Claude Channel

claude-channel-cli

claude-channel-cli asks a live Claude Code session questions from Codex, Claude Code, or any local shell and returns Claude's response to the caller. Because it's built on the Channels feature, Claude Code can tell the request came from another agent and can respond through the channel without mixing that response into your normal chat.

Unlike using the API directly or a sub-agent, this gives you full auditability and steerability. For example, Codex can submit a plan to Claude for review while you keep watching and steering that same Claude Code session.

Install the CLI

Install the CLI from npm:

npm install -g claude-channel-cli

This makes the claude-channel command available on your PATH.

Start Claude Code

Claude Channel is not approved by Anthropic's marketplace yet. For now, register the receiver-side MCP server once from each project directory where you want Claude Code to receive channel requests:

cd ~/github/my_project/
claude-channel setup-mcp

Then start Claude Code from that same project, or resume a thread there. The explicit channel flag is required until the plugin is available through Anthropic's marketplace:

claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:claude-channel-cli

Use the CLI

In another shell, ask the channel-enabled Claude Code session:

claude-channel list
claude-channel status
claude-channel ask "From Codex: reply through complete_channel_request."

ask defaults to a 30-minute timeout. Use --output json when a script needs the full response envelope:

claude-channel ask --output json "From Codex: review this."

For long prompts, use stdin or an explicit prompt file:

claude-channel ask-file - <<'EOF'
From Codex: /review the current branch for correctness, test coverage, and maintainability.
Return the final review by calling complete_channel_request.
EOF

claude-channel ask-file prompts/review.md

Timeouts can be configured per command or through the environment:

claude-channel ask --timeout 45m "From Codex: take up to 45 minutes to review this."
CLAUDE_CHANNEL_ASK_TIMEOUT_MS=2700000 claude-channel ask "From Codex: review this."

Use the Codex Desktop Plugin

The Codex plugin gives @claude-channel workflow guidance and typed tools that mirror the CLI commands, so Codex can list targets, check status, and ask Claude without shell quoting or CLI-output parsing.

After installing the npm package, register the bundled Codex plugin in your personal marketplace, then install it. setup-codex-plugin preserves existing marketplace entries and fails if claude-channel-cli already exists but points somewhere unexpected. If it prints a different codex plugin add ... command, use the printed command. Then start a new Codex thread.

claude-channel setup-codex-plugin
codex plugin add claude-channel-cli@personal

Use it when you want Codex to ask Claude Code and then handle the response:

@claude-channel ask Claude Code to review the current branch for correctness and test coverage. After it responds, decide which findings you agree with.

Codex can also alternatively use the CLI directly.

Multiple Sessions & Targeting

Each channel-enabled Claude Code window registers a local endpoint under:

~/.claude-channel/endpoints/ep_<id>.json

When exactly one endpoint is live, --to is optional. When more than one endpoint is live, commands fail closed and print candidates instead of guessing:

claude-channel list
claude-channel ask --to ep_ABC234 "From Codex: review this diff."
CLAUDE_CHANNEL_TARGET=ep_ABC234 claude-channel status

--to accepts an endpoint id, a unique display name, a project path, or a numeric index from the current claude-channel list output.

Use rename to make same-project sessions predictable:

claude-channel rename --to ep_ABC234 review-left
claude-channel ask --to review-left "From Codex: review this diff."

For scripted launches, set the startup display name before starting Claude Code:

CLAUDE_CHANNEL_DISPLAY_NAME=review-left claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:claude-channel-cli

Display names cannot be only digits, look like endpoint ids, or contain control/formatting characters, because numeric targets, endpoint ids, and invisible text are reserved for safe targeting.

Security

The channel is a local control surface for a live Claude Code session. It does not expose a remote API by default, but any local process with the bearer token can ask the visible Claude Code thread to act.

The default HTTP listener binds to 127.0.0.1 and asks the operating system for an available local port. Requests to /ask require a bearer token. On first run, claude-channel-cli creates that token at:

~/.claude-channel/token