Setting up the iMessage channel plugin to reach Claude Code by text (no custom bridge needed)

A post on X says Claude Code needs a bridge you build yourself to talk over iMessage. There is already an official channel plugin, imessage. You text a Claude Code session running on your Mac from your iPhone, and the replies come back as messages. No bot token or external service is needed.

You need macOS and Bun. Channels are a research preview and require signing in with a claude.ai account or a Console API key; on Team and Enterprise plans an admin has to enable them first. Pro and Max users without an organization can use them right away.

1. Check that Bun is installed.

bun --version

1. Install the plugin at the Claude Code prompt and pick the user scope. If it says the marketplace isn't found, run /plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-official first.

/plugin install imessage@claude-plugins-official

1. Exit Claude Code and restart it with the channel flag.

claude --channels plugin:imessage@claude-plugins-official

1. Text yourself from Messages on your iPhone. macOS asks for Full Disk Access the first time the Messages database is read, and for permission to control Messages on the first reply. Allow both. If the prompt didn't appear, add your terminal under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access.

2. To accept messages from someone else, add their phone number (in +country format) or Apple ID email to the allowlist. If the channel relays permission prompts, anyone you allow can also approve tool use in your session, so only add people you trust.

/imessage:access allow +15551234567

Messages only arrive while the session is open. To get them while you're out, keep Claude Code running in a persistent terminal such as tmux.