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What Are Claude Code Channels in 2026?

Claude Code channels push Telegram, Discord, and iMessage into a live session. Keep it always on with Agent 37 from $3.99/mo.

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This image illustrates the Claude Code Channels feature, which enables pushing live coding session data from a developer's laptop to popular messaging platforms such as Telegram, Discord, and iMessage. The data is then forwarded to an always-on cloud host service, available from $3.99 per month, ensuring continuous live session availability. This tool is designed for developers and teams who want to seamlessly share live coding sessions via messaging apps, enhancing collaboration and communication in real-time. The status is noted as a research preview, requiring the session to remain open.
Claude Code channels are MCP plugins that push chat messages, alerts, and webhooks into a Claude Code session that is already running. Official research-preview plugins cover Telegram, Discord, and iMessage. Events only arrive while the session is open, so a laptop that sleeps kills the bridge. For always-on Claude Code with a browser terminal so channels keep working overnight, Agent 37 starts at $3.99/mo (1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 8 GB storage). Same dashboard also hosts OpenClaw, Hermes agent, Codex, OpenCode, and Grok CLI.

What are Claude Code channels?

Claude Code channels are push integrations into your live CLI session. Anthropic documents them as MCP servers that inject events while you are away from the keyboard, then let Claude reply on the same chat bridge. Official overview: Claude Code channels docs.
Key constraints from the docs:
  • Research preview. Flag syntax and protocol can change.
  • Needs Anthropic auth via claude.ai or a Console API key. Not available on Bedrock, Vertex, or Foundry paths.
  • Team and Enterprise orgs must enable channels in admin settings.
  • Bun is required for the official plugins.
  • The session must stay open. For always-on use, run Claude in a background process or persistent host.
Channels are two-way for chat bridges: you message the bot, Claude works against your real files, and the reply lands back in Telegram, Discord, or iMessage. The terminal shows the inbound event and tool confirmation. The full reply text appears on the messaging platform.

How do Claude Code channels compare to Slack, Remote Control, and web sessions?

This image presents a comparison of four Claude Code surfaces that often cause confusion: Channels, Claude in Slack, Remote Control, and Claude on the web. It outlines key characteristics of each surface: Channels involve pushing into open sessions and using a chat bridge; Claude in Slack spawns web sessions and supports team mentions; Remote Control steers local sessions and facilitates phone drives; Claude on the web provides fresh sandboxes and supports asynchronous jobs. A note highlights that Channels require an always-on Claude Code process. This comparison helps users understand the different operational modes and integrations of Claude Code across platforms.
People search claude code channels and mix up four different Anthropic surfaces. They are not interchangeable.
Feature
What it does
Best for
Claude Code channels
Push events into your already-running local or remote session
Phone chat bridge and CI webhooks into an open workspace
Claude in Slack
Spawns a cloud web session from an @Claude mention
Team conversation that starts a fresh sandbox task
Remote Control
You steer a local session from claude.ai or the mobile app
Driving an in-progress session from your phone
Claude Code on the web
Fresh cloud sandbox cloned from GitHub
Self-contained async jobs you check later
Standard MCP
Claude pulls tools during a task. Nothing is pushed in
On-demand reads and queries
Channels fill the gap: non-Claude sources push into the session you already have open, with your files and context intact.
Slack's newer "code channels" product (agent rooms inside Slack) is a separate Slack feature. It is not the same as Anthropic's --channels plugin flag on Claude Code.

Which official Claude Code channels exist today?

In the research preview, Anthropic ships:
  1. Telegram via /plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official
  1. Discord via /plugin install discord@claude-plugins-official
  1. iMessage via /plugin install imessage@claude-plugins-official (macOS only, reads Messages DB)
  1. fakechat localhost demo for testing without bot tokens
You can pass multiple plugins to --channels, space-separated. Custom channels are possible with --dangerously-load-development-channels during the preview. Treat that flag as lab-only.

How do you set up Claude Code channels?

High-level path matches Anthropic's docs. Exact commands live upstream and may change in preview.
This image presents a step-by-step checklist for setting up Claude Code channels. It outlines the necessary tasks including authenticating Claude Code with a claude.ai or Console key, installing Bun, installing the Telegram or Discord plugin, configuring the bot token, restarting the system with the appropriate channels plugin command, and pairing the sender along with setting an allowlist policy. The checklist is designed to guide users through the installation and configuration process required for integrating Claude Code channels, with additional verification steps available at code.claude.com. The image is branded with 'Agent 37' and includes a clear, professional layout suitable for technical documentation and knowledge base references.

Shared prerequisites

  1. Claude Code installed and authenticated (claude.ai or Console API key).
  1. Bun installed (bun --version).
  1. If you are on Team or Enterprise, an Owner must enable channels in admin settings.
  1. Install the plugin with /plugin install ...@claude-plugins-official.
  1. Restart Claude Code with -channels plugin:<name>@claude-plugins-official.
  1. Pair or allowlist senders before you walk away.

