Claude Code × Telegram Integration
Complete Guide

A Practical Guide to Keeping an AI Assistant on Standby 24 Hours a Day

March 23, 2026 | kimkj.com

Chapter 1. What on Earth Is This? Understanding the Concept

1-1. What Are Claude Code Channels?

Claude Code Channels is a feature Anthropic released as a research preview on March 20, 2026. It lets you connect messengers such as Telegram or Discord to a Claude Code session running on your PC, Mac, Windows, or Linux, so you can give commands to the AI agent from anywhere, like a one-on-one walkie-talkie.

The core principle is straightforward. Claude Code and the Telegram bot share one channel, a unique number, and respond only to messages sent through that number. Because the bot and Claude Code stay connected 24 hours a day, when you send a message from your smartphone outside the house, Claude Code on your home PC receives it immediately, handles it, and sends back a reply.

1-2. Why Is It Good? Five Key Advantages

❶ Remote control - You can control Claude Code on your PC from mobile. Even when you are out, you can have your home PC code, crawl websites, organize files, and more.

❷ 24-hour standby - As long as the PC is on, Claude Code always waits for input. Send a message at any time and it responds immediately.

❸ Cron job automation - You can automatically run tasks such as daily morning news summaries, weekly schedule reports, and periodic web crawling.

❹ MCP extension - You can connect various tools such as Google Workspace, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and web search, and use it as a work assistant.

❺ Subscription use - You can use the Opus 4.6 model with only a Claude Pro/Max subscription ($20/$100), without separate API costs.

1-3. Current Support Scope, Limitations You Must Know

Only the Claude Code terminal (CLI) supports it. New features are always supported first in the CLI, so you must learn how to use the CLI.

Chapter 2. Preparation, What You Need Before Starting

2-1. Essential Preparation Checklist

2-2. Installing Claude Code CLI

There are broadly two ways to install the Claude Code CLI. As of March 2026, the native installation recommended by Anthropic is the easiest.

Method 1: Native installation (recommended)

You can install it without Node.js or npm. It supports automatic background updates.

Method 2: Installation through npm

⚠ Caution: Do not use sudo npm install -g. Permission problems may occur.

Check installation:

2-3. Installing the Bun Runtime

The official Telegram plugin requires the Bun runtime. It will not run with Node.js or Deno, so Bun must be installed.

After installation, restart the terminal or run source ~/.zshrc to refresh PATH.

2-4. Installing Telegram Desktop

You need to install the Telegram desktop app so commands can be copied and pasted easily. Download and install the app for macOS, Windows, or Linux from the official site, desktop.telegram.org, and log in with the same account as mobile.

Chapter 3. Creating a Telegram Bot, Complete BotFather Guide

3-1. Finding BotFather

In the search box of the Telegram app, search for @BotFather. Be careful because there are many fake accounts impersonating BotFather. You must enter BotFather with the blue checkmark (official verification).

3-2. Creating a New Bot

Proceed with BotFather in the following order:

3-3. Receiving and Storing the Token

If the username is available, BotFather displays a success message along with an API token. The token has a format like this:

Chapter 4. Connecting Telegram to Claude Code, Six Setup Steps

4-1. Creating a Work Folder and Running Claude

Connect to the PC that will stay on and create a dedicated work folder. In my case, I proceed on a Mac mini.

When you run Claude Code in this folder, Cla-sound, the Claude agent, turns on.

4-2. Installing the Telegram Plugin

Run the following command inside the Claude Code session:

Installation check: Use the /skills list or /plugins list command to confirm that the Telegram plugin is in the list.

Another way is to give Claude Code the GitHub address of an installation skill, such as claude-claw-setup-highboy, and say, "Install this." It will install it automatically.

4-3. Registering the Token

Register the token received from BotFather in Claude Code:

This command saves the token to a ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env file. You can also edit this file manually.

4-4. Rerunning Claude with the Channel Flag

End the current session by pressing Ctrl+C twice in succession, then run it again with the channel flag:

Without this flag, Telegram will not connect.

