Cowork

Describe the outcome you want: Peridot plans the work, does it and shows its progress. A switch in the web chat, the desktop app and the CLI.

Cowork is a way of working with Peridot: you describe the outcome you want, not the steps. Peridot writes a short plan, works through it, and shows its progress as it goes. You can switch it on and off at any time, in the web chat, in the desktop app and in the CLI.

Chat or Cowork#

	Chat	Cowork
You write	A question or an instruction, step by step.	The result you want: "Add a retry to the upload script and make sure the tests pass."
Peridot	Answers.	Plans the work, does it, and keeps the plan up to date.
You see	The conversation.	The conversation, and a plan card with the steps and how far along they are.

Use Chat for questions and quick help. Use Cowork when the job has several parts, and you would rather check the result than steer every step.

The plan card#

Every Cowork task shows a card with the steps of the plan:

○ a step still to do,
● the step in progress (it spins in the apps),
✓ a finished step,
and a progress count and bar, like 2/3.

The card fills in while Peridot works. When the task ends, a step still shown as in progress counts as done.

Switching it on#

In the web chat#

Next to the input, choose Cowork instead of Chat. Your choice is remembered on this device.

In the web chat Peridot has no access to your files, so it works inside its answer: it starts with a plan, goes through the steps (Step 1, Step 2, …) with the real work in each, and ends with the result. The plan card is drawn from that answer.

In the desktop app#

Choose Cowork in the Chat / Cowork switch next to the project name in the input. With it on, the agent uses its tools as usual (read, edit, run commands, with your approval), and keeps the plan card up to date while it works in your project. Your choice is remembered.

In the CLI#

Type /cowork to switch it on or off. /cowork on, /cowork off and /cowork status do what they say. The status line under the input shows ◆ cowork while it is on, and the setting is kept for next time.

› /cowork
◆ Cowork is on. Describe the outcome you want: Peridot plans the work, does it and shows its progress.

› Add a retry to the upload script and make sure the tests pass

◆ Plan 0/3
  ○ Read the upload script
  ○ Add the retry
  ○ Run the tests

The plan is printed again each time it changes, with the finished steps marked ✓ and the current one ●.

How it works#

With tools (desktop app, CLI, signed in), Cowork gives the agent one extra tool, update_plan. The agent calls it first with the whole plan, and again whenever a step starts or finishes. The tool only shows the plan to you: it changes nothing in your project and needs no approval. Edits and commands still ask you first, exactly as usual.

Without tools (the web chat, or the CLI when you are not signed in), Cowork is an instruction to the model: plan first, do the steps in order, finish with the result.

Note

Cowork is for the agent you chat with. With an AI team, the lead plans, and can hand parts of the plan to its bots. The bots just do their task and report back.

Tips#

Describe the outcome, and what "done" looks like. "Make the signup form validate emails and show an error under the field" beats "look at the form."
One task at a time. A plan with more than about eight steps is usually two tasks.
Check the plan early. If a step is wrong, say so in your next message and Peridot adjusts.
Cowork uses more. A task has more model turns than a single answer, and each one counts toward your limits. See Accounts and plans.

← Troubleshooting Project instructions →