⚡ Activation

💭 in your head · nothing to type

You are on the road. A thought comes that you would hate to lose. Or you need to ask your archive quickly: "what did I decide about this client?"

The terminal stayed at home, on the computer. The agent is there too, next to your files.

How would you like to reach it — and who else should definitely not get that ability?

👁 Reflection

💭 in your head · nothing to type

A channel is only a door. Memory and work stay where they were: on your computer, in your folder.

The door changes one thing: now someone can knock from outside. So it matters not only how to open the door but also who can knock on it.

Keep both questions in mind. The first one is covered here, the second in unit 4.

💡 Concept

How a channel works

A message travels from the messenger to the agent session on your computer and back:

you in a messenger → bot → channel plugin → running agent session → your files
                                                    ↓
you in a messenger ← bot ← agent's reply ←──────────┘

Three properties matter:

• The work happens on your side. The agent answers from a session on your computer and works with your real files. The messenger's cloud only carries the text.
• The session must be open. No running session — nobody to answer. For a constant connection, people keep the agent in a separate terminal window or a background process.
• A bot is an address. Anyone who knows the bot's name can message it. That is why you need a list of allowed senders.

Channels in Claude Code