Claude Code Channels: Run Your AI Agent on Telegram and Discord (2026 Setup Guide)

Claude Code Channels: Run Your AI Agent on Telegram and Discord (2026 Setup Guide)

We set up Channels on both platforms. Here's what works, what doesn't, and whether you should switch.

What Are Claude Code Channels?

Claude Code Channels is an official Anthropic feature that connects your Claude Code agent to Telegram and Discord. Instead of using a separate chatbot service, your Claude Code instance acts as a bot on your favorite messaging platform.

The key difference: your agent runs locally with your permissions. All code stays on your machine or server. Messages are encrypted end-to-end. You're not sending your codebase to some third-party bot service.

We tested Channels on both platforms for this review. Setup was quick (under 5 minutes), and the agent felt responsive and context-aware. It's a solid alternative to building custom bot frameworks or relying on external services.

Setting Up on Telegram

Telegram setup is the simplest. You need a Telegram bot token, which you get from BotFather. Here's the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Open Telegram and search for "BotFather". Send /newbot to start creating a bot. BotFather will ask for a name and username.

Step 2: Copy the bot token that BotFather provides. It looks like 123456789:ABCDefGHijKLmnoPQRstUVwxyz.

Step 3: In your Claude Code terminal, run claude channels setup --platform telegram.

Step 4: Paste the bot token when prompted. Claude Code will validate it and ask which project you want to connect.

Step 5: The agent starts running as a background process. Find your bot in Telegram and start messaging it. It will respond with access to your codebase.

Setting Up on Discord

Discord setup is equally quick but involves one extra step: inviting the bot to your server.

Step 1: Go to the Discord Developer Portal. Create a new application and add a bot user to it.

Step 2: Copy the bot token from the developer portal.

Step 3: In Claude Code, run claude channels setup --platform discord.

Step 4: Paste your bot token. Claude Code will provide an invite link.

Step 5: Use the invite link to add the bot to your Discord server. Select which channels it has access to (or restrict to DMs only).

Step 6: Once added, @mention your bot in Discord to start chatting. The bot will respond with code review, documentation, and more.

Using Channels: Features and Commands

Once your Channels bot is running, you interact with it like any other chat. Here are the main features we tested:

Code Review: Paste code or mention a file, and ask the agent to review it. It reads your codebase for context and provides feedback on style, security, and performance.

Generation: Request a new function or feature. The agent writes code and saves it to your project.

Deployment: Run deployment commands via chat. "Deploy to staging" triggers your deployment script, and the agent reports status.

Testing: Ask the agent to run tests. It executes your test suite and reports results in the chat.

Monitoring: Configure your agent to post alerts to Telegram/Discord. When monitoring systems detect issues, the bot notifies your team.

Context Switching: The agent remembers conversation history. Ask follow-up questions and it understands context from previous messages.

Real-World Use Cases

We tested Channels in several workflows. Here's where it excels:

Security and Privacy

This is where Channels stands out from external bot services. Your codebase never leaves your infrastructure.

Local Execution: The Claude Code agent runs on your machine or server. Your code stays local. Only text messages are sent to Anthropic's API.

End-to-End Encryption: Messages between your bot and Telegram/Discord are encrypted. Anthropic doesn't store raw conversations.

Permission Control: You decide what the agent can access. Restrict it to specific directories, disable shell access if needed, or limit tool usage.

Audit Trail: All agent actions are logged locally. You can review what commands were run and by whom.

Channels vs. Standalone Bot Services

We compared Channels against popular alternatives. The question: should you migrate from existing services?

Channels wins on setup speed and cost. If you already use Claude Code and need quick bot integration, Channels is the answer. If you need heavy customization or multi-LLM support, a custom bot framework remains better.

For most teams, Channels replaces standalone services adequately. The killer feature: it's included with your Claude Code subscription, not an extra monthly cost.

Pros and Cons

Frequently Asked Questions