# What is code execution in Claude? > Code execution lets Claude run code in a sandbox to build real Excel, Word, PowerPoint and PDF files. What the setting does and why skills need it. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/code-execution · Updated 2026-10-14 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [AI assistants](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary#topic-ai-assistants) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) Quick answer Code execution and file creation is a Claude setting that lets Claude run code in a protected workspace and hand you real files, such as an Excel workbook with formulas, a Word document or a PDF. Without it, Claude can describe a spreadsheet but cannot build one. Skills depend on it. Last updated October 14, 2026 Updated October 14, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) ## Why it matters for a small business A chat assistant that can only write text can tell you what a spreadsheet should contain. One that can run code can check its own arithmetic, open your uploaded file, fix it and return a finished workbook. That is a big difference for office work, because the output is a file you can open, not a draft you have to rebuild. It is also why the setting matters for safety and for skills. The code runs in a sandbox, not on your computer, but it still handles your uploaded files, so apply your usual rules for [personal information](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/pii). And because [Claude skills](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/claude-skill) are partly scripts, they only work when this setting is on. ## In a real lesson: Claude's Excel Skill: Turn a Messy Export into a Clean Workbook In the [Claude's Excel Skill lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/claude-excel-skill-messy-export-to-clean-workbook), Willow Creek Plant Shop, a made-up garden shop, uploads a messy sales export. The lesson starts by checking Settings, then Capabilities, to make sure code execution and file creation is on. Claude then returns a workbook with a clean Data tab, a Summary tab built with SUMIFS formulas and a chart. The activity line above the reply shows it loaded the xlsx skill, and it lists the two duplicate rows it removed so you can say whether either was a real sale. [Try this lesson free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/claude-skills-excel) or [read the step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/claude-excel-skill-messy-export-to-clean-workbook). ## Common confusions ### Code execution vs Claude Code Code execution is a setting inside the Claude chat app that lets it run code to make files. Claude Code is a separate tool for developers who work in a terminal. ### Code execution vs a macro A macro lives inside your own spreadsheet. Code execution happens in Claude's workspace and the result comes back to you as a finished file. ## Tips - Switch it on in Settings, then Capabilities, before you try any file-building lesson. - Open a few formulas in the finished workbook and compare one total with your original data. - Ask Claude to list what it changed or removed so you can check its decisions. ## Related terms [Claude skill](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/claude-skill) · [Data extraction](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/data-extraction) · [CSV](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/csv) · [Claude](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/claude) · [Large language model (LLM)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/large-language-model) ## More AI assistants terms [Condense vs Preserve](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/condense-vs-preserve) · [Conversation starters](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/conversation-starters) · [Custom GPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/custom-gpt) · [Custom instructions (ChatGPT)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/custom-instructions) ## Where you use it: free lessons - [Claude's Excel Skill: Turn a Messy Export into a Clean Workbook](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/claude-excel-skill-messy-export-to-clean-workbook) (Claude, 8 min) - [What Are Claude Skills? Turn One On and Watch It Work](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/what-are-claude-skills) (Claude, 7 min) - [How to Install a Custom Skill in Claude (Upload a Skill .zip)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/install-a-custom-claude-skill) (Claude, 6 min) - [Make Every Claude Document On-Brand with a Brand Guidelines Skill](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/claude-brand-guidelines-skill) (Claude, 7 min) ## Prompt templates that use it [Messy export to workbook prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/messy-export-to-workbook-prompt) ## Visual guide Code execution and file creation in a few slides, with the same guide written out as text. - [5 Steps to a Claude Skill for Your Weekly Report](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/5-steps-claude-skill-weekly-report): A visual guide: Claude's skill creator interviews you, drafts a weekly report skill, tests it on real notes, saves it and uses it. [All visual guides](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual) ## Frequently asked questions **Where do I turn on code execution in Claude?** On Free, Pro and Max plans, open Settings, then Capabilities, and turn on code execution and file creation. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner manages it in organization settings. **Does the code run on my computer?** No. It runs in a sandbox that Claude controls, and you download the result. Still, only upload files you are allowed to share with an AI tool. **Is it the same thing as a skill?** No. It is the capability that lets Claude run code. Skills are instructions that use that capability for a specific kind of task. [All AI glossary terms, A to Z](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) · [Free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts)