Telegram channel plugin MCP server not spawned with --channels in v2.1.101

Description

When using --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official, Claude Code v2.1.101 loads the plugin metadata and shows "Listening for channel messages" but never spawns the plugin's bun MCP server process. Messages sent to the Telegram bot queue in the Telegram API but are never consumed.

Environment

• Claude Code v2.1.101
• Ubuntu Linux (x86_64)
• Bun v1.3.11
• Plugin: telegram@claude-plugins-official v0.0.5

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install telegram plugin: claude plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official
2. Configure bot token in ~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env
3. Start Claude Code with channels:

``bash
claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official --permission-mode bypassPermissions
``

1. Send a message to the Telegram bot

Expected Behavior

• Plugin spawns its bun MCP server process (visible as a child process)
• Bot polls Telegram API for updates
• Messages are delivered to the Claude session

Actual Behavior

• Claude shows: Listening for channel messages from: plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official
• No "plugin not installed" error (plugin is correctly registered)
• No bun child process spawned for the telegram plugin
• Other MCP servers (home-assistant, playwright, nano-banana, etc.) spawn normally as child processes
• Messages queue in Telegram API (getUpdates returns them) but are never consumed
• Bot can send messages via API (token is valid)

Diagnostic Details

Child processes of the Claude session show all MCP servers EXCEPT the telegram plugin:

uvx ha-mcp@latest
npm exec @playwright/mcp@latest --browser chrome
npm exec nano-banana-2-mcp
uvx mcp-server-ancestry --gedcom-path ...
bun pwa-channel/server.ts

No bun run --cwd .../telegram/0.0.5 --shell=bun --silent start process exists.

Previous Working State

This same configuration worked correctly on Claude Code v2.1.96 from April 8-10. The --channels flag successfully spawned the telegram plugin's bun process and messages were delivered. The issue appeared after upgrading to v2.1.101.

Workaround Attempted

• Reinstalling the plugin (claude plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official) — did not fix
• Killing competing pollers — confirmed no other process consuming the bot's updates
• Verified bot token works via curl to Telegram API
• Verified plugin .claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest exists and is correct

🤖 Generated with Claude Code