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Channels and Webhooks into Running Claude Code Sessions

A practical walkthrough of Claude Code channels: how an MCP-server channel pushes messages, alerts, and webhooks into a running session, how to install and enable Telegram, Discord, or iMessage, sender allowlists, and enterprise controls.

by JPette1783·added 2026-06-05·
Claude Code
HarnessClaude Code
Review first — review before installing

Open the source and read safety notes before installing.

Safety notes

  • Channel input is untrusted external content; treat incoming messages as data, not as instructions that should widen permissions.
  • Events only arrive while the session is open; for unattended use, --dangerously-skip-permissions bypasses prompts and should be used only in trusted environments.
  • Each channel keeps a sender allowlist; only paired/allowlisted IDs can push messages, and anyone who can reply can also approve permission relays if enabled, so allowlist only trusted senders.

Privacy notes

  • A channel is an MCP server you configure with your own credentials; tokens are stored locally (for example ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env).
  • Incoming and outgoing messages pass through the third-party platform (Telegram, Discord, Apple Messages); review what data flows there.
  • The iMessage channel reads your Messages database and requires Full Disk Access; understand that exposure before enabling it.

Prerequisites

  • Claude Code v2.1.80 or later, authenticated through claude.ai or a Console API key (channels are not available on Bedrock, Vertex AI, or Foundry).
  • Bun installed, since the channel plugins are Bun scripts.
  • On Team, Enterprise, or managed Console orgs, an admin must enable channels first.

Schema details

Install type
cli
Troubleshooting
No
Full copyable content
Use this guide to push external messages, alerts, and webhooks into a running Claude Code session via a channel plugin, and to lock down who can send them.

About this resource

Overview

A channel is an MCP server that pushes events into your running Claude Code session, so Claude can react to things that happen while you are away from the terminal. Channels can be two-way: Claude reads the event and replies through the same channel. Events only arrive while the session is open, so for an always-on setup you run Claude in a background or persistent terminal. Channels are a research preview and require Anthropic authentication through claude.ai or a Console API key.

Install and enable a channel

Channel plugins require Bun. Using Telegram as an example:

  1. Create a bot with BotFather and copy the token.
  2. Install the plugin: /plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official (run /reload-plugins afterward).
  3. Configure the token: /telegram:configure <token> (saved to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env).
  4. Restart with the channel enabled:
claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official
  1. Message your bot to get a pairing code, then run /telegram:access pair <code> and lock it down with /telegram:access policy allowlist.

Discord and iMessage follow the same pattern. Try the fakechat localhost demo first to learn the flow with nothing to authenticate.

Webhook receiver

Because a channel is an MCP server, you can build one that receives webhooks from CI, an error tracker, or a deploy pipeline, so the event arrives in the session where Claude already has your files open and remembers what you were debugging. See the Channels reference for building your own.

Security

  • Every channel keeps a sender allowlist; only paired or explicitly allowed IDs can push messages, and everyone else is silently dropped.
  • Being listed in .mcp.json is not enough; a server must also be named in --channels for the session.
  • If permission relay is enabled, anyone who can reply through the channel can approve or deny tool use, so allowlist only senders you trust with that.

Enterprise controls

Admins govern availability with managed settings:

  • channelsEnabled is the master switch (blocked by default on Team and Enterprise; allowed by default on Console unless managed settings are deployed).
  • allowedChannelPlugins replaces the default allowlist with a specific set of approved plugins and marketplaces.

In all cases, no channel runs until a user opts it in with --channels.

How channels compare

Channels push events into your already-running local session. That differs from Claude Code on the web (fresh cloud session), Claude in Slack (spawns a web session from a mention), a standard MCP server (queried on demand, nothing pushed), and Remote Control (you drive the local session from your phone).

Source

#claude-code#channels#webhooks#automation#integrations

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