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Text Claude Code
from Your Phone.
It Texts Back.

Channels connects your running Claude Code session to Telegram, Discord, or iMessage. Text it a question. It replies. Your actual files, on your actual machine.

Section 1

What Channels Actually Does

Channels is not a mobile app. It's a plugin that connects your existing Claude Code session to a messaging platform. When Claude is working on something on your computer, you can text it from your phone and it replies back in the same chat.

The key part: it's working with your real files on your real machine. Not a cloud version. Not a fresh session. The same session you already have open, doing work against your actual project.

One thing to know upfront: the session needs to be running. If Claude Code is closed, messages don't go anywhere. For most people this is fine. If you want it always-on, you run Claude in a background terminal and leave it open.

Telegram Discord iMessage

Section 2

Three Use Cases Worth Building Around

Real conversations. Real workflows. All from your phone.

Status checks during meetings

Claude is running a long research task. You're in a meeting. Text your bot: "are you done?" It replies with exactly where it is. No interrupting what you were doing, no leaving the room to check your screen.

are you done with that research?
C
Almost. 8 of 10 sources analyzed. ETA 4 minutes. Want a preview of what I have so far?

Send tasks from anywhere

You're out of the office. You find an article you want turned into a script draft. Text the link to your bot with a quick note. Come back to your desk and it's done.

turn this into a script draft: https://example.com/article
C
On it. Writing against your script template now. I'll drop the draft in 05-Content/Short-Form/not-recorded/.

Inbox capture on the go

You're on a walk, you have an idea. Text it to your bot. Claude drops it into your inbox file automatically. No apps to open, no notes that never get processed.

idea: carousel comparing 5 AI code editors side by side
C
Added to 00-Inbox/IDEAS.md with timestamp. Tagged #content-idea.

Section 3

Set It Up with Telegram

Five steps. Most people are done in under 10 minutes.

Before you start

  • Claude Code v2.1.80 or later
  • A claude.ai account (not an API key)
  • Bun installed. Check with bun --version
01

Create a Telegram bot

Open Telegram and search for BotFather. Send it /newbot. Give your bot a display name and a username ending in bot. BotFather returns a token. Copy it. You'll use it in step 3.

02

Install the plugin

In your Claude Code session, run: /plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official. If Claude Code says the plugin isn't found, run /plugin marketplace update claude-plugins-official first. Then run /reload-plugins to activate it.

03

Configure your token

Run /telegram:configure YOUR_TOKEN with the token from BotFather. This saves it to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env so you don't have to enter it again.

04

Restart with channels enabled

Exit Claude Code and restart it with: claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official. This starts the Telegram plugin and your bot goes live.

05

Pair your account

Open Telegram and send any message to your bot. It replies with a pairing code. Back in Claude Code, run /telegram:access pair YOUR_CODE. Then run /telegram:access policy allowlist to lock it so only you can send messages.

After pairing, send your bot a message from Telegram. It lands in your Claude Code session. Claude reads it, does the work, and replies back in Telegram.

Section 4

Discord and iMessage

Discord

Same idea as Telegram, a few more steps. Create a bot in the Discord Developer Portal, enable Message Content Intent, invite it to a server with the right permissions, then install the plugin.

Seven steps total. Once paired, you DM your bot like Telegram.

Terminal
$ /plugin install discord@claude-plugins-official

iMessage

Mac only

The simplest setup if you're on Mac. No bot to create, no token to copy. Install the plugin, restart Claude Code with the channels flag, and text yourself.

Apple ID self-messages bypass pairing automatically. To let other contacts reach Claude, add their number with /imessage:access allow +1XXXXXXXXXX.

Terminal
$ /plugin install imessage@claude-plugins-official

Both platforms are in the same research preview as Telegram.

Good to Know

One Thing to Know

This is a research preview. The --channels flag and plugin syntax may change based on feedback. Anthropic is rolling it out gradually. If something breaks after an update, check the official Channels docs for the latest setup.

Only Anthropic-approved plugins work during the preview. Telegram, Discord, and iMessage are the approved set. If you're on a Team or Enterprise Claude plan, your org admin has to enable Channels first before any of this works.

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