# molecule-mcp-claude-channel

Claude Code channel plugin for [Molecule AI](https://moleculesai.app). Bridges Molecule A2A traffic into a Claude Code session: peer messages from your watched workspaces surface as conversation turns, and your replies route back through Molecule's A2A.

## What it does

When you launch Claude Code with this plugin enabled and configure it to watch one or more Molecule workspaces, every A2A message your watched workspaces receive shows up in the session as a user-turn. You reply normally; the plugin's MCP `reply_to_workspace` tool sends the response back through Molecule.

```
Molecule peer ──A2A──> [your workspace] ──poll──> [this plugin] ──MCP notification──> Claude Code session
                                  ^                                                     │
                                  └────────── POST /workspaces/:id/a2a ◄── reply_to_workspace tool ──┘
```

No tunnel. No public endpoint. The plugin polls your tenant for new A2A activity (using the `?since_secs=` filter on `/workspaces/:id/activity`); replies POST back to `/workspaces/:peer_id/a2a` via the same bearer token.

## Install

```bash
claude --channels plugin:molecule@Molecule-AI/molecule-mcp-claude-channel
```

On first launch the plugin creates `~/.claude/channels/molecule/` and exits with a config-missing error pointing at `.env`. Fill it in:

```
# ~/.claude/channels/molecule/.env

# Required
MOLECULE_PLATFORM_URL=https://your-tenant.staging.moleculesai.app
MOLECULE_WORKSPACE_IDS=ws-uuid-1,ws-uuid-2
MOLECULE_WORKSPACE_TOKENS=tok-1,tok-2

# Optional
MOLECULE_POLL_INTERVAL_MS=5000     # default 5s
MOLECULE_POLL_WINDOW_SECS=30       # default 30s — overlap protects against missed ticks
```

The `.env` file is `chmod 600` after first read; tokens never appear in environment-block-style `claude doctor` dumps.

Re-launch Claude Code:

```bash
claude --channels plugin:molecule@Molecule-AI/molecule-mcp-claude-channel
```

You should see on stderr:

```
molecule channel: connected — watching 2 workspace(s) at https://your-tenant.staging.moleculesai.app
  workspaces: ws-uuid-1, ws-uuid-2
  poll: every 5000ms with 30s window
```

## Getting workspace_id + token

Every Molecule workspace has a workspace-scoped bearer that authenticates against `/activity` (read) and `/a2a` (write). Two ways to get one:

### From Canvas (recommended)

1. Open the workspace in Canvas
2. Settings tab → "Auth tokens" → **Create channel token**
3. Copy the workspace_id (UUID at the top) and the token (shown once)

### From the API

```bash
curl -X POST "$MOLECULE_PLATFORM_URL/admin/workspaces/$WORKSPACE_ID/tokens" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"label": "claude-channel"}'
```

## How replies work

When a peer's message lands in your session, the meta block carries the routing data Claude needs:

```json
{
  "method": "notifications/claude/channel",
  "params": {
    "content": "Hey, can you take a look at this? <issue body>",
    "meta": {
      "source": "molecule",
      "workspace_id": "ws-uuid-1",
      "watching_as": "ws-uuid-1",
      "peer_id": "ws-uuid-pm-coordinator",
      "method": "user_message",
      "activity_id": "act-...",
      "ts": "2026-04-29T..."
    }
  }
}
```

Claude can call `reply_to_workspace({peer_id, text})` to send the response back. If only one workspace is watched, `workspace_id` is implicit. Multi-workspace setups need the watched id explicitly.

## Architecