Setting Up Telegram to Chat to Claude Code

curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/botTOKEN/getUpdates" | python3 -m json.tool | grep '"id"' | head -2

I want a personal Telegram bot that lets me chat with Claude from my phone.
Headless setup — no tmux, no inline buttons, no topics. Just DM the bot, it
calls Claude in --print mode and replies. Identical pattern to Daniel Poon's
Watson setup.

My values:
  BOT_TOKEN=PASTE_HERE
  CHAT_ID=PASTE_HERE
  AGENT_NAME=jarvis            # rename if you want; lowercase, no spaces

Execute every step in order. Show me the output of each verification command
before moving on.

================================================================
STEP 1 — Sanity check
================================================================
Run:
  claude --version
  which claude
  which node
  uname -m

If `claude` isn't found, stop and tell me to install Claude Code first.
Note whether this is arm64 (Apple Silicon, brew prefix /opt/homebrew) or
x86_64 (Intel, /usr/local) — the LaunchAgent needs the right PATH.

================================================================
STEP 2 — Create directory layout
================================================================
  mkdir -p ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}
  mkdir -p ~/.claude/agents ~/.claude/memory ~/.claude/logs

================================================================
STEP 3 — Write the credentials file
================================================================
Create ~/.claude/telegram/.env with mode 600:
  ${AGENT_NAME^^}_BOT_TOKEN=<BOT_TOKEN>

(Uppercase variable name so JARVIS_BOT_TOKEN, WATSON_BOT_TOKEN etc. all
coexist if you add more agents later.)

Then: chmod 600 ~/.claude/telegram/.env

Write the chat ID:
  echo "<CHAT_ID>" > ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/chat_id.txt
  echo "0" > ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/offset.txt
  touch ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/history.txt

================================================================
STEP 4 — Write a basic agent persona
================================================================
Create ~/.claude/agents/${AGENT_NAME}.md:
  # ${AGENT_NAME^}

  You are ${AGENT_NAME^}, a personal AI assistant that chats with me via
  Telegram. Be concise, direct, and useful. No filler, no emoji, no
  sycophancy. If you do not know something, say so. If a task needs a tool
  (web search, file read, bash, code), use it — do not refuse upfront.

(Edit later to match your style.)

================================================================
STEP 5 — Write receive.sh
================================================================
Create ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/receive.sh:
  #!/bin/bash
  source "$HOME/.claude/telegram/.env"
  TOKEN="${${AGENT_NAME^^}_BOT_TOKEN}"
  OFFSET_FILE="$HOME/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/offset.txt"
  ALLOWED_CHAT_ID=$(cat "$HOME/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/chat_id.txt")
  OFFSET=$(cat "$OFFSET_FILE")

  RESPONSE=$(curl -s --max-time 35 "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TOKEN}/getUpdates?offset=${OFFSET}&limit=10&timeout=30")

  echo "$RESPONSE" | node -e "
  const data = JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('/dev/stdin','utf8'));
  const allowedId = ${ALLOWED_CHAT_ID};
  if (data.ok && data.result.length > 0) {
    let maxId = parseInt(require('fs').readFileSync('${OFFSET_FILE}','utf8').trim()) || 0;
    data.result.forEach(u => {
      if (u.update_id >= maxId) maxId = u.update_id + 1;
      if (u.message && u.message.text && u.message.chat.id === allowedId) {
        console.log(u.message.text);
      }
    });
    require('fs').writeFileSync('${OFFSET_FILE}', String(maxId));
  }
  "

(Resolve the bash variable substitution at write time — i.e. produce literal
JARVIS_BOT_TOKEN in the file, not ${AGENT_NAME^^}_BOT_TOKEN.)

chmod +x receive.sh

================================================================
STEP 6 — Write send.sh
================================================================
Create ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/send.sh:
  #!/bin/bash
  source "$HOME/.claude/telegram/.env"
  TOKEN="${${AGENT_NAME^^}_BOT_TOKEN}"
  CHAT_ID=$(cat "$HOME/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/chat_id.txt")
  MESSAGE="$1"

