| | Cowork in the cloud | Claude Code on your computer | Gemini Notebook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the work runs | Anthropic's servers, one sandbox per session | Your computer | Google's servers |
| Copy of your file | Fetched per task, deleted with the session | Sent to the model inside prompts | Kept as a source until you delete it |
| Needs your computer on | Only for local files, browser and computer use | Yes | No |
| Works from your phone | Yes | Through Remote Control | Yes |
| Training on personal plans | Your Help improve our AI models setting | The same setting | Not directly, unless you send feedback |
For research, the useful split is to keep the library in one place and send Claude the questions, not the folder. Ask a notebook of 40 interview transcripts from Claude, and Claude sees the answer and the passages it cites, not all 40 files. Your files then sit with one company, Google, and Anthropic sees only what comes back. Weighing a Claude project as the library instead? Our [Gemini Notebook vs Claude Projects comparison](/blog/gemini-notebook-vs-claude-projects) goes feature by feature.
## How can Claude read your notebooks without re-uploading the files?
Through Kortex MCP, which we built for exactly this. **Kortex MCP** is a bridge between your AI client and your own Chrome. Google publishes no public consumer API for Gemini Notebook, so Kortex relays each call through your own Chrome. Claude calls the Kortex endpoint, the job goes to the Kortex extension in your browser, and the extension asks Gemini Notebook with the Google session you're already signed into. The answer and its citations travel back the same way ([Kortex MCP docs](/docs/mcp-server), 2026). Kortex never stores your Google password or cookies. Notebook content passes through the relay only as the result of a call you triggered, and the job record is deleted automatically an hour later ([Kortex MCP security](/docs/mcp-security), 2026).
It's a remote connector, so it works in both places this post compares:
- **Cowork in the cloud.** Add Kortex as a custom connector with the endpoint `https://mcp.kortex-notebooklm.com/mcp`. Connector calls run server side, so no local MCP server is involved.
- **Claude Code on your computer.** Run `claude mcp add --transport http kortex https://mcp.kortex-notebooklm.com/mcp` and sign in on the Kortex consent page.
Then ask in plain words, and keep the task narrow:
```
Ask my "Q3 client interviews" notebook which onboarding problems come up most, cite each one, and don't open any local folders for this task.
```
There are two honest limits. First, Chrome has to be open and signed in. A Cowork scheduled task that asks a notebook at 7 a.m. therefore needs your computer awake with Chrome running; a closed laptop answers nothing. Second, whatever comes back enters Claude's context and follows Anthropic's settings above, not Google's. If you only need answers, use a read-only Kortex key. Kortex MCP is included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime: $9.99 a month, $4.92 a month billed yearly, or $200 once. The full setup is in our guide to [connecting Gemini Notebook to Claude](/blog/gemini-notebook-in-claude).
Give Claude the cited answer, not the whole folder
Ask your Gemini notebooks from Cowork or Claude Code and get answers with their sources, relayed through your own Chrome. Kortex MCP is included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime.
## Claude Cowork cloud vs local: which research tasks go where?
Match the place to where the material already lives and to how bad a leak would be. Cloud apps talking to cloud apps belong in the cloud. Files you'd hate to see copied belong on your computer or in a notebook you chose on purpose. Here's a quick guide:
| Task | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pull from Gmail, then update Notion or Drive | Cowork in the cloud | Both ends are cloud apps already |
| A market scan or literature search on the open web | Cowork in the cloud | Nothing private leaves your computer |
| A daily or weekly briefing | Cowork scheduled task | Runs with no device online; stick to connectors and public sources |
| A long job you'll check from your phone | Cowork in the cloud | Sessions follow your account |
| A large folder you'd rather not copy into an account session | Claude Code on your computer | No cloud sandbox or stored session |
| Work that needs a local database, local tools or a VPN | Claude Code on your computer | The cloud sandbox can't reach private networks |
| Questions across a curated research library | Gemini Notebook, asked from Claude through Kortex MCP | Cited answers; Claude sees answers, not files |
Sensitive files are everyday work for many of the people we hear from. In the same waitlist survey, 73 respondents said they work in healthcare and 60 in legal (professions were multi-select, out of 776).
