Channel Management

Overview

This skill manages the full lifecycle of a Claude Code --channels session (Telegram bot, Discord bot, or any plugin-based channel integration). It wraps the CLI tools at .claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs and .claude/tools/cli/terminal-tracker.cjs and provides a repeatable, observable workflow for:

1. Starting a channel session in a new Windows Terminal tab
2. Stopping a running channel session cleanly
3. Checking status and PID liveness
4. Health-checking the session via the terminal tracker

When to Invoke

Skill({ skill: 'channel-management' });

Invoke when:

• CHANNEL_AUTO_START=true is set and session startup must be verified on agent boot
• A user or cron job requests manual channel lifecycle management
• A channel session appears to have crashed and needs restart
• Diagnosing why Telegram/Discord messages are not being received
• Inspecting or pruning orphaned channel PID entries

The Iron Law

NEVER start a channel session without checking isChannelRunning() first.
NEVER assume a tracked PID is alive without calling isPidAlive(pid).
NEVER restart after a crash without calling killOrphaned() to prune stale entries.

---

Workflow

Step 0: Read Memory Context (MANDATORY)

Before executing any lifecycle action, read memory to check for known issues:

node -e "const fs=require('fs');const p='.claude/context/memory/learnings.md';if(fs.existsSync(p))console.log(fs.readFileSync(p,'utf8').split(/\r?\n/).slice(0,80).join('\n'));"

Check .claude/context/memory/issues.md for any known channel startup problems:

node -e "const fs=require('fs');const p='.claude/context/memory/issues.md';if(fs.existsSync(p))console.log(fs.readFileSync(p,'utf8').split(/\r?\n/).slice(0,60).join('\n'));"

Step 1: Check isChannelRunning

Command:

node -e "
const { isChannelRunning, getChannelPid } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs');
const running = isChannelRunning();
const pid = getChannelPid();
console.log(JSON.stringify({ running, pid }));
"

Expected output: {"running":false,"pid":null} (not running) or {"running":true,"pid":12345} (running)

Verify: Exit code 0 and valid JSON printed to stdout.

Decision gate:

• running: true → Skip Step 2 (already running), proceed to Step 4 (health check)
• running: false → Continue to Step 2

Step 2: Start Channel Session (if not running)

Pre-condition: Confirm TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN is set:

node -e "
require('dotenv').config({ path: '.env' });
const token = process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN;
console.log(token ? 'TOKEN_PRESENT' : 'TOKEN_MISSING');
"

If TOKEN_MISSING: Log to issues.md and abort — channel cannot start without credentials.

Start command:

node -e "
const { startChannel } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs');
const result = startChannel();
console.log(JSON.stringify(result));
"

Expected output: {"ok":true,"pid":12345,"reason":"started"} on success, or {"ok":false,"pid":null,"reason":"TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN not set — skipped"} when token missing.

Verify: ok: true in JSON output. Exit code 0.

Step 3: Track PID

After a successful start, confirm the PID is registered in the tracker:

node -e "
const { listTracked } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/terminal-tracker.cjs');
const sessions = listTracked();
const channel = sessions.filter(s => s.purpose === 'channel-session');
console.log(JSON.stringify(channel, null, 2));
"

Expected output: Array containing at least one entry with "status": "active" and a numeric "pid".

Verify: Entry exists with status: "active".

Step 4: Health Check

Confirm the session is alive after startup (or as a standalone health probe):

node -e "
const { isChannelRunning, getChannelPid } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs');
const { listTracked } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/terminal-tracker.cjs');
const running = isChannelRunning();
const pid = getChannelPid();
const tracked = listTracked().find(s => s.purpose === 'channel-session' && s.status === 'active');
console.log(JSON.stringify({
  health: running ? 'OK' : 'DEGRADED',
  pid,
  trackerEntry: tracked || null
}));
"

Expected output: {"health":"OK","pid":12345,"trackerEntry":{...}} when healthy.

Verify: health: "OK" in JSON. If health: "DEGRADED", proceed to Step 5 (restart).

Step 5: Stop Channel Session

Use when explicitly stopping the channel or before a clean restart:

node -e "
const { stopChannel } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs');
const result = stopChannel();
console.log(JSON.stringify(result));
"

Expected output: {"ok":true,"reason":"stopped"} or {"ok":true,"reason":"not-running"}.

Verify: ok: true.

Step 6: Prune Orphaned Entries

After a crash or unexpected shutdown, clean up stale PID entries:

node -e "
const { killOrphaned } = require('./.claude/tools/cli/terminal-tracker.cjs');
killOrphaned();
console.log('Orphan prune complete');
"

Expected output: Orphan prune complete

Verify: Exit code 0. Re-run Step 1 to confirm running: false after prune.

Step 7: Log Outcome to Memory

After any lifecycle action, append a brief note:

# Append to learnings.md (adjust message as appropriate)
node -e "
const fs = require('fs');
const ts = new Date().toISOString();
const entry = '\n## ' + ts + ' — channel-management\n- Channel session lifecycle action completed. PID: <PID>. Status: <STATUS>.\n';
fs.appendFileSync('.claude/context/memory/learnings.md', entry, 'utf8');
console.log('Memory updated');
"

---

Auto-Start on Session Boot

When CHANNEL_AUTO_START=true is set in .env, agents should execute this skill at startup:

// In agent Step 0 or heartbeat-orchestrator boot sequence
if (process.env.CHANNEL_AUTO_START === 'true') {
  Skill({ skill: 'channel-management' });
}

The skill is idempotent — calling it when the session is already running is a safe no-op.

---

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Purpose
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN	YES	—	Telegram bot credentials
CHANNEL_AUTO_START	NO	false	Auto-start on agent boot
CHANNEL_PLUGINS	NO	plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official	Space-separated plugin list
CHANNEL_PERMISSIONS	NO	—	Extra claude flags (e.g. --dangerously-skip-permissions)

---

Enforcement Hooks

Input validated against schemas/input.schema.json before execution. Output contract defined in schemas/output.schema.json.

Pre-execution hook validates that the action field is a known enum value and that a TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN guard is in place for start actions.

---

Anti-Patterns

• Never call startChannel() in a tight loop without checking isChannelRunning() first — each call spawns a new Windows Terminal tab
• Never assume the tracker file is the source of truth without cross-checking PID liveness via isPidAlive()
• Never set CHANNEL_AUTO_START=true without monitoring — silent crashes will not be detected without a health-check cron
• Never use shell: true in any child process spawned from this skill — use array arguments with shell: false (already enforced in channel-manager.cjs)

---

References

• .claude/tools/cli/channel-manager.cjs — Core lifecycle API (startChannel, stopChannel, isChannelRunning, getChannelPid)
• .claude/tools/cli/terminal-tracker.cjs — PID registry (registerSpawn, listTracked, killOrphaned, cleanup)
• .claude/context/runtime/terminal-pids.json — Live PID tracker state file

---

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md and .claude/context/memory/issues.md for known channel startup problems.

After completing: Append outcome to .claude/context/memory/learnings.md with timestamp and action taken.

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: Your context may reset. If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.