  RESPONSE=$(curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TOKEN}/sendMessage" \
    -d "chat_id=${CHAT_ID}" \
    --data-urlencode "text=${MESSAGE}" \
    -d "parse_mode=Markdown")

  if echo "$RESPONSE" | grep -q '"ok":false'; then
    curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TOKEN}/sendMessage" \
      -d "chat_id=${CHAT_ID}" \
      --data-urlencode "text=${MESSAGE}" >/dev/null
  fi

chmod +x send.sh

================================================================
STEP 7 — Write loop.sh (the main bot)
================================================================
Create ~/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/loop.sh with this exact content,
substituting AGENT_NAME wherever it appears. This is the polling loop that
runs forever, calls Claude headlessly per message, handles timeouts,
chunks long replies, and extracts long-term memory every 20 exchanges:
  #!/bin/bash
  AGENT="${AGENT_NAME}"
  BASE="$HOME/.claude/telegram/$AGENT"
  LOG="$HOME/.claude/logs/telegram-$AGENT.log"
  HISTORY="$BASE/history.txt"
  source "$HOME/.claude/telegram/.env"
  TOKEN_VAR="${${AGENT_NAME^^}_BOT_TOKEN}"
  TOKEN="$TOKEN_VAR"
  CHAT_ID=$(cat "$BASE/chat_id.txt")
  MAX_HISTORY=20

  touch "$HISTORY"

  PIDFILE="$BASE/.loop.pid"
  if [ -f "$PIDFILE" ]; then
    OLD_PID=$(cat "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null)
    if [ -n "$OLD_PID" ] && kill -0 "$OLD_PID" 2>/dev/null && [ "$OLD_PID" != "$$" ]; then
      echo "[$(date)] Already running (pid=$OLD_PID), exiting" >> "$LOG"
      exit 0
    fi
  fi
  echo $$ > "$PIDFILE"
  trap 'rm -f "$PIDFILE"' EXIT

  send_typing() {
    curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TOKEN}/sendChatAction" \
      -d "chat_id=${CHAT_ID}" -d "action=typing" >/dev/null
  }

  send_response() {
    local text="$1"
    while [ ${#text} -gt 0 ]; do
      bash "$BASE/send.sh" "${text:0:4000}"
      text="${text:4000}"
      [ ${#text} -gt 0 ] && sleep 1
    done
  }

  echo "[$(date)] $AGENT bot starting" >> "$LOG"
  unset CLAUDECODE

  while true; do
    MESSAGES=$(bash "$BASE/receive.sh" 2>/dev/null)
    if [ -z "$MESSAGES" ]; then continue; fi

    echo "[$(date)] Received: $MESSAGES" >> "$LOG"
    send_typing

    PERSONA=$(cat "$HOME/.claude/agents/$AGENT.md" 2>/dev/null)
    MEMORY=$(cat "$HOME/.claude/memory/$AGENT.md" 2>/dev/null)
    HIST=$(tail -n $((MAX_HISTORY * 2)) "$HISTORY" 2>/dev/null)
    TODAY=$(date '+%A, %d %B %Y %H:%M %Z')

    PROMPT_FILE=$(mktemp /tmp/${AGENT}_prompt.XXXXXX)
    {
      printf '%s\n\n' "$PERSONA"
      printf 'Current date/time: %s\n\n' "$TODAY"
      printf '## Memory\n%s\n\n' "$MEMORY"
      printf '## Recent conversation\n%s\n\n' "$HIST"
      printf -- '---\nUser says via Telegram: %s\n\n---\n' "$MESSAGES"
      printf 'Respond as %s. You have full tool access — use it.\n\n' "$AGENT"
      printf '## HEADLESS — no stdin, no human-in-the-loop\n'
      printf 'Never run blocking commands: OAuth flows, sudo password prompts, vim/nano/less, REPLs, foreground servers. If a tool needs auth, tell the user what to run in their own terminal — do not retry.\n\n'
      printf 'Keep replies concise and mobile-friendly. Short paragraphs. Markdown OK.\n\n'
      printf 'If asked to remember something, append it to %s/.claude/memory/%s.md.\n' "$HOME" "$AGENT"
    } > "$PROMPT_FILE"

