Slack, Chrome & Channels

Three ways Claude Code connects to the tools where work actually happens.

Claude in Slack

Mention @Claude in a channel or thread and it spawns a cloud session with that conversation as context.

(in #bugs)  @Claude users can't reset passwords when their email has a
            "+" in it — repro, fix, and open a PR against main

Claude picks up the thread context (error screenshots, discussion), works in a cloud sandbox, and posts back a PR link. Best for: bug reports arriving in chat, small well-scoped tasks, letting non-engineers file work directly. Setup: install the Claude app to your Slack workspace and connect GitHub (docs: /en/slack).

Claude Code with Chrome

Connect the CLI to a real Chrome/Edge window via the Claude in Chrome extension:

claude --chrome        # or /chrome inside a session; "Enabled by default" option available

Claude opens tabs, clicks, types, reads console/network — sharing your login state, so it works on anything you’re signed into. Requires Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise; not on WSL; Chrome & Edge only.

What it unlocks

• Live debugging: “open localhost:3000, reproduce the checkout error, read the console, fix the cause”
• Design verification: build UI → verify against the mock in-browser
• Form/flow testing: “submit the form with invalid data, check the error messages”
• Authenticated apps without APIs: draft in Google Docs, read Gmail, update Notion
• Data extraction: scrape a page into CSV
• Demo GIFs: “record a GIF of the checkout flow”

In plan mode, read-only browser calls run freely; state-changing calls (clicks, typing, navigation) prompt.

Troubleshooting: /chrome → “Reconnect extension” fixes most drops (the extension’s service worker idles on long sessions).

Channels — Push Events Into a Running Session

Channels (research preview, v2.1.80+) are MCP servers that push external events into your already-open session — the inverse of normal MCP (which Claude polls on demand). Two-way: Claude can reply back through the same channel.

Official plugins: Telegram, Discord, iMessage (macOS), plus a fakechat localhost demo. Requires Bun.

# one-time setup (Telegram example)
/plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official
/telegram:configure <bot-token>

# every session you want it active
claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official

# pair + lock down senders
/telegram:access pair <code>
/telegram:access policy allowlist

Security: sender allowlists gate who can push messages (and who can remotely approve permission prompts if the channel relays them). Admins gate the whole feature with channelsEnabled / allowedChannelPlugins.

Channels vs the alternatives

Feature	What it does
Channels	Push events into your existing local session
Remote Control	You drive your local session from your phone
Slack	Spawns a fresh cloud session from a mention
Web	Fresh cloud sandbox you start yourself
Plain MCP	Claude queries it; nothing is pushed

Real Case: CI Failure → Fix While You Sleep

1. Build a tiny webhook channel (channels reference) or use Telegram:
   CI failure notification lands in your running session
2. Session prompt (left running overnight in a sandbox — see
   16-sandboxing-and-security.md): "When a CI failure event arrives,
   check out the failing commit, reproduce, fix, push a PR, and reply
   to the channel with the PR link."
3. Morning: PR waiting, Telegram thread shows what it did.

🧠 Quick Recall

• Trick: “Slack spawns, Chrome drives, channels push.”

👨‍🏫 Teach It

• Show: Chrome demo — reproduce a localhost bug, read the console, fix the cause.
• They’ll trip on: the Chrome extension idling on long sessions — /chrome → reconnect.

---

Learning path: ⬅ 38-desktop-web-remote.md · Index · ➡ 40-agent-sdk.md