Only if all of these are true
- You already pay for Claude Pro, Max, or Team (Cowork), or you use the new ChatGPT desktop app (Work is on every plan there).
- You passed CB-07 (Downloads and folders) and finished CA-3 and CA-4.
- Ideally, a person you trust sits with you the first time.
Don't buy or upgrade a plan for this lesson. Skipping it is a perfectly good choice. Gemini Spark and Grok Bot aren't used here — they're top-tier or separate apps.
The emergency brake
- It asks to connect email, Drive, calendar, or anything else? Don't allow.
- It tries anything outside the practice folder? Press Stop (the square), then close the app.
- Something changed that shouldn't have? It's a folder of fake files — delete the folder and move on. If anything outside it was touched, tell a person you trust and book a human.
Make a practice folder of fake files
About 5 min
- In Documents, make a new folder named
Practice-Agent. Not Desktop, not Downloads, not all of Documents. - Inside it, make three small text files in TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows), with these fake contents:
shopping.txt— milk, eggs, bread, [store]library.txt— 2 books due Fridaybirthday.txt— ideas for [Kid A]: puzzle, art set
- Nothing real goes in these files. Stand-ins only.
Try this
Open Practice-Agent in Finder or File Explorer.
You should see: exactly three files. Leave this window open — you'll check it again at the end.
Open the agent — ask-first, one folder only
About 3 min
- Claude Desktop: start a Cowork task (or any conversation, if you have the new “one Claude”). Find the setting for how much it asks you first — make sure it's on Manual / ask first, not Auto.
- ChatGPT desktop app: choose ChatGPT, then switch the toggle at the top to Work.
When it asks which folder it may use, choose only Practice-Agent. Buttons move between updates — look for words like folder, allow, access.
Choose Documents, Desktop, Downloads, or your whole home folder “to make it easier.” One practice folder, nothing else.
Give it one small ask, and watch
About 7 min
Read the 3 files in this folder. Make one new file called summary.txt with one short line per file saying what it is about. Do not delete, move, rename, or change any file. Do not use the internet. Ask me before you create summary.txt.
- Paste or type the ask. Press Enter.
- Watch. Steps will appear (“reading files…”).
- When it asks before creating the file, read its plan. Approve only if it matches the ask.
It asks: “I'll create summary.txt in Practice-Agent with 3 lines. OK?” → you approve.
summary.txt:
shopping.txt — a short grocery list
library.txt — two library books due Friday
birthday.txt — gift ideas for a child
Its steps and wording will be different. That's normal. Check it has the same parts: it asked first, made one new file, and changed nothing else.
Check with your own eyes, then take the access away
About 5 min
- Look at the
Practice-Agentwindow: four files now — the three old ones, unchanged, plussummary.txt. - Find where the app lists folders it may use (look in Settings for trusted folders, folder access, or permissions) and remove
Practice-Agent. - Switch back to Chat.
Success check
- It only had access to
Practice-Agent - It asked before creating the file, and I approved it myself
- I checked the folder: one new file, three unchanged
- I removed the folder access and switched back to Chat
Don't / get help
No email, bank, calendar, social accounts, or connected apps. No browser tasks, no Auto mode, no scheduling, no Publish. If this felt stressful, that's a useful answer: you've learned you don't need an agent. Come back only when a real weekly job passes CA-4's four questions.
Book a free 15-minute consult and we'll do the practice folder together on screen share — then remove the access together.