[FEATURE] [Channels] Clarifying questions and interactive prompts don't route through channel — Telegram/Discord users see silence

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

When using Claude Code Channels with Telegram, Claude sometimes needs to ask clarifying questions (e.g., "Which branch?", "Overwrite the file?"). These questions appear only in the terminal — the Telegram sender sees nothing. The bot goes completely silent with no indication it's waiting for input.

This is the single biggest UX friction point in the current Channels experience. The sender has no way to know Claude is waiting, and no way to respond without walking back to the terminal — which defeats the entire purpose of Channels.

The plugin's MCP instructions already state: "The sender reads Telegram, not this session. Anything you want them to see must go through the reply tool" — but this doesn't explicitly cover clarifying questions, so Claude still routes them to the terminal.

Proposed Solution

Add explicit instruction to the Telegram/Discord plugin's MCP instructions field (server.ts) telling Claude to route clarifying questions through the reply tool:

When you need to ask the sender a clarifying question, use the reply tool — 
never use terminal output or interactive prompts. 

The sender cannot see your terminal.
Wait for their next inbound message as the answer.

Also reinforce in the reply tool description:

Use this for ALL communication with the sender, including clarifying questions.
This is a small, low-risk change (1-2 lines in instructions) with high UX impact.

Alternative Solutions

CLAUDE.md workaround (tested, works):
Adding this to project or global CLAUDE.md resolves the issue:

Telegram Channel Rules

When a message arrives via <channel source="telegram">, 
ALL communication with the sender MUST go through the 
reply tool. This includes:

- Answers and results
- Clarifying questions ("Which branch?", "What file?")
- Progress updates ("Starting build...", "Running tests...")
- Error messages

NEVER use interactive prompts, AskUserQuestion, or terminal 
output for Telegram conversations. The sender CANNOT see 
your terminal. If you need more information, reply with 
your question and wait for the next inbound message.

This confirms the fix works at the instruction level — it just needs to be built into the plugin defaults so all users benefit without manual configuration.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

MCP server integration

Use Case Example

1. I start Claude Code with Telegram channel:

   claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official --dangerously-skip-permissions

1. From my phone (away from desk), I message the bot: "deploy the app"
2. Claude needs to know which environment — but the question goes to the terminal, not Telegram
3. On my phone, I see nothing. The bot appears frozen.
4. 10 minutes later I check my terminal and find Claude has been waiting for my answer the whole time.

With the fix: Claude sends "Which environment — staging or production?" via the reply tool to Telegram. I answer from my phone. Work continues.

Additional Context

• Affects both Telegram and Discord channel plugins (same architecture)
• The CLAUDE.md workaround proves this is solvable at the instruction level
• Since Channels are designed for mobile/remote use, this gap makes the feature feel unreliable for its primary use case
• Tested on Claude Code v2.1.80, macOS, telegram@claude-plugins-official v0.0.1
• This also applies to progress updates — adding "send a progress message before starting long tasks" to the instructions would further improve the remote UX