Get started in Claude Chat and Cowork

Getting started takes three steps and about five minutes: add the plugin, paste two lines into your Instructions, then ask for something.

Step 1: Add the plugin

1. In the left sidebar, click Customize. In Cowork, open the Cowork tab first.
2. Open the Plugins tab.
3. Click Add, then Add marketplace, then Add from a repository.
4. Enter minhphamdonhat/Agentville and confirm.
5. Open the Discover tab, find Agentville (the Stable version) and click Add.

Step 2: Turn it on with your Instructions

Chat and Cowork do not switch Agentville on by themselves. You switch it on by adding two lines to your Instructions, which Claude reads before every conversation. Chat and Cowork share the same Instructions, so you only do this once.

1. Click your initials in the lower left.

2. Choose Settings, then Your Claude, then Instructions. In the older layout, this is Settings, then Account, then Instructions for Claude.

3. Paste these two lines at the very top, above anything already there:

   markdownCopy

   - Load `Skill(agentville:root-agent)` and follow it in every reply.
   - Route every request, questions included, through `Skill(agentville:orchestrate)` and follow it.

4. Save.

Copy the lines exactly as they are, including the backticks and the hyphens at the start. Use the copy button in the corner of the box above to be sure.

Step 3: Make your first request

Start a new conversation and ask for something real. For example:

Write a one-page welcome guide for new staff at Acme. Ask me anything you need to know first.

The first line of each reply shows where Claude is, in bold, such as Stage: Discuss. For a request like this one, Claude will ask you a few questions first, then write a short plan, then do the work and check it, and finish with a short report.

Not sure what to ask for? See Write a good request. To learn what each stage means, see How it works.

Managing the plugin

You can manage Agentville from Customize, then Plugins:

• Disable plugin turns it off for now without removing it.
• Remove takes it away completely.
• Check for updates fetches the newest version now.
• Sync automatically keeps it up to date for you.

If you turn Agentville off, also remove the two lines from your Instructions. See Keep Agentville up to date for more.