Channels reference - Claude Code Docs

Channels are in research preview and require Claude Code v2.1.80 or later. Team and Enterprise organizations must explicitly enable them.

A channel is an MCP server that pushes events into a Claude Code session so Claude can react to things happening outside the terminal. You can build a one-way or two-way channel. One-way channels forward alerts, webhooks, or monitoring events for Claude to act on. Two-way channels like chat bridges also expose a reply tool so Claude can send messages back. A channel with a trusted sender path can also opt in to relay permission prompts so you can approve or deny tool use remotely. This page covers:

Overview: how channels work
What you need: requirements and general steps
Example: build a webhook receiver: a minimal one-way walkthrough
Server options: the constructor fields
Notification format: the event payload and delivery behavior
Expose a reply tool: let Claude send messages back
Gate inbound messages: sender checks to prevent prompt injection
Relay permission prompts: forward tool approval prompts to remote channels

To use an existing channel instead of building one, see Channels. Telegram, Discord, iMessage, and fakechat are included in the research preview.

Overview

A channel is an MCP server that runs on the same machine as Claude Code. Claude Code spawns it as a subprocess and communicates over stdio. Your channel server is the bridge between external systems and the Claude Code session:

Chat platforms (Telegram, Discord): your plugin runs locally and polls the platform’s API for new messages. When someone DMs your bot, the plugin receives the message and forwards it to Claude. No URL to expose.
Webhooks (CI, monitoring): your server listens on a local HTTP port. External systems POST to that port, and your server pushes the payload to Claude.

​Overview

Overview