Claude Code Channels: Message Your AI Coding Agent From Telegram and Discord

You're on the train. Your Mac at home is midway through a 40-minute build. You suddenly realize the test suite needs a config flag you forgot to set. Until now, your options were limited: wait until you get home, or fumble through a terminal on a 6-inch phone screen.

On March 20, 2026, Anthropic shipped an answer: Claude Code Channels, a research preview feature that lets developers send messages to a running Claude Code session on their local machine directly through Telegram or Discord.

How It Works

Claude Code Channels are built on a plugin architecture that uses an MCP server as the bridge between your messaging app and your local Claude Code session. When you send a message to your Claude bot in Telegram, the MCP server forwards it to Claude. Claude processes the request with full access to your local filesystem, git, and any configured MCP tools — then replies in the same chat thread.

Critically, your session stays on your machine. Telegram and Discord are just windows into it. Nothing is routed through a cloud coding environment. This is the same principle that powers Claude's existing Remote Control feature, but with the convenience of an app you already have on your phone.

Setting It Up

Setup requires creating a Telegram bot via @BotFather (or a Discord bot) and installing the corresponding Claude Code plugin. One prerequisite that caught early adopters off-guard: you need Bun installed — the JavaScript runtime Anthropic acquired last year when Claude Code crossed the $1 billion milestone. Once Bun is in place, the plugin installs cleanly, and a pairing step links your bot to the local session.

To launch a Channels-enabled session:

claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official

One notable limitation: if Claude Code needs to ask for permission mid-task, there's no way to grant it from Telegram. The workaround is running Claude Code with --dangerously-skip-permissions — a flag familiar to power users who already trust their own local environments.

Three Ways to Work Remotely with Claude Code

Channels join two existing remote access methods, each with its own trade-offs:

Channels fill a clear gap: asynchronous, fire-and-forget commands you send between meetings, from your couch, or mid-commute. You don't need the session open in front of you — you just send the message when you think of it.

Real-World Use Cases

Early users in the research preview have reported tasks including:

• Triggering iOS builds and deploying wirelessly to a physical device over Xcode
• Sending file-editing commands ("add the --coverage flag to the test script in package.json") and having them applied instantly
• Running long-running CLI tools like podcast transcription pipelines and receiving results as Telegram messages

For non-developers, the picture is even broader. Claude Code configured as a general-purpose assistant — managing calendar events, drafting emails, pulling reports — becomes genuinely useful on a phone when you can send it instructions the same way you'd text a colleague.

What's Next

The plugin architecture is built for expansion. The most requested platform in the community already: iMessage. Given that Anthropic built this on an open plugin model, additional channels are technically straightforward.

For developers already in the Claude Code ecosystem, Channels bring a level of mobile-first flexibility that was previously the exclusive domain of tools like OpenClaw. The fact that it ships as a research preview means rough edges exist — but the fundamentals are solid.

Sources:

• Anthropic official docs — Claude Code Channels
• MacStories hands-on first look
• VentureBeat coverage
• Claude Code Channels setup guide