    send_typing &

    OUT_FILE=$(mktemp /tmp/${AGENT}_out.XXXXXX)
    claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --no-session-persistence --print \
      --model claude-sonnet-4-6 < "$PROMPT_FILE" > "$OUT_FILE" 2>>"$LOG" &
    CLAUDE_PID=$!
    WAITED=0; TIMED_OUT=0
    while kill -0 "$CLAUDE_PID" 2>/dev/null; do
      if (( WAITED >= 300 )); then
        kill -KILL "$CLAUDE_PID" 2>/dev/null; TIMED_OUT=1; break
      fi
      sleep 2; WAITED=$((WAITED + 2))
    done
    wait "$CLAUDE_PID" 2>/dev/null
    RESPONSE=$(cat "$OUT_FILE")
    rm -f "$OUT_FILE" "$PROMPT_FILE"
    wait 2>/dev/null

    if [ -n "$RESPONSE" ]; then
      send_response "$RESPONSE"
      echo "User: $MESSAGES" >> "$HISTORY"
      echo "$AGENT: $RESPONSE" >> "$HISTORY"
    elif [ "$TIMED_OUT" = "1" ]; then
      bash "$BASE/send.sh" "Hung after 5 min — try again."
    else
      bash "$BASE/send.sh" "Hit a snag. Try again."
    fi
  done

chmod +x loop.sh

Create empty memory file:
  touch ~/.claude/memory/${AGENT_NAME}.md

================================================================
STEP 8 — Write the LaunchAgent plist
================================================================
Detect brew prefix from STEP 1: arm64 → /opt/homebrew/bin, x86_64 →
/usr/local/bin. Get username from `whoami`.

Create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claude.telegram.${AGENT_NAME}.plist:
  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
  <plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key><string>com.claude.telegram.${AGENT_NAME}</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/usr/bin/caffeinate</string>
      <string>-dimsu</string>
      <string>/bin/bash</string>
      <string>/Users/USERNAME/.claude/telegram/${AGENT_NAME}/loop.sh</string>
    </array>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
      <key>PATH</key>
      <string>BREW_PREFIX:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin</string>
    </dict>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/Users/USERNAME/.claude</string>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key><true/>
    <key>ProcessType</key><string>Interactive</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/Users/USERNAME/.claude/logs/telegram-${AGENT_NAME}.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/Users/USERNAME/.claude/logs/telegram-${AGENT_NAME}.error.log</string>
  </dict>
  </plist>

(The caffeinate wrapper prevents sleep/idle from suspending the bot —
this is the fix for the "stalls when computer logged off" problem.)

================================================================
STEP 9 — Load and verify
================================================================
  launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claude.telegram.${AGENT_NAME}.plist 2>/dev/null
  launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claude.telegram.${AGENT_NAME}.plist
  sleep 3
  launchctl list | grep com.claude.telegram.${AGENT_NAME}
  tail -20 ~/.claude/logs/telegram-${AGENT_NAME}.log

The launchctl line should show a PID (not "-"). The log should say
"$AGENT bot starting".

================================================================
STEP 10 — Sleep / lock survival
================================================================
Ask me first before running this — it's a system-wide power setting:
  sudo pmset -c sleep 0 disksleep 0 powernap 1 tcpkeepalive 1

This stops the Mac from sleeping on AC power so the bot survives lid-close
and idle. The caffeinate wrapper in the plist already covers the rest.

Note: macOS LaunchAgents stop on FULL user logout (not lock screen, not
sleep). To survive logout you need a LaunchDaemon at /Library/LaunchDaemons
running as your user — tell me if you want that, it's a separate setup.

================================================================
STEP 11 — Smoke test
================================================================
DM your bot from your phone with: "hello, who are you?"
Within 10 seconds you should see the typing indicator, then a reply.

Tail the log:
  tail -f ~/.claude/logs/telegram-${AGENT_NAME}.log

Tell me when this is done and what you see.