**Keep these out of both cloud and local sessions:**
- **Passwords, API keys and other credentials.** Never leave them in a connected folder.
- **Financial documents and personal records.** Anthropic itself advises against granting access to local files with sensitive information, "like financial documents" (Use Claude Cowork safely, 2026).
- **Anything your contract, ethics approval or employer keeps away from third-party AI.** Check consent forms before interview transcripts go to any assistant, cloud or local. For instance, Harvard Medical School's IT office tells staff "Do not enter confidential information (Level 2 and above) into public-facing AI platforms" ([Harvard Medical School IT](https://it.hms.harvard.edu/about/policies/responsible-use-generative-ai), 2026). It also notes that a data use agreement may restrict a dataset even when a tool is approved.
- **Sensitive material in scheduled tasks.** Nobody is watching those runs.
**Habits that help either way:**
- **A dedicated working folder for Claude**, rather than broad access, as Anthropic recommends.
- **Separate accounts for work and home.** Anthropic says shared logins aren't supported.
- **Memory off for a sensitive one-off task**, set before the first message.
- **Manual approval** whenever a task touches sensitive files, accounts or sites.
## So which should you pick?
In short, Cowork is a cloud tool on Pro and Max, and it copies only the files a task needs. Claude Code is the local option, though local still means the model sees what Claude reads. A Gemini notebook is the lasting library you curate, which Claude can query through Kortex MCP without carrying the files along. Pick by where your material already lives, and keep the truly sensitive files out of all three. For a full research workflow built on notebooks, see our [guide to research in Gemini Notebook](/blog/notebooklm-for-research).
Keep a copy of your research you control
Kortex exports a notebook's sources, notes and chats as PDF, Markdown, text or ZIP. It also switches between work and personal Google accounts in one click, so client files stay on the right account. Free on Chrome.
## Frequently asked questions
### Does Claude Cowork run in the cloud or locally?
In the cloud on Pro and Max. New Cowork sessions run on Anthropic's servers on every surface, and Anthropic says there's no setting to choose where a task runs on those plans. On Team and Enterprise, an owner can turn cloud sessions off and keep local desktop Cowork, so the answer depends on your organization.
### Does Claude Cowork upload my local files to the cloud?
Only the files a task needs. Your folders stay on your computer, and Claude reaches only the folders you've connected, through the desktop app, while it's open. When a cloud task needs a file, Claude fetches a copy of just that file and works on it on Anthropic's servers. Deleting the session deletes those copies.
### Can I still run Claude Cowork locally?
Not for new tasks on Pro and Max. For work that has to stay on your computer, Anthropic points to Claude Code in the desktop app, which runs locally and keeps your folders and history there. Download a Cowork task's data, open the folder in Claude Code and run /port-task-data to carry the context over.
### Do Cowork scheduled tasks need my computer on?
No. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud, even when your computer is asleep or the desktop app is closed. In exchange, they work with your connectors and the files saved to your Claude account, not folders on your computer. Anthropic advises keeping sensitive files and hard-to-undo actions out of them.
### Is Claude Cowork safe for confidential information?
It can be, with care. Cloud sessions run in an isolated sandbox that can't reach your network, but the files Claude opens are processed on Anthropic's servers. Anthropic advises against connecting folders with sensitive information like financial documents. Use a dedicated folder, turn off model improvement on a personal plan, and prefer a Team or Enterprise account for client work.
### Can Claude read my Gemini Notebook from Cowork or Claude Code?
Yes, through Kortex MCP, included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime. It's a remote connector, so it works in Cowork cloud sessions and in Claude Code on your computer. Each call is relayed through your own Chrome with the Google session you're already signed into, and Kortex never stores your Google password or cookies. Chrome has to be open.
---
*Editorial note: fact-checked against the official help pages and docs linked above on October 26, 2026. Spotted something out of date? [Contact us](/support) and we will fix it, or read more [about Kortex](/about).*