[BUG] Multiple sessions load Telegram channel plugin simultaneously, causing message competition

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?

When using the Telegram channel plugin, every new Claude Code CLI session automatically loads the Telegram MCP plugin as a global plugin (from ~/.claude/plugins/), even if the session was NOT started with --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official.

This means multiple sessions compete for the same Telegram Bot API messages simultaneously, which can cause:

• Missed messages (one session consumes the message before the other)
• - Duplicate responses
• - - Unpredictable behavior

Steps to reproduce:

1. Install the Telegram plugin from the marketplace
2. 2. Start a Claude Code session with --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official
3. 3. Open another Claude Code session normally (just claude)
4. 4. Observe that both sessions spawn a bun run ... telegram ... start subprocess
5. 5. Both sessions now have Telegram MCP capability and may compete for incoming messages

Environment:

• Claude Code version: 2.1.90
• - OS: macOS (Darwin 24.5.0)
• - - The Telegram plugin subprocess can be observed via ps aux | grep telegram

What Should Happen?

Channel-type plugins (like Telegram) should only be active in sessions that explicitly opt in via --channels. Sessions started without --channels should NOT load channel plugins, even if they are installed globally.

Alternatively, there should be a locking mechanism to ensure only one session at a time can consume messages from a given channel plugin, preventing message competition between multiple sessions.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install the Telegram plugin from the Claude Code plugin marketplace
2. 2. Start a session with: claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official
3. 3. In a separate terminal, start another session with just: claude
4. 4. Run ps aux | grep telegram to observe both sessions have spawned telegram plugin subprocesses
5. 5. Send a message to the Telegram bot — both sessions may attempt to handle it

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.90

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_