Telegram (summary)

  1. Create a bot in BotFather. Copy the token.
  1. /plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official
  1. /telegram:configure <token>
  1. Restart: claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official
  1. Message the bot. Pair with /telegram:access pair <code>
  1. Lock down: /telegram:access policy allowlist

Discord (summary)

  1. Create a Discord application bot. Enable Message Content Intent.
  1. Invite with bot scopes and channel permissions Anthropic lists in docs.
  1. /plugin install discord@claude-plugins-official
  1. /discord:configure <token>
  1. Restart with -channels plugin:discord@claude-plugins-official
  1. DM the bot. Pair, then set allowlist policy.

iMessage (summary)

macOS only. Grant Full Disk Access so Bun can read ~/Library/Messages/chat.db. Install the plugin, restart with --channels, text yourself to bypass the gate, then allow other handles with /imessage:access allow.
Always verify the live steps on code.claude.com/docs/en/channels before you publish runbooks to a client.

How do you keep Claude Code channels always on?

This image compares three methods to maintain always-on Claude Code channels, highlighting the drawbacks and advantages of each. The 'Laptop' option notes issues like lid closing, session termination, and channel stoppage. The 'DIY VPS' solution mentions use of tmux/systemd but points out the risk of owning crashes. Finally, the 'Agent 37' service is presented as a reliable alternative, featuring a browser terminal, starting pricing of $3.99 per month, and technical specifications including 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 8 GB storage, promoting continuous operation without the drawbacks of laptop sleep or VPS instability.
Channels only deliver while the Claude Code session is running. That is the production catch.
Path
Channels stay up when
Ops burden
Laptop terminal
Lid stays open and process stays alive
High. Sleep kills the bridge
DIY VPS + tmux/systemd
You keep Claude Code supervised
Medium. You own patches and crashes
Agent 37 managed instance
Instance stays running with browser terminal
Low. Platform owns host ops
Agent 37 path for channels:
  1. Deploy Claude Code on Agent 37 Basic ($3.99/mo, 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 8 GB) or Pro ($29.99/mo, 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 20 GB, Chromium) if browser automation matters.
  1. Open the browser terminal. Install Bun and the channel plugin.
  1. Configure bot tokens. Start Claude with -channels.
  1. Pair senders. Set allowlist policy.
  1. Leave the session running on the instance. Close your laptop.
Plus is $9.99/mo (1 vCPU, 4 GB, 12 GB). Max is $99.99/mo (4 vCPU, 16 GB, 40 GB). White-label API from $1.99 per agent per month, billed per minute. Sister posts: Claude Code remote, Claude Code background agent, best VPS for Claude Code.

What security rules matter for Claude Code channels?

Anthropic's security model is allowlist-first:
  • Only paired or explicitly allowed sender IDs can push events. Everyone else is dropped.
  • Being in .mcp.json is not enough. The server must also be named in -channels for that session.
  • If a channel can relay permission prompts, allowlisted senders can approve or deny tool use. Only trust people with that authority.
  • -dangerously-skip-permissions can reduce stalls when you are away, but only in environments you trust.
  • Org admins gate availability with channelsEnabled and optional allowedChannelPlugins.
Do not wire a client Telegram bot to a shared laptop session with no allowlist. That is how strangers get a path into your repos.

When should agencies use Claude Code channels?

Use channels when operators need phone-side nudges into a real workspace with files already open. Skip channels when the job is a fresh Slack-spawned cloud task (use Claude in Slack) or a one-shot GitHub sandbox (use Claude Code on the web).
Agency pattern that holds up:
  1. One isolated Agent 37 instance per client.
  1. Claude Code session supervised on that instance.
  1. Channel plugins only for that client's bots.
  1. Strict allowlists.
  1. Human review before merges leave the instance.
That pattern beats one shared VPS with five Discord bots and no isolation. Hosting overview: Claude Code hosting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Claude Code channels?

They are MCP plugins that push external events into a running Claude Code session and can reply on the same chat bridge. Official preview plugins include Telegram, Discord, and iMessage.

Do Claude Code channels work if my laptop is closed?

Only if Claude Code is still running somewhere else. Channels do not spawn a new cloud session. Keep the process on a VPS or on Agent 37 so the bridge survives sleep.

Are Claude Code channels the same as Claude in Slack?

No. Claude in Slack starts a web session from Slack. Channels inject into your already-open Claude Code session with local or remote files.

Is Slack an official Claude Code channel plugin?

Not in Anthropic's research-preview plugin list. Official plugins listed in docs are Telegram, Discord, iMessage, plus fakechat for demos. Confirm the live allowlist in docs before you promise Slack channels to a client.

Do Team or Enterprise plans get channels by default?

No. Owners must enable channels. Console API orgs differ. Check Anthropic's enterprise controls section in the channels docs.

Can I run multiple Claude Code channels at once?

Yes. Pass several plugins to --channels, space-separated, after each is installed.

Why use Agent 37 for Claude Code channels?

Because channels need an always-on session. Agent 37 gives you isolated Claude Code hosting with a browser terminal from $3.99/mo, so Telegram or Discord keep working when your laptop is off. Start at agent37.com.