claude-telegram-supercharged

The official Claude Code Telegram plugin is good. This one is better.

Getting Started   •   Features   •   Tools Reference   •   Contributing

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Claude Telegram Supercharged

Drop-in upgrade for the official Claude Code Telegram plugin. Install once, get 15+ features the official plugin doesn't have. Built on top of the official plugin -- everything works, just better.

2 minutes to install. Zero config. Your existing bot and pairing keep working.

Features

Getting Started

Default pairing flow for a single-user DM bot. See ACCESS.md for groups and multi-user setups.

Prerequisites

• Bun -- the MCP server runs on Bun. Install with curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash.

1. Create a bot with BotFather

Open a chat with @BotFather on Telegram and send /newbot. BotFather asks for two things:

• Name -- the display name shown in chat headers (anything, can contain spaces)
• Username -- a unique handle ending in bot (e.g. my_assistant_bot). This becomes your bot's link: t.me/my_assistant_bot.

BotFather replies with a token that looks like 123456789:AAHfiqksKZ8... -- that's the whole token, copy it including the leading number and colon.

2. Install the official plugin

These are Claude Code commands -- run claude to start a session first.

/plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official

3. Apply the supercharged version

Clone this repo and install both the supercharged server and the daemon supervisor:

git clone https://github.com/k1p1l0/claude-telegram-supercharged.git
cp claude-telegram-supercharged/server.ts ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/telegram/0.0.1/server.ts
mkdir -p ~/.claude/scripts
cp claude-telegram-supercharged/supervisor.ts ~/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts

4. Give the server the token

/telegram:configure 123456789:AAHfiqksKZ8...

Writes TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=... to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env. You can also write that file by hand, or set the variable in your shell environment -- shell takes precedence.

5. Relaunch with the channel flag

The server won't connect without this -- exit your session and start a new one:

claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official

Or use the daemon supervisor for always-on operation with auto-restart and context reset from Telegram (see Daemon Mode):

bun ~/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts

6. Pair

With Claude Code running from the previous step, DM your bot on Telegram -- it replies with a 6-character pairing code. If the bot doesn't respond, make sure your session is running with --channels. In your Claude Code session:

/telegram:access pair <code>

Your next DM reaches the assistant.

Unlike Discord, there's no server invite step -- Telegram bots accept DMs immediately. Pairing handles the user-ID lookup so you never touch numeric IDs.

7. Lock it down

Pairing is for capturing IDs. Once you're in, switch to allowlist so strangers don't get pairing-code replies. Ask Claude to do it, or /telegram:access policy allowlist directly.

Updating

When the official plugin updates, re-apply the supercharged files:

cd claude-telegram-supercharged
git pull
cp server.ts ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/telegram/0.0.1/server.ts
cp supervisor.ts ~/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts

Then restart your Claude Code session.

Tools Exposed to the Assistant

Inbound Events

Inbound messages trigger a typing indicator automatically -- Telegram shows "botname is typing..." while the assistant works on a response.

Voice & Audio Messages

Voice messages and audio files are downloaded to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/inbox/ and automatically transcribed by the server. The transcription text replaces "(voice message)" in the notification, so Claude receives the spoken text directly.

Think of it as Wispr Flow for Claude Code. Open Telegram, hold the mic button, say "refactor the auth middleware to use JWT" -- Claude gets that as text and starts working. No typing, no desktop app needed, works from your phone.

Transcription Setup

The server tries transcription methods in this order:

1. OpenAI Whisper API (recommended) -- fastest, highest quality, non-blocking. Set your API key in ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env:

   OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-...
   

   Uses whisper-1 by default ($0.006/min). You can switch to a different model:

   OPENAI_WHISPER_MODEL=gpt-4o-transcribe
   

   No local install needed. The active transcription method is logged at startup.

2. whisper.cpp (local fallback) -- brew install whisper-cpp. Fast C++ port, runs fully offline. Requires a model file:

   # Download the small multilingual model (465MB, good quality/speed balance)
   mkdir -p /usr/local/share/whisper-cpp/models
   curl -L -o /usr/local/share/whisper-cpp/models/ggml-small.bin \
     "https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-small.bin"
   

3. openai-whisper (local fallback) -- pip install openai-whisper. Python-based, slower but also works offline.

4. No transcriber -- voice messages are still downloaded and the audio_path is included in the notification, but no transcription is provided.

Local options (2 & 3) require ffmpeg (brew install ffmpeg) for audio format conversion. If you have an OpenAI API key, option 1 is recommended -- it's async (doesn't block the event loop), faster, and more accurate.

Auto-transcription in history

When autoTranscribe is enabled (the default), the server transcribes all voice/audio messages in group chats -- even ones that don't mention the bot. This means get_history and the auto-injected context always show the spoken text (prefixed with 🎤) instead of [voice]. Claude gets full conversational context including what people said in voice messages.

To disable (e.g. to save CPU on busy groups):

/telegram:access set autoTranscribe false

To re-enable:

/telegram:access set autoTranscribe true

Telegraph (Instant View Articles)

Claude can publish long-form content to Telegraph and send it as Instant View links in Telegram -- a native full-screen article reader. Telegraph is disabled by default because posts are publicly accessible by URL.

To enable, add to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env:

TELEGRAPH_ENABLED=true

When enabled, Claude only uses Telegraph for truly long content (3000+ characters with multiple sections) -- research reports, comprehensive analyses, detailed guides. Regular replies always stay in chat.

When disabled (default):

• The create_telegraph_page tool is hidden from Claude
• Claude sends all content directly in chat messages
• The system prompt does not mention Telegraph

Requires MCP server restart to take effect.

Conversation Memory

When you clear chat history, Claude first saves a short summary to ~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/memory.md. This file is loaded into Claude's instructions on every startup -- so context from previous sessions is never fully lost.

• Summaries are dated and tagged with the chat ID
• File auto-compresses when it exceeds 10,000 characters (older half gets trimmed)
• Works across /clear and Claude Code restarts

Daemon Mode

The plugin ships with a supervisor script (supervisor.ts) that runs Claude Code as a managed child process. It handles:

• Auto-restart on crash -- exponential backoff (1s, 2s, 4s... up to 30s), resets after 60s of stable uptime
• Context reset from Telegram -- say "clear everything" in Telegram, Claude saves memory, clears history, and the supervisor restarts Claude with a fresh session. Zero downtime, memory preserved.
• Signal file protocol -- the MCP server writes ~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/restart.signal, the supervisor detects it within 500ms, waits 3 seconds for Claude to finish sending replies, then kills and respawns

Usage

If you followed the Getting Started steps, the supervisor is already installed at ~/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts. Just run:

bun ~/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts

Extra flags are forwarded to Claude:

bun supervisor.ts --effort high

The supervisor spawns Claude with --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official --dangerously-skip-permissions by default.

How context reset works

1. User sends "clear everything" in Telegram
2. Claude confirms via inline buttons (ask_user)
3. Claude saves a conversation summary (save_memory)
4. Claude sends a confirmation reply to Telegram
5. Claude calls clear_history with restart_context: true
6. The MCP server writes restart.signal with a 3-second delay
7. Supervisor detects the file, waits for Claude to finish, then kills the process
8. Supervisor spawns a fresh Claude session -- memory.md is loaded into instructions automatically

Always-on with launchd (macOS)

Running the supervisor in a terminal (or tmux/screen) works for quick sessions, but has a fundamental problem on macOS: the system suspends background processes aggressively. When you close the lid, switch users, or the Mac goes to sleep, macOS sends SIGSTOP to terminal processes — your bot goes silent until you open the lid again. tmux/screen don't help because they run in userspace and get suspended too.

launchd is Apple's native process manager — the same system that keeps Spotlight, Time Machine, and iCloud running. It operates at the OS level, outside of any terminal session, so it:

• Survives lid close -- the process keeps running when you close your MacBook (on power)
• Survives logout -- stays alive even if you log out of your user session
• Auto-starts on boot -- no need to remember to start it after a restart
• Auto-restarts on crash -- if the supervisor dies unexpectedly, launchd brings it back
• Stays awake -- we wrap the supervisor with caffeinate -s to prevent system sleep

Setup

Create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.user.claude-telegram</string>

    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/bin/caffeinate</string>
        <string>-s</string>
        <string>/path/to/bun</string>
        <string>/Users/YOU/.claude/scripts/telegram-supervisor.ts</string>
    </array>

    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>

    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>

    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/Users/YOU/.claude/channels/telegram/data/supervisor-stdout.log</string>

    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/Users/YOU/.claude/channels/telegram/data/supervisor-stderr.log</string>

    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>HOME</key>
        <string>/Users/YOU</string>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/path/to/bun/dir:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin</string>
    </dict>

    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/Users/YOU</string>

    <key>ProcessType</key>
    <string>Background</string>

    <key>ThrottleInterval</key>
    <integer>10</integer>
</dict>
</plist>

Replace /path/to/bun with your bun path (which bun) and /Users/YOU with your home directory.

Managing the daemon

Start the daemon:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist

Stop the daemon:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist

Check if it's running:

launchctl list | grep claude-telegram

A running daemon shows its PID in the first column. A 0 in the status column means it exited cleanly; non-zero means it crashed (launchd will restart it).

View logs:

tail -f ~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/supervisor-stderr.log

Restart (reload config after editing the plist):

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist

Remove completely (stop + delete):

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.claude-telegram.plist

Monitoring the daemon

Use the built-in monitor skill from any Claude Code session:

/telegram:monitor

Shows a live dashboard: process status for all components, launchd state, recent logs, MCP health, remote control URL (watch the daemon live in your browser), and lock file status.

You can also monitor manually:

# Live supervisor logs
tail -f ~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/supervisor-stderr.log

# Quick alive check
ps aux | grep "channels.*telegram" | grep -v grep && echo "ALIVE" || echo "DEAD"

# Find the remote control URL (open in browser to watch the daemon live)
strings ~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/supervisor-stdout.log | grep "session_" | tail -1

How the layers work together

launchd (OS-level)
  └── caffeinate -s (prevents system sleep)
        └── supervisor.ts (manages Claude lifecycle)
              └── claude --channels plugin:telegram (the actual bot)

• launchd ensures the process tree is always alive
• caffeinate keeps the Mac awake while the process runs
• supervisor handles Claude-specific restarts (context reset, crash recovery with backoff)
• Claude runs as a managed child process with the Telegram channel

Note: caffeinate -s prevents sleep only when connected to power. On battery with the lid closed, macOS will eventually sleep regardless. For true 24/7 uptime on battery, consider running on a server instead.

Group Chats & Conversation Threading

The plugin supports group chats with smart conversation threading -- Claude can follow reply chains, see who said what, and respond in the correct thread.

Setup

1. Disable privacy mode in BotFather

By default, Telegram bots in groups only see commands and messages that mention them. For full thread tracking, disable privacy mode:

1. Open @BotFather on Telegram
2. Send /mybots → select your bot
3. Bot Settings → Group Privacy → Turn off

If you prefer to keep privacy mode on, the bot will still work -- it just won't see messages that don't mention it, so thread tracking will be incomplete.

2. Add the bot to a group

Add your bot to any Telegram group like a normal member.

3. Pair the group (automatic)

Just send a message in the group mentioning your bot (e.g. @your_bot hello). The bot replies with a 6-character pairing code -- same flow as DM pairing:

/telegram:access pair <code>

That's it. The group is registered automatically with requireMention: true (bot only responds when mentioned or replied to).

To let it respond to all messages:

/telegram:access group update -100XXXXXXXXXX requireMention false

Manual alternative: If you already know the group's numeric ID (starts with -100...), you can register directly with /telegram:access group add -100XXXXXXXXXX. Ways to find the ID: check the bot's stderr logs, open web.telegram.org (ID is in the URL), or forward a group message to @RawDataBot.

4. Restart Claude Code

claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official

How Threading Works

• When someone replies to a message in the group, Claude receives reply_to_text and reply_to_user showing what was replied to
• The plugin tracks up to 200 messages per chat (4-hour TTL) and walks reply chains up to 3 levels deep, providing thread_context in the notification
• Claude's own sent messages are tracked too, so reply chains work end-to-end
• Claude automatically threads its responses to the message that triggered them

Forum Topics

If your supergroup has Topics enabled, the plugin forwards thread_id (Telegram's message_thread_id) and passes it through to replies -- keeping conversations in their correct Forum topic automatically. Topic IDs are persisted in SQLite so context is preserved across restarts.

Access Control

Full access control docs in ACCESS.md -- DM policies, groups, mention detection, delivery config, skill commands, and the access.json schema.

Quick reference: Default policy is pairing -- DMs and groups both use the pairing flow. For DMs, message the bot to get a code. For groups, add the bot and mention it to get a code. Then /telegram:access pair <code> approves either. ackReaction only accepts Telegram's fixed emoji whitelist.

Message History Buffer

Every message flowing through the bot is captured in a local SQLite database and persisted across restarts. Claude gets context without asking users to repeat themselves.

~/.claude/channels/telegram/data/messages.db

How it works:

• A grammY middleware intercepts ALL messages (including group messages without @bot mention) before the gate check
• Both inbound messages and bot replies are stored with INSERT OR REPLACE dedup
• Last 5 messages are auto-injected into each notification so Claude always has rolling context
• get_history retrieves up to 200 messages with pagination; search_messages does substring search
• SQLite WAL mode ensures crash-safe writes -- if Claude Code crashes, the DB auto-recovers on next startup
• Rolling buffer prunes automatically: 500 messages/chat cap, 14-day TTL, 50MB hard limit

Limitations

Telegram's Bot API exposes no native history endpoint -- bots only see messages in real-time. We solve this with a local SQLite message store (see Message History below). Every message flowing through the bot is captured and persisted, giving Claude full context across restarts via get_history and search_messages tools. History is available from when the bot joined the chat.

Photos and voice messages are downloaded eagerly on arrival -- there's no way to fetch attachments from historical messages via the Bot API.

Roadmap

Completed

• MarkdownV2 formatting

• Emoji reaction tracking

• Ask User inline buttons

• Reaction status indicators (👀 → 🔥 → 👍)

• Voice & audio messages with whisper transcription

• Auto-transcription in history (configurable)

• Sticker & GIF support

• Emoji reaction validation

• Conversation threading

• Forum topic support with persistent thread_id

• Group pairing flow

• Message history buffer (SQLite)

• Session management (clear_history + save_memory)

• Conversation memory persistence

• Shell injection protection (spawnSync)

• Smart media caching (no double downloads)

• Daemon mode supervisor (auto-restart + context reset from Telegram)

• Telegraph Instant View for long-form content

• OpenAI Whisper API with local fallback

Planned

• Remote permission approval -- Approve Claude Code permission prompts via Telegram inline buttons
• Scheduled messages -- Send messages at a specific time
• Multi-bot support -- Run multiple bots from one server instance
• Rate limiting & usage stats -- Track token usage and set limits per user
• Webhook mode -- Alternative to polling for production deployments
• Custom commands -- Define bot commands that map to Claude Code skills

Contributing

This is a community project. We want your help!

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Test with a real Telegram bot
5. Open a PR with a clear description of what you changed and why

Guidelines

• Keep changes focused -- one feature per PR
• Test with real Telegram interactions, not just unit tests
• Update the README if you add new features or tools
• Follow the existing code style (TypeScript, grammy library)

Credits

• Original plugin by Anthropic (source) -- Apache 2.0 licensed
• Supercharged by @k1p1l0 and contributors
• Inspired by the Claude Code Channels launch by @boris_cherny

License

Apache 2.0 -- Same as the original. See LICENSE.