Know when a Claude Cowork task is done or needs you.
Claude Cowork notifications reach you in two places: your phone and, for some kinds of work, your Mac. This guide covers what Anthropic documents today, what it doesn't, and habits that help you notice a task that is waiting for you.
Yes, Claude can tell you. Anthropic says you get a notification on your phone when a Cowork task finishes or needs your input. Dispatch, now closed to new users, does the same while it runs on your awake computer with the Claude Desktop app open. On the Mac, Anthropic documents notifications for Code sessions and a few scheduled-task cases, but no general banner for a finished Cowork task.
Cowork Island
macOS 14 or later.
Apple silicon and Intel.
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What the Claude app tells you on its own.
Claude Cowork is the part of Claude that carries out longer tasks for you, such as research, documents or file work. On Pro and Max plans, new Cowork tasks have run in the cloud since 6 October 2026, so Claude keeps going after you close your laptop. Anthropic's main alert for Cowork goes to your phone, not to your Mac.
| Kind of work | When you hear about it | Where | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowork task | It finishes or needs your input | Phone | A cloud session can be opened on another device to answer. |
| Dispatch task | It is done or Claude needs your go-ahead | Phone (push) | Pro or Max, existing Dispatch users only (not open to new users). Needs the Claude Desktop app open, the computer awake and the Claude mobile app. |
| Code session in the desktop app | It finishes a task while you aren't viewing it | Mac | Sessions that belong to a Code project get the project's notifications instead. |
| Code project | Claude posts, a thread hits an error or a thread needs your input | Mac (desktop app only) | Choose Notifications in the project's sidebar menu to get an alert for every finished turn, or to turn alerts off. |
| Scheduled Cowork task | It waits at an approval prompt your organization requires, and its session is not in view | Mac | From Anthropic's configuration reference for organizations. A “Scheduled task failed” notification also exists. |
| Plain chat reply | Not documented | Not documented | We found no Anthropic page that describes one. |
What is not documented.
We found no Anthropic page that promises a Mac banner when an ordinary Cowork task finishes, and no setting for one. The same goes for chat replies. If you do see such a banner, don't rely on it. The Claude Desktop app does post macOS notifications for the Mac cases in the table above.
Anthropic is rolling out a change that makes Cowork and chat one Claude. If your message box no longer shows a Cowork option, some screens may differ from the ones described here.
Follow Dispatch tasks from your phone.
Dispatch is a long-running agent in Cowork. You describe an outcome once, and it splits the work into tasks that run in the background, each as its own Cowork or Code session. Dispatch needs a Pro or Max plan. Anthropic's help center calls it a limited beta for some Pro and Max plans and says it isn't available to new users: if you already use Dispatch, you can keep using it for now. If you don't see Dispatch, Anthropic suggests a Cowork session in the cloud instead.
Dispatch runs your tasks on your computer. That computer must stay awake and online, with the Claude Desktop app open, and you need the Claude mobile app for the phone side. When a Dispatch task is done, or Claude needs your go-ahead, you get a push notification on your phone. A Code session that Dispatch starts does the same when it finishes or needs your approval.
Read the task states.
Each task shows its state in the sidebar. Two of them mean the task is waiting for you.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | Claude is actively working on the task. |
| Awaiting input | The task needs information from you before it can continue. |
| Awaiting answer | The task asked you a question and is waiting for a reply. |
| Completed | The task finished. |
| Error | The task stopped because something went wrong. |
| Archived | You marked the task as done and set it aside. |
Answer permission requests quickly. When a Dispatch task needs permission for an action, such as running a command or writing a file outside its workspace, and you don't respond within ten minutes, the request is denied automatically and the task continues without that action.
Habits that help without any setup.
A task that seems stuck may be waiting for you. These habits come from how Anthropic describes Cowork.
- Know where the task runs. A cloud task keeps working when your laptop is closed. Dispatch, and anything that reaches your local folders, browser or screen, needs the Claude Desktop app open on that computer.
- Allow notifications. macOS asks whether Claude may send notifications when the first one is about to appear. Allow them if you want the Mac alerts above.
- Answer from any device. A Cowork session that runs in the cloud can be opened on another device to check progress, answer Claude's questions or redirect the work.
- Look for waiting states. In Dispatch, Awaiting input and Awaiting answer mean the next step is yours.
- Get more Code project alerts if you need them. Choose Notifications in a project's sidebar menu to add an alert for every finished turn.
The no-setup option.
Cowork Island is a Mac app that keeps your AI agent sessions in one notch panel, so you can see the state of each one and which one “Needs you”. Sessions from different supported tools, such as Claude Code in your terminal, appear in the same Island, each with its own name, source and status.
Cowork tasks are included. While the Claude app is open, Cowork Island shows Cowork tasks in the Claude group, as long as Watch the Claude app (chats and Cowork) is on in Settings > Agents > Claude App. It is on unless you turn it off. When a task asks you something, its card shows “Needs you”, and you answer in the Claude app. Dispatch has a card of its own while it works on this Mac.
By default, when a session starts needing you, the island opens by itself, unless that session's app (here, the Claude app) is already in front. Sounds are off until you turn them on. Once they are, the “Approval needed” sound, which is free, also plays when a Cowork task asks you something. Cowork Island posts no Mac notifications of its own and does not answer Cowork tasks for you.
Free shows one session card at a time. Pro shows all your sessions together. With Pro or during the trial, clicking a Cowork task's card brings the Claude app forward. A 7-day Pro trial starts by itself, once per Mac, without payment details. Compare plans.
To show Cowork tasks, Cowork Island reads what the Claude app keeps on this Mac and doesn't connect to Anthropic.
Download for freeSources.
- Use Claude Cowork on web, desktop, and mobile (Claude Help Center)
- Assign tasks from anywhere in Claude Cowork (Claude Help Center)
- Run tasks in the background with Dispatch (Anthropic)
- Claude Code in the desktop app (Anthropic)
- Projects in Claude Code (Anthropic)
- Claude Desktop configuration reference for organizations (Anthropic)
- Claude Desktop changelog (Anthropic)
Sources checked 18 October 2026. This guide is written by Cowork Island's maker. For corrections, email support@coworkisland.com or open an issue on GitHub.