4-5. Pairing, Connecting the Bot and Claude Code

In Telegram, find the bot you created earlier and start a conversation:

4-6. Locking Access Permissions

After pairing is complete, switch to allowlist mode and lock the bot so that only you can use it. This way, even if a stranger requests a pairing code, the bot will not respond.

Chapter 5. 24-Hour Standby Mode, Full Operation

5-1. Rerunning in Standby Mode

Connecting it is not the end. You need to turn Claude back on in a mode that waits for input 24 hours a day. To automatically handle various tasks such as web search and file operations, set the permission mode too:

When execution succeeds, the terminal displays "listening for channel messages".

5-2. Usage Test

Now send a message to the bot in Telegram. If you send "Hello," Claude Code responds immediately. It works the same on mobile, and if you send Korean, it replies in Korean. The current response model is Opus 4.6.

5-3. Access URL Summary

Chapter 6. Advanced Use, Work Automation with MCP

6-1. Google Workspace (GWS) Integration

If you set up GWS, Google Workspace CLI, behind Claude Code, you can check Google Calendar schedules, send Gmail, and manage Google Drive files from Telegram.

GWS CLI installation and authentication:

When the browser opens, accept the OAuth permissions. The token is saved in ~/.config/gws/.

Check authentication:

Now you can give commands like these from Telegram:

6-2. Cron Job, Regular Task Automation

Because Claude Code stays resident 24 hours a day, you can set a cron job to automatically run tasks at specific times. A cron job is a program on an always-on PC that runs a script or task every day, every hour, or at a specific time.

Examples of cron job use:

The advantage of a cron job is that Claude Code can do other work during the waiting time. If you say "wait 3 minutes" without a cron job, Claude Code is tied up during that time and cannot do other work. If you set a cron job, the system runs it automatically 3 minutes later, so other commands can be handled in the meantime.

Types of cron jobs:

• One-time task : Runs only once at a specified time (for example, 3 minutes later, tomorrow at 10 a.m.)

• Recurring task : Runs periodically, such as hourly, daily, or weekly (for example, every day at 9 a.m.)

Chapter 7. Practical Use Scenarios

7-1. Use as a Work Assistant

• "Organize this week's meeting schedule and send it by email."

• "Summarize the important unread emails from today."

• "Schedule a meeting with Manager Kim tomorrow at 3 p.m."

7-2. Use as a Development Assistant

• "Write a crawler that researches a specific site and sends the results by email."

• "Fix all ESLint errors in the project folder."

• "Commit to GitHub and open a PR."

7-3. Use for Information Gathering

• "Send me 10 overseas AI news items every morning at 9 a.m." (cron job)

• "Search and organize stock-related news."

• "Monitor changes on competitor websites."

7-4. Use for PC Management

• "Check what is on the desktop and clean it up."

• "Clean up files in the Downloads folder that are older than one week."

• "Check disk space and tell me the result."

Chapter 8. Security Precautions and Plan Tips

8-1. Security Checklist

① Keep the bot token private : A token is like a password. Never share it.

② Set an allowlist : Allow only your own Telegram ID to block access by others.

③ Limit the working directory : Restrict APPROVED_DIRECTORY to the smallest necessary work folder. Never include sensitive paths such as /, /home, or /etc.

④ Container use recommended : If you use --dangerously-skip-permissions, it is safer to run it inside a Docker container.

8-2. About KakaoTalk and LINE Integration

KakaoTalk integration is unofficial and may violate the terms of service, so it is not recommended. LINE integration may receive official support in a future version update. For now, Telegram and Discord are officially supported.

8-3. Tips for Using Plans Cost-Effectively

• $20 Pro plan : Good for basic use, but it may be insufficient for 24-hour standby.

• $100 Max plan : Allows generous daily use.

• 5-hour limit sessions : Claude resets usage every 5 hours. It is wasteful if the reset happens after using only 4%.

• Practical tip : If you set a cron job to send a light message every 5 hours, you can use up your quota more efficiently.

Chapter 9. Troubleshooting FAQ

Chapter 10. Full Setup Summary: Checklist at a Glance