Swap Your 100 MB Telegram Plugin for This 3.5 MB Rust MCP Server

If you've tried using Claude Code with Telegram, you've likely hit roadblocks. The official plugin has known bugs, consumes significant resources, and the --channels activation path is broken for many users. Here's a lightweight alternative that fixes these problems.

What It Does

hdcd-telegram is a Rust-based MCP server that replaces Claude Code's official Telegram plugin. It maintains full feature parity while being dramatically more efficient:

• Binary size: 3.5 MB vs. ~100 MB (Bun runtime + dependencies)
• RAM per instance: ~5 MB vs. ~100 MB
• Startup time: <50 ms vs. 2-3 seconds
• Clean shutdown: Immediate exit vs. zombie processes that cause 409 Conflict errors

For multi-agent setups (CI pipelines, orchestrators, development fleets), the savings compound. Ten parallel agents would consume ~50 MB total instead of ~1 GB just for Telegram bridges.

Why You Need It

The official Telegram plugin has several persistent issues documented in Claude Code's GitHub:

1. "Channels are not currently available" (Issue #36503, 24+ comments)
2. Bot shows "typing" but never replies (Issue #37933)
3. Plugin stops after the first turn (Issue #36477)
4. Zombie processes keep polling after session ends

hdcd-telegram solves these while also working around the broken --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official activation path through a different MCP loading method.

How To Install It

1. Download the Binary

Get the pre-built binary for your platform from the GitHub Releases (Linux, macOS, Windows).

2. Configure Your Bot Token

mkdir -p ~/.claude/channels/telegram
echo "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-token-here" > ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env
chmod 600 ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env

3. Add to Your MCP Configuration

Edit ~/.mcp.json (create it if it doesn't exist):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "/path/to/hdcd-telegram",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

4. Launch Claude Code with the Server

claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:telegram

5. Pair Your Account

1. DM your Telegram bot
2. Get the pairing code
3. Run /telegram:access pair <code> in Claude Code

Key Features

• Full message support: Text, photos, documents, voice, audio, video, video notes, stickers
• Four MCP tools: reply, react, edit_message, download_attachment
• Access control: Pairing flow, per-user allowlists, group policies with @mention gating
• Permission relay: Inline keyboard for remote tool-use approval/denial
• Local voice transcription: Uses OpenAI Whisper running locally—no data leaves your machine
• Zero migration: Reads the same .env and access.json files as the official plugin

When This Shines

1. Multi-agent deployments: Each agent gets its own lightweight Telegram bridge
2. CI/CD pipelines: Reduced memory footprint means more agents per runner
3. Development environments: Faster startup and no zombie processes
4. When the official plugin breaks: The --dangerously-load-development-channels path bypasses the buggy plugin resolution

Zero Migration Path

If you're already using the official plugin, switching is straightforward:

1. Your existing ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env (bot token) and ~/.claude/channels/telegram/access.json (allowlist, groups) files work unchanged
2. Just update the binary path in your .mcp.json configuration
3. All existing pairings and settings are preserved

Why This Matters for Claude Code Workflows

Telegram integration enables remote development workflows where you can interact with Claude Code from your phone, receive notifications, or collaborate with team members. A reliable, lightweight implementation means you can scale these workflows without resource constraints.

The project comes from HyperDev, who build tooling for multi-agent Claude Code deployments. They created this initially for their SDLC Orchestrator that runs 4+ Claude Code agents in parallel.

gentic.news Analysis

This Rust MCP server represents a growing trend in the Claude Code ecosystem: community-built alternatives to official components that prioritize performance and reliability. It follows similar optimization efforts we've covered, like using the /compact flag to reduce token usage by 40% and workflow improvements that help developers ship 3x faster.

The project directly addresses multiple GitHub issues that have been open for months (#36503, #36477, #37933), showing how the community is stepping in to solve persistent pain points. This aligns with our previous coverage of MCP servers worth installing—hdcd-telegram now joins that list as an essential tool for anyone using Telegram with Claude Code.

For multi-agent setups, this optimization is particularly valuable. As developers scale their Claude Code usage across CI pipelines and development fleets, resource efficiency becomes critical. The 95% reduction in memory usage per Telegram bridge enables more agents per machine, reducing infrastructure costs for teams running parallel Claude Code instances.

Try It Today

If you've struggled with Claude Code's Telegram integration—whether due to bugs, resource usage, or the broken channels feature—hdcd-telegram offers a production-ready alternative. Download the binary, update your .mcp.json, and launch with the development channels flag. Your existing configurations will work, and you'll immediately benefit from faster startup, lower memory usage, and reliable connections.