Claude Dispatch turns your phone into a remote control for your desktop AI agent. Launched on March 17, 2026 as a research preview, Dispatch creates a persistent two-way thread between the Claude mobile app and the Claude Desktop app on your computer. You describe a task from your phone — fix a bug, run a test suite, open a PR — and Claude executes it on your machine. Your phone is the delegation layer. Your computer is the execution layer. You don’t need to be sitting in front of it.
How Dispatch Works
The flow is straightforward:
- You open the Claude mobile app (iOS or Android) and tap Dispatch.
- A QR code appears on your desktop’s Claude app. You scan it with your phone.
- That pairing creates a persistent thread. Your phone and desktop stay linked across sessions.
- You type a task on your phone. Claude receives it, decides how to handle it, and executes it on your desktop.
- When the task finishes — or if Claude needs your approval for something — you get a push notification on your phone.
The thread is two-way. You can check progress, ask follow-up questions, or redirect Claude mid-task, all from your phone. Claude has access to your local files, running apps, Slack, email, and 38+ native connectors on the desktop side.
What You Need
Before you set up Dispatch, make sure you have:
- A Pro or Max plan. Dispatch is not available on Team or Enterprise plans as of this writing.
- Claude Desktop app installed and running on your computer (macOS or Windows).
- Claude mobile app on your phone — available on both iOS and Android.
- Your desktop must be awake. If your machine sleeps or the Desktop app closes, Dispatch can’t reach it.
That’s it. No extra server, no SSH tunnels, no port forwarding.
Setup Walkthrough
Getting paired takes about 60 seconds:
- Open Claude Desktop on your computer. Make sure you’re signed in to your Pro or Max account.
- Open the Claude app on your phone. Same account.
- On your phone, tap the Dispatch tab in the bottom navigation.
- Your desktop app will display a QR code. Point your phone’s camera at it (the app handles scanning — no need to open a separate camera app).
- Once paired, you’ll see a confirmation on both devices. The persistent thread is now active.
- Enable push notifications when prompted. This is how Claude tells you a task finished or needs your sign-off.
The pairing persists. You don’t need to re-scan the QR code every time — just open the Dispatch tab and your thread is there.
What Dispatch Can Do: Developer Workflows
Dispatch shines when you’re away from your desk but need your dev environment to do something. Here are real workflows:
Kick Off a Build While Commuting
You’re on the train. You type: “Run the production build for the dashboard app and let me know if it passes.” Claude opens a Claude Code session on your desktop, runs the build command, and pushes you a notification with the result. If it fails, you can ask Claude to show you the error output right in the thread.
Run a Test Suite From Your Phone
“Run the full test suite for the payments module. If anything fails, show me which tests and the stack traces.” Claude spins up a Code session, executes the tests, and reports back. You can then tell it to fix the failing tests or just note them for later.
Open a PR From a Coffee Shop
“Create a PR from the feature/auth-refresh branch to main. Title it ‘Add token refresh logic’. Include a summary of the changes in the description.” Claude opens a Code session, generates the PR using your Git setup, and sends you the link.
Start a Code Review Session
“Review the last 3 commits on develop. Flag anything that looks like a potential bug or a style violation based on our ESLint config.” Claude reads the diffs, analyzes them, and sends you a structured review — all while you’re waiting for your coffee.
Fix a Bug Reported in Slack
You see a bug report in Slack on your phone. You switch to Claude: “There’s a null pointer crash in UserService.getProfile() when the user has no avatar set. Find it and fix it.” Claude opens a Code session, locates the issue, applies a fix, and can even run the relevant tests to confirm. You get a notification when it’s done. Check out the Claude Code cheat sheet for more command patterns.
Code vs Cowork: How Claude Decides
When you send a task through Dispatch, Claude routes it to one of two session types:
Claude Code sessions handle anything that touches your codebase or terminal — fixing bugs, updating dependencies, running tests, opening PRs, executing build scripts. These sessions appear in the Code tab sidebar on your desktop with a “Dispatch” badge so you can tell them apart from sessions you started locally.
Cowork sessions handle everything else — research, document editing, spreadsheet work, drafting emails, summarizing content. These stay in the standard Cowork interface.
You don’t pick the routing. Claude decides based on the task description. In practice, it gets this right the vast majority of the time. If you want to force a Code session, just phrase your request in terms of code or terminal actions.
Limitations and Gotchas
Dispatch is a research preview, and it comes with some rough edges:
- Desktop must be on and awake. If your machine sleeps, locks, or the Claude Desktop app isn’t running, Dispatch tasks will queue but won’t execute until the connection is restored. Consider adjusting your sleep settings if you plan to dispatch tasks while away.
- Computer use approvals expire after 30 minutes. When a Dispatch-spawned session needs to interact with apps on your desktop (computer use), any approval you grant expires after 30 minutes — shorter than the standard full-session approval window. If a long task needs multiple approvals, you may get several notification prompts.
- Not available on Team or Enterprise plans. This is a Pro and Max feature only for now. Anthropic hasn’t announced a timeline for broader availability.
- Network dependency. Both your phone and desktop need internet connectivity. This isn’t a local Bluetooth or LAN connection.
- Session visibility. Dispatch-spawned sessions are visible on your desktop. Anyone with physical access to your computer can see what Claude is doing.
Dispatch vs Remote Sessions vs Routines
These three features overlap but serve different purposes:
| Feature | Best For | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Dispatch | Ad-hoc tasks from your phone while away from your desk | Manual, from mobile app |
| Remote Sessions | Long-running headless tasks (CI-like) | CLI or API trigger |
| Routines | Recurring automated workflows on a schedule or event | Scheduled or event-driven |
Use Dispatch when you think of something on the go and want it done now. Use Remote Sessions when you need a headless, long-running execution that doesn’t depend on your desktop app. Use Routines when you want something to happen automatically — every morning, on every push, or when a specific event fires.
FAQ
Does my computer need to be on for Dispatch to work?
Yes. Your desktop must be awake and running the Claude Desktop app for Dispatch tasks to execute. If your machine is asleep, tasks will queue but won’t run until the connection is restored. Consider adjusting your sleep settings or keeping the machine awake if you plan to dispatch tasks while away from your desk.
Can I use Dispatch on a Team or Enterprise plan?
No, not currently. Dispatch is only available on Pro and Max plans as of this writing. Anthropic hasn’t announced a timeline for Team or Enterprise availability. This is a significant limitation for organizations that want to use it in professional workflows.
How does Dispatch decide whether to use Claude Code or Cowork?
Claude automatically routes based on your task description. Anything involving code, terminal commands, Git, tests, or builds goes to a Claude Code session. Everything else (documents, email, research, spreadsheets) goes to a Cowork session. You don’t manually choose, but you can force a Code session by phrasing your request in terms of code or terminal actions.
Related Links
- How to Use Claude Code — full getting-started guide
- Claude Code Cheat Sheet — quick reference for commands and workflows
- Claude Code Routines Guide — automate recurring tasks
- Claude Desktop Redesign Guide — overview of the new Desktop app layout including Cowork and Code tabs