claude-tg 0.5.1

Claude Code <-> Telegram bridge

claude-tg

Claude Code CLI <-> Telegram bridge. Chat with Claude Code from your phone — full agentic experience through Telegram with token-level streaming.

Install

pip install claude-tg

Quick Start

export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="your_bot_token"   # from @BotFather
export TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="your_chat_id"       # your Telegram user ID
export CLAUDE_WORK_DIR="/path/to/project"    # optional, defaults to cwd

claude-tg

On first run, the built-in MCP server for file sending is auto-registered in Claude Code.

Commands

Command	Description
/clear	Reset session (new context)
/compact	Compact conversation context
/cancel	Stop current task
/cost	Show session cost
/model <name>	Switch model (no args = show current)
/restart	Full process restart (picks up CLI/config changes)

Inline Cancel button is shown on every message during processing.

Media

• Photos — sent to Claude as file references, Claude can read/analyze them
• Documents — same for files (PDF, code, etc.)

Voice Messages

Voice messages are transcribed via Groq Whisper API and sent to Claude as text.

export GROQ_API_KEY="your_groq_api_key"  # free at console.groq.com

Without GROQ_API_KEY, the bot replies with a setup hint when a voice message is received.

Triggers (External Prompts)

Enable a localhost HTTP server so cron jobs, scripts, or other processes can inject prompts into your chat:

export CLAUDE_TG_TRIGGER_PORT=9357   # any free port

Then trigger from anywhere:

# Run a prompt through Claude (normal mode)
curl -s -d "Run the /morning skill" localhost:9357

# Send a message directly to Telegram without running Claude (DIRECT mode)
curl -s -d "DIRECT:Deploy complete, all tests pass ✅" localhost:9357

Normal mode — the prompt is processed by Claude and the response appears as a chat message. You can reply and continue the conversation.

DIRECT mode — prefix the body with DIRECT: to send text straight to Telegram, bypassing Claude entirely. Useful for cron notifications, monitoring alerts, or scripts that already have their output ready.

• If Claude is busy, normal-mode prompts queue and process after the current task
• Localhost only — not exposed to the network

File Sending (MCP)

Claude can send files back to you via the built-in MCP server:

• send_telegram_file(file_path, caption?, temp_file?) — sends a file to your Telegram
• temp_file=True (default) — file is deleted after sending (for generated/temporary files)
• temp_file=False — file is preserved (for existing project files)

The MCP server (claude-tg-mcp) is auto-registered on launch. No manual setup needed.

Running as Root (VPS / Servers)

Claude Code CLI blocks --dangerously-skip-permissions for root. claude-tg handles this automatically:

• Non-root — uses --dangerously-skip-permissions as usual
• Root — uses --allowedTools with dynamically discovered MCP servers (reads ~/.claude.json and .mcp.json)

All registered MCP servers and built-in tools are allowed automatically. No hardcoded server names.

Configuration

Env var	Default	Description
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN	required	Bot token from @BotFather
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID	required	Your Telegram user ID
CLAUDE_WORK_DIR	cwd	Working directory for Claude
CLAUDE_TG_VERBOSE	0	Show tool results (1 to enable)
CLAUDE_TG_MODEL	—	Override Claude model
CLAUDE_TG_MAX_BUDGET	—	Max budget in USD
CLAUDE_TG_SESSION_TIMEOUT	3600	Auto-reset after N seconds of inactivity
CLAUDE_TG_UPDATE_INTERVAL	2.0	Telegram message update interval (seconds)
GROQ_API_KEY	—	Groq API key for voice transcription
CLAUDE_TG_TRIGGER_PORT	—	Localhost port for external triggers (e.g. 9357)

Systemd (VPS deployment)

# Install
uv tool install claude-tg

# Create service
cat > /etc/systemd/system/claude-tg.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Claude TG
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
EnvironmentFile=/path/to/.env
Environment=PATH=/root/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin
ExecStart=/root/.local/bin/claude-tg --work-dir /root
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

systemctl enable --now claude-tg

Features

• Token-level streaming with adaptive rate limiting
• Automatic message chaining for long outputs (splits at ~3800 chars)
• Photo, file, and voice message support
• Built-in MCP server for sending files back to the user
• Inline cancel button on every message
• Message queuing — send messages while Claude is working, they process after
• Session auto-reset after inactivity
• Compact tool call display with emoji icons
• Root-compatible — auto-discovers and allows all MCP tools
• Auto-registration of MCP server in Claude Code
• In-place restart via /restart (no need to touch the server)
• External triggers — cron/scripts can inject prompts via localhost HTTP
• Direct message mode — send to Telegram without Claude processing (DIRECT: prefix)

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Claude Code CLI installed and authenticated
• Telegram bot token from @BotFather