[FEATURE] claude.ai: let users disable Chat mode / make Cowork the only way to start a conversation
Surface: claude.ai web (Chat vs Cowork), not the CLI. CLI-only template fields: not applicable.
Problem
I work exclusively in Cowork (connectors, skills, scheduled tasks, cloud sandbox). Chat is still a separate entry point, and it is easy to start a Chat conversation by accident. I only discover it after work is under way, when the tools I rely on are missing. The conversation then has to be abandoned and restarted in Cowork, and a Chat conversation cannot be moved into Cowork, archived, or converted.
This happened to me again today (1 Oct 2026).
Request (any one of these fixes it)
- A setting to disable Chat entirely for my account, so every new conversation is Cowork.
- A setting to make Cowork the default for every "new" entry point (sidebar, keyboard shortcut, mobile, links).
- A way to convert or move an existing Chat conversation into a Cowork session.
Longer term, I'd ask for Chat and Cowork to be merged into one product: having two modes with different capabilities and no strong indicator is a trap.
Related
- #94798: chat threads and Cowork sessions coexist with different capabilities and no visible mode indicator. That issue asks for an indicator; this one asks for the ability to switch Chat off.
Severity: high frustration for Cowork-only users. Every accidental Chat start wastes a session and its setup.
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