Bug Report: Telegram Plugin Inbound Messages Broken on Windows

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Environment:

• Claude Code CLI v2.1.85 (latest)
• Windows 11 (10.0.22631)
• Bun v1.3.11
• Plugin: telegram@claude-plugins-official v0.0.4
• Bot: @Omnidel_Claudebot (token valid, verified via getMe)

What's broken:
The Telegram plugin loads MCP tools correctly — outbound messages work (the reply tool sends messages to Telegram successfully). But inbound messages
never arrive. The bot never starts polling Telegram's getUpdates API.

Root cause identified:
In server.ts, the bot startup code is in an async IIFE at line 959:
void (async () => {
await bot.start({ ... })
})()
This runs AFTER await mcp.connect(new StdioServerTransport()) on line 614. On Windows, when Claude Code spawns the MCP server via bun run --cwd
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} --shell=bun --silent start, the code after mcp.connect() never executes. The async IIFE is silently dropped.

Proof:

1. curl getUpdates returns {"ok":true,"result":[]} — no 409 conflict, meaning nothing is polling
2. Running server.ts manually with (sleep 10 | bun server.ts) works perfectly — bot immediately prints telegram channel: polling as @Omnidel_Claudebot and

polls successfully

1. When Claude Code spawns it, the MCP handshake completes (tools register, outbound reply works), but bot.start() never fires
2. Added process.stderr.write before bot.start() — the log line never appears when spawned by Claude Code, but does appear when run manually

What I tried (all failed):

• Clean reinstall (claude plugins install telegram) — same behavior
• Moving bot.start() before mcp.connect() — bot polls but MCP tools don't register
• Wrapping bot.start() in setTimeout(100) — still doesn't execute
• Changing .mcp.json to run bun server.ts directly instead of bun run --shell=bun --silent start — bun doesn't start at all
• Downgrading to plugin v0.0.1 — same issue
• Killing stale bun processes, clearing orphan markers — doesn't help

Timeline:

• Working perfectly until March 24, 2026
• On March 24, plugin was marked orphaned (.orphaned_at file created)
• Since then, every restart results in the same behavior: tools load, outbound works, inbound dead

Suspected cause:
The StdioServerTransport on Windows (via Bun) is consuming the event loop or blocking microtask execution after mcp.connect() resolves. The void (async ()
=> { ... })() IIFE schedules its execution as a microtask, but it never gets picked up.

Suggested fix:
Either:

1. Start bot polling before mcp.connect() (requires restructuring so tools still register)
2. Use setImmediate() or setTimeout(0) inside the MCP transport to yield the event loop
3. Investigate how Claude Code spawns the bun subprocess on Windows — the --shell=bun flag may be the issue

Repro steps:

1. Windows 11, install Claude Code 2.1.85
2. claude plugins install telegram
3. Configure bot token in ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env
4. Pair a Telegram user via /telegram:access
5. Restart Claude Code
6. Send a message to the bot — no response, no <channel> tag in session
7. Run curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getUpdates" — returns {"ok":true,"result":[]} (no polling)

What Should Happen?

Inbound Telegram messages should arrive in the Claude Code session as <channel source="telegram"> tags, and the bot should actively poll Telegram's
getUpdates API. The bot.start() async IIFE at the end of server.ts should execute after mcp.connect() resolves — as it does when running the server
manually outside of Claude Code.

Error Messages/Logs

# No explicit error — the failure is silent. bot.start() simply never executes.
  ▎ # Verification via Telegram Bot API:
  ▎ $ curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getUpdates?limit=1&timeout=1"
  ▎ {"ok":true,"result":[]}
  ▎ # Returns 200 OK instead of 409 Conflict — proving nothing is polling.

  ▎ # When running manually (works correctly):
  ▎ $ (sleep 10 | bun server.ts)
  ▎ telegram channel: bot.start() IIFE entered
  ▎ telegram channel: calling bot.start() attempt=1
  ▎ telegram channel: polling as @Omnidel_Claudebot

  ▎ # When Claude Code spawns it as MCP server:
  ▎ # - MCP tools register successfully (outbound reply tool works)
  ▎ # - bot.start() IIFE never enters (stderr debug line never appears)
  ▎ # - No crash, no error, no orphan marker — just silent non-executi

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce
▎ 1. Windows 11, install Claude Code v2.1.85
▎ 2. Install bun (npm i -g bun or via bun installer)
▎ 3. Run claude plugins install telegram
▎ 4. Set bot token: create ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env with TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=<your-token>
▎ 5. Launch Claude Code, send a DM to the bot on Telegram — bot responds with pairing code
▎ 6. Run /telegram:access pair <code> in Claude Code to pair
▎ 7. Restart Claude Code (/exit and relaunch)

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.85 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

_No response_