Kjell Tore Guttormsen b47fcdfc14 feat: add iMessage channel, channels setup guide, 3-way distinction

- messaging/channels-setup.md: comprehensive guide covering all 3
  channels (Telegram, Discord, iMessage), bun install, plugin setup,
  session persistence workarounds, and enterprise admin settings
- messaging/imessage-setup.md: macOS-specific iMessage setup with
  Full Disk Access, /imessage access allow, and known quirks
- messaging/README.md: rewritten with 3-way distinction table
  (Channels=event-based, Dispatch=message-based, RC=direct control)
- examples/12: expanded from 2 options to 3 with clear trigger model
- feature-map.md: row 9 updated to include iMessage
- README.md: session persistence warning added as top-level section

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-03-26 10:16:53 +01:00

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Messaging

How Claude Code sends and receives messages, compared to OpenClaw.

Three ways to reach Claude Code from your phone

Method	How it works	Best for
Channels	Chat apps push events into a running session	iMessage, Telegram, Discord
Dispatch	Send a task from the Claude mobile app	Quick delegation
Remote Control	Steer an active session from phone/browser	Guiding in-progress work

See channels-setup.md for the definitive guide to all three.

Supported channels (native, event-based)

Channel	Plugin	Platform	Since
Telegram	`@anthropic-ai/claude-code-telegram`	Any OS	v2.1.80
Discord	`@anthropic-ai/claude-code-discord`	Any OS	v2.1.80
iMessage	`@anthropic-ai/claude-code-imessage`	macOS only	v2.1.87

All three follow the same pattern: install plugin, launch with claude --channels, receive and respond to messages.

Permission approval from phone: When Claude needs to run a sensitive action, it sends a permission request through the channel. Reply "yes" or "no" from your phone.

MCP servers for other channels

For channels not yet supported natively, use MCP servers:

Channel	MCP Server	Notes
Slack	`@modelcontextprotocol/slack`	Official, well-maintained
Email	SMTP/IMAP MCP servers	Several community options

See slack-setup.md for a complete Slack walkthrough.

Setup guides in this directory

File	What it covers
`channels-setup.md`	General channels guide + Dispatch/RC comparison
`imessage-setup.md`	iMessage-specific setup (macOS)
`telegram-channels-setup.md`	Telegram-specific setup
`slack-setup.md`	Slack via MCP server

The critical limitation

If the Claude Code session closes, channels stop working. This is the biggest practical difference from OpenClaw's always-on daemon. See channels-setup.md for workarounds (tmux, Mac Mini, VPS).

OpenClaw comparison

OpenClaw ships with 15+ channel connectors: WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, IRC, Matrix, Teams, and more. Each is plug-and-play with YAML configuration.

Claude Code has 3 native channels (Telegram, Discord, iMessage) plus MCP servers for Slack and others. The gap is narrowing but OpenClaw still has broader multi-channel coverage.

Where Claude Code wins: security. OpenClaw's community skills (12% malicious per Cisco research) and CVE-2026-25253 highlight real risks. Claude Code's permission model and marketplace review process provide stronger guarantees for most users.

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