Most AI coding assistants sit idle unless you're actively typing commands. Claude Code just added a way to keep working even when you walk away from the terminal.
Channels, now in research preview (v2.1.80+), let external services push messages directly into a running Claude Code session. Set up a Telegram bot or Discord bot, pair it with your session, and you can send instructions to Claude from your phone, forward CI/CD results, or pipe in monitoring alerts. Claude reads the incoming message, acts on it, and replies back through the same channel.
How It Works
Channels are MCP server plugins. You install one, restart Claude Code with the --channels flag, and pair your account using a one-time code. Two official plugins ship with the research preview:
- Telegram - Create a bot via BotFather, configure the token, pair with a code
- Discord - Create a bot in the Developer Portal, enable Message Content Intent, pair the same way
There's also a localhost demo called "fakechat" for testing the flow without connecting a real service.
Each channel maintains a sender allowlist, so only accounts you've explicitly approved can push messages. Being listed in .mcp.json alone isn't enough to receive events - the server must also be named in the --channels flag at startup.
The Use Case That Actually Matters
The obvious scenario: you kick off a long task in Claude Code, leave your desk, and get a Telegram message when Claude hits a permission prompt or finishes the job. You reply from your phone with "approved" or "now run the tests" without walking back to your laptop.
For teams, the Discord integration means you could have a shared channel where Claude posts progress updates on background tasks. Enterprise and Team plan users need an admin to flip the channelsEnabled setting before any of this works.
Limitations Right Now
This is a research preview with real constraints. Channels only work while the session is open, so you need Claude running in a persistent terminal or background process for always-on behavior. Only plugins from Anthropic's approved list work during the preview. The --channels syntax may change. And it requires a claude.ai login - API key authentication isn't supported.
Building your own channel plugin is possible using the channels reference docs, but custom channels need the --dangerously-load-development-channels flag during the preview period.
For developers already running Claude Code for extended sessions, this fills a genuine gap. The ability to interact with your coding agent from a mobile chat app turns Claude Code from a tool you sit in front of into one that can run semi-autonomously.