Skip to content
Nina Kolari
← Back to all free guides

Building with AI

Still Doing It in Cowork? 5 Little Apps to Build With Claude Instead

Cowork is now part of Claude, and it repeats tasks. Here's when a little app you build once does the job better, plus 5 apps to build with prompts.

13 min readBy Nina Kolari

If you run the same job in Claude every week, build it once as a little app instead. A scheduled Claude task re-runs a saved prompt. A little app built with Claude Code runs a whole process: your rules in a file, a list of what’s done, and a check on every result. Start with the job you repeat most, and build the smallest version that does it.

Cowork no longer exists as a separate product. On 16 September 2026, Anthropic merged Cowork and chat into one Claude. You type a task into the normal message box, and Claude decides how much work it needs.

I rarely use it. Most of my repeated work runs through little apps instead: a carousel maker, an internal linking helper, a podcast clip reviewer, a text cleaner, and the writing pipeline behind this guide.

I built them with a mix of Claude, Codex, Lovable and Cursor. The prompts below are written for Claude Code, because Claude Code comes with the Pro and Max plans.

If you’d rather build your first one with me, here’s where I teach it.

What happened to Claude Cowork?

Cowork is now part of Claude. Since 16 September 2026, one message box handles quick replies and long multi-step tasks.

The change is rolling out in stages. Pro and Max plans get it first, and Team and Free plans follow, so some accounts still show a Cowork button (Claude Help Center). Your chats, projects, skills, connectors and memory carry over.

Claude also runs scheduled tasks. Type /schedule, pick hourly, daily, weekly or weekdays, and Claude saves your prompt as the task’s instructions. Each run happens even when your computer is asleep (Claude Help Center).

So the old complaint, “I have to paste my prompt every week”, no longer holds. The real question is what repeats.

Why build a little app if Claude can already repeat a task?

Because a scheduled task repeats a prompt, and a little app repeats a process.

Scheduled task in Claude Little app built with Claude Code
What repeats The same saved prompt, in a fresh session each run Your steps, rules and checks, stored as files you edit
Your files A scheduled task can’t be tied to a folder on your computer The app works on the folder you point it at
Memory between runs Each scheduled run starts as a new, independent session A simple list, such as a CSV, records what’s done and what’s next
Checking the output You read every result yourself A script checks each result against your rules before you see it
Best for A weekly digest you read once and move on from A job with steps, standards and a backlog

This guide came out of one of those apps. My writer folder holds my voice rules, a research sheet with one row per guide, and a checker. The checker flags em dashes, missing sources and broken internal links. A draft that fails gets fixed before I read it.

What do you need before you start?

  • A paid Claude plan. Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually, and includes Claude Code (Claude pricing).
  • The Claude desktop app. Its Code tab includes Claude Code, so you don’t need to install anything in a terminal (Claude Code docs).
  • One job you repeat every week. Pick one whose steps fit on a single page.
  • An afternoon. Aim for a rough first version, not a finished product.

Which little apps should you build with Claude Code?

Here are 5 of mine, what each one does, and a prompt to build your own version. The prompts are starting points, not tested recipes. Paste one into a new Claude Code session inside an empty folder.

1. A writing pipeline

Mine researches a topic, writes a draft from the research, and checks it against my rules. It has written articles for two of my sites, and every draft goes through the same checks.

The structure matters more than the writing. One row per piece, one status per row, one checker at the end.

Copy this:

Help me set up a folder for a writing job I repeat every week: [what you write] for [who reads it].

Create a CLAUDE.md file with my rules, a skill that writes one piece from one row of a CSV, and a CSV with one row per piece and a status column (todo, researched, written).

Add a small script to check each draft for [your rules: length, words you never use, required sections] and lists every problem.

Before you build anything, ask me for my rules and 2 examples of my writing. Don’t publish anything. Save drafts in a drafts folder.

Mine turns one of my articles into a social carousel. It suggests the slides, renders them at 1080 × 1350, and sends them to my scheduling tool as undated drafts. It never publishes on its own.

Copy the last rule. Anything posting in your name should stop at a draft.

Copy this:

Build a small local web app to turn one of my articles into an Instagram carousel.

I paste the article text. Suggest 6 to 10 slides: a hook slide, one idea per slide, and a final slide. Let me edit every slide’s text before anything renders.

Render each slide as a 1080 × 1350 PNG using my brand colours [hex codes] and font [name]. Save the PNGs in a folder named after the article.

Don’t post anywhere. Ask me about my brand before you start.

3. An internal linking helper

Mine reads every post on my site and builds an index of them. When I write something new, I use the index to pick which older posts to link to.

Without it, I relied on memory, and older posts got forgotten.

Copy this:

Build a small script to read every Markdown post in [path to your blog’s content folder].

Make an index with each post’s title, URL, date, headings and main topic.

Then, for a draft I give you, suggest 3 to 6 posts from the index to link to. Show the sentence where each link fits and the anchor text.

Only suggest posts from the index. Never invent a URL. Don’t edit my files; show me the suggestions.

4. A clip reviewer for video or podcast clips

Mine is a private desk for my podcast clips. It transcribes each clip, suggests hook lines for the on-screen text, and renders the overlay only after I approve one. Originals are never overwritten.

The AI suggests. I approve. This order keeps a bad hook off my feed.

Copy this:

Build a local app for reviewing short MP4 clips from my podcast. It runs only on my computer.

For each clip I upload: transcribe it, suggest 3 hook lines for on-screen text, and show the clip next to the transcript.

Render nothing until I approve a hook. Then add the hook as a text overlay with FFmpeg and save a new file. Never change the original.

Keep API keys in a .env file and tell me where to add them. Don’t ask me to paste keys into this chat.

5. A text cleaner for AI output

Mine is live as AI Text Cleaner. It removes hidden characters from text pasted out of AI chats and strips metadata from images, all inside the browser. It doesn’t rewrite anything, and it doesn’t remove Claude’s statistical watermark.

It’s the smallest app here, and I use it the most.

Copy this:

Build a single-page web tool running entirely in my browser, with no server.

I paste text copied from an AI chat. Remove hidden characters such as zero-width spaces and stray formatting marks, and show how many were removed.

Keep emoji, line breaks and normal punctuation as they are. Add a button to copy the clean text.

On the page, explain in plain words what the tool changes and what it doesn’t.

What have other people built with Claude Code?

People outside tech are building the same kind of little app, mostly for admin, research and writing jobs. None of the people below describe themselves as developers, except where noted.

Who What they built The job it replaced Built with
Grace Clarke, runs a service business Claude skills for client tracking, proposals and her writing voice 20 hours of weekly admin, now one pipeline Claude Code, Cowork, skills
Teresa Torres, author and product coach A task system in plain files with a /today view, plus daily paper searches Trello, and hunting for research by hand Claude Code
Helen Lee Kupp, records ideas on stroller walks A writing setup turning voice notes into articles and LinkedIn posts Shaping raw voice notes into posts by hand Claude Code
Martin Merschroth A routine to rename and file every invoice in a messy folder Sorting invoices at tax time Claude Code
Dan Shipper, CEO of Every A reusable prompt turning card transactions into a one-page expense report Building expense reports after trips Claude Code
Abhinav Raj, editor at XDA Developers An APA citation converter and a board game score tracker Ad-heavy citation websites and scoring by hand Claude artifacts

Grace Clarke’s story is on Lenny’s Newsletter, and so is Teresa Torres’s task system. Helen Lee Kupp and Martin Merschroth are in Lenny’s roundup of everyday Claude Code uses. Dan Shipper’s expense report is in Every’s guide to Claude Code for everyday tasks. Abhinav Raj wrote up the artifacts he uses every day.

Helen Lee Kupp put the point better than I would: “Claude Code isn’t about coding at all. It’s about having an AI that manages your entire process.”

Anthropic’s own non-engineers do this too. Its growth marketer, who had never coded, built a tool to write ad variations and cut the time per ad “from 30 minutes to 30 seconds”, according to Anthropic’s marketing team write-up.

The last row shows the no-code route. Claude artifacts are small interactive tools built inside the Claude app, and they work on every plan (Claude Help Center). If a job needs no files on your computer, try an artifact first.

When is a scheduled Claude task the better choice?

A scheduled task wins when the job is short, the result is for your eyes only, and nothing needs checking. A Monday summary of your week or a research digest you skim both fit.

I rarely use Claude this way. Once a job has rules I care about, I build it.

Two limits are worth knowing before you decide. Everything you do in Claude, Claude Code and the desktop app counts toward one usage limit. Multi-step tasks use more of it than chat does (Claude Help Center).

What are the common mistakes with a first little app?

  • Building everything at once. Start with one step working end to end. My first-version feature guide shows what to cut, and Simple, Lovable, Complete explains how small is still useful.
  • No approval step. Anything publishing, sending or overwriting should stop and wait for you.
  • Pasting API keys into chat. Keep them in a .env file on your computer.
  • No check at the end. If you can list your rules, a script checks them for you.
  • Role prompts instead of context. “Act as an expert” tells Claude less than your audience, goal and format do. Here’s what I write instead of roles.

If you’re still choosing where to build, my vibe coding tools comparison covers Claude Code next to Cursor, Lovable and the rest. For the bigger picture, start with Building With AI.

Frequently asked questions about building apps with Claude

Does Claude Cowork still exist?

Not as a separate product. Anthropic merged Cowork and chat into one Claude on 16 September 2026. The rollout is gradual, so some accounts still show a Cowork button for now.

Can Claude run the same task every week?

Yes. Type /schedule and choose hourly, daily, weekly or weekdays. Claude saves your prompt as the task’s instructions and runs it in a new session each time, even when your computer is asleep. Scheduled tasks need a paid plan.

Do I need to know how to code to use Claude Code?

No. The Claude desktop app includes Claude Code in its Code tab, so there’s no terminal setup. You describe what you want, and Claude writes and runs the code. You still need to test what it builds and decide what to keep.

Is Claude Code included in the Pro plan?

Yes. Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually, and includes both Claude Code and Cowork. The Free plan includes neither.

Does a skill work in both the Claude app and Claude Code?

Yes, but skills don’t sync between them. A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. In Claude Code it lives in a skills folder. In the Claude app you upload it as a zip in Settings, and you upload it again if you change it.

Will a little app use up my Claude limits faster?

It draws on the same usage limit as everything else in Claude. The AI steps use it. A checker script runs on your own computer, and only its short report goes back to Claude, so checks cost little.

Sources and further reading

Plans, prices and features checked on 25 September 2026.