About this episode

Corey Ganim provides a detailed tutorial on setting up Claude Cowork from scratch using the Cowork Onboarding plugin.

In this solo episode, I walk through the exact process of setting up Claude Cowork from scratch — the right way — using the free Cowork Onboarding plugin I built and made open source. I go step by step through the full onboarding flow, from picking your workspace folder and connecting tools, to building three core context files (About Me, Brand Voice, and Working Style), generating global instructions that tie everything together, setting up scheduled tasks like a daily morning briefing and quarterly context review, and running an optional security review to lock in sensible rules.Timestamps00:00 – Why Cowork is useless out of the box02:22 – Starting the onboarding flow from scratch03:30 – Choosing workspace folder and onboarding path04:37 – Workspace structure and file access permissions05:45 – Connecting Google Workspace tools (Gmail, Drive, Calendar)06:56 – Building context files: About Me, Brand Voice, Working Style10:58 – Linking existing brand materials from Google Drive12:44 – Generating global instructions from your context files15:00 – Skills and plugin recommendations from the marketplace17:24 – Setting up scheduled tasks: morning briefing and quarterly review19:46 –…

People in this episode

Host: Corey Ganim

Topics covered

• Claude Cowork setup
• onboarding process
• context files
• scheduled tasks
• security review

Keywords

• Claude Cowork
• onboarding
• context files
• Google Workspace
• scheduled tasks
• security review

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Google Workspace

Products: Claude Cowork, Cowork Onboarding plugin, Gmail, Drive, Calendar

More episodes of Build With AI

• # 159 Build STUNNING Websites with Claude Code + Google Stitch (full walkthrough) · April 17, 2026 · 1h 5m
• # 158 Claude Code Routines Clearly Explained (and why it matters) · April 14, 2026 · 5 min
• # 157 Claude Managed Agents Clearly Explained (and why it matters) · April 10, 2026 · 13 min
• # 156 Build Karpathy's Second Brain With Obsidian + Claude Code · April 7, 2026 · 22 min
• # 155 Perplexity Computer Masterclass for Beginners (full tutorial) · April 3, 2026 · 46 min
• # 154 I Replaced an 8-Person Marketing Team With Claude Code (full tutorial) · April 1, 2026 · 1h 12m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Build With AI podcast page.