v1.3.1 - Fix Verbose param collision, document Tool Permissions toggle

Documentation patch plus one script bugfix.

Fixed

• scripts/find-cowork-config.ps1 — removed custom [switch]$Verbose parameter. [CmdletBinding()] already provides -Verbose as a built-in common parameter, so redeclaring it threw "A parameter with the name 'Verbose' was defined multiple times for the command" the moment any caller (including install-github-mcp.ps1) invoked the script. The finder now relies on the built-in -Verbose switch and $VerbosePreference. No behavior change for users who weren't passing -Verbose explicitly.

Added

• Part 4 → Step 4: Tool permissions in README.md. Documents the one-time Cowork UI toggle to flip the GitHub server's Read-only tools (23) category from Needs approval to Always allow, so teammates stop getting a wall of prompts on every get_commit / get_file_contents call. Clarifies that this setting lives in Cowork's own settings DB, not in claude_desktop_config.json — and that the autoApprove convention used by some other MCP clients is silently ignored by Cowork.
• Recommended permission baseline table (Read-only → Always allow, Write → Needs approval, Destructive → Never allow).
• Documented GITHUB_READ_ONLY=1 and GITHUB_TOOLSETS env vars as belt-and-suspenders options for hiding write tools at the protocol level.
• Two new troubleshooting rows: "Claude prompts for approval on every single read" (points at Step 4) and "Permission set by your admin / dropdown is greyed out" (clarifies the managed-Connectors page vs the Local MCP servers page).

v1.3 — Store/direct path detection, GitHub MCP Go binary, SecureString scripts

Corrects the Windows config-file path for Cowork 3P (Microsoft Store virtualization), adds a Local MCP server setup using GitHub's official Go binary, and introduces SecureString-based deployment scripts.

Added

• Part 4 of README.md — "Connect a local GitHub MCP server". Uses the official github/github-mcp-server Go binary (not the deprecated npm package). Includes the Managed vs Local MCP appendix so users don't lose another hour to the enterpriseConfig.managedMcpServers red herring.
• scripts/find-cowork-config.ps1 — resolves the real Cowork 3P config directory on Windows by inspecting the running Claude.exe process (--user-data-dir arg), with a filesystem-probe fallback covering both Microsoft Store and direct-install layouts. Emits a single-line path so it pipes cleanly.
• scripts/deploy-config.ps1 — SecureString-based config deployer. Prompts for the Ask Sage key with masked input, renders the template, writes UTF-8 without BOM to the correct path, and runs a 10-check validation pass. Scrubs plaintext from memory via ZeroFreeBSTR + Remove-Variable + [GC]::Collect().
• scripts/install-github-mcp.ps1 — downloads the GitHub MCP Go binary to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\github-mcp-server\, prompts for a GitHub PAT as SecureString, and injects a top-level mcpServers.github entry into the Cowork config. Supports -Version to pin a release tag and -SkipConfigUpdate for download-only.
• README.md — new troubleshooting table for GitHub MCP covering the top-level-vs-managed config mix-up, 60-second initialize timeout on the npm package, and PAT auth failures.

Changed

• Part 1 / Step 3 of README.md rewritten around the two-location config-file reality on Windows: Microsoft Store builds live under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_<suffix>\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude-3p\, direct-download builds live under %APPDATA%\Claude-3p\. Both folders are Claude-3p, not Claude — that's regular Claude Desktop, a different product.
• claude_desktop_config.json template: removed deploymentOrganizationUuid. The field isn't required for individual 3P gateway setups, and leaving placeholder or wrong values in it caused silent provisioning failures. Step 3 of Part 1 no longer asks for a UUID.
• plugins.md — new section clarifying that enterpriseConfig.managedMcpServers is admin-only (delivered via signed MDM policy) and the end-user key is top-level mcpServers. Includes the visual symptom users actually see (🔒 icon in the Managed panel).

Notes

• Both new SecureString scripts produce UTF-8-no-BOM output via [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText with UTF8Encoding($false). Do not switch them to Set-Content -Encoding UTF8 — that emits a BOM, which Cowork's JSON parser rejects.
• The deprecated @modelcontextprotocol/server-github npm package is still documented upstream in some places but should not be used with Cowork; cold npx -y starts time out against Cowork's 60-second MCP initialize handshake. The Go binary starts in under a second.
• No changes to inference models, Ask Sage URL, auth scheme, or plugin list.

v1.2 — Offline sideload path

Adds an offline sideload path for tenants where outbound GitHub access is blocked by Cowork's egress policy.

Distribution PDF

• claude-cowork-asksage-quickstart-v1.2.pdf — 9-page printable quickstart covering inference setup, plugin install, and the new offline sideload path.

New

• Part 3 of the README — "Offline sideload (when egress is blocked)". Full procedure for downloading the plugin repo on an unrestricted machine, transferring to the target workstation, extracting to C:\Program Files\Claude\org-plugins, and registering as a local marketplace.
• scripts/sideload-plugins.ps1 — elevated PowerShell helper automating extraction, flattening, and marketplace registration.
• New egress-troubleshooting section in plugins.md with three remediation paths.
• Three new rows in the README troubleshooting table for egress errors and sideload edge cases.

Background
The upstream anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins marketplace lists ~41 plugins. Roughly 20 are bundled in the repo (source: "./folder") and install fully offline from a local sideload — including all 11 on our recommended list. The remaining ~21 are partner-built with external GitHub URL sources; those still require egress to install. The sideload path covers every plugin that matters for the quickstart.

Unchanged

• claude_desktop_config.json — no config changes needed for sideload.

See CHANGELOG.md for full details.

v1.1 — Knowledge-work plugins added

Adds the full Anthropic knowledge-work plugin suite to the quickstart.

Distribution PDF

• claude-cowork-asksage-quickstart-v1.1.pdf — 7-page printable quickstart covering inference setup and plugin install.

New

• Part 2 of the README covers plugin install via both the in-app one-click flow (claude.com/plugins) and the Claude Code CLI.
• plugins.md reference lists all 11 plugins, their target users, and connectors.
• scripts/install-plugins.sh and scripts/install-plugins.ps1 bulk-install the entire suite via the Claude Code CLI.
• Plugin-specific troubleshooting added.

Unchanged

• claude_desktop_config.json — no documented Cowork config keys for pre-wiring the plugin marketplace, so install remains user-driven.

See CHANGELOG.md for full details.

v1.0 — Initial known-good config

First stable version of the Claude Cowork + Ask Sage quickstart. Use this tag to pin a tested configuration for your team.

Included

• Beginner quickstart (README)
• claude_desktop_config.json template with placeholders for API key and org UUID
• Anthropic-compatible gateway endpoint (/server/anthropic) with Bearer auth
• Six Claude model IDs: Opus 4.7/4.6/4.5, Sonnet 4.6/4.5, Haiku 4.5
• Telemetry and non-essential services disabled by default

See CHANGELOG.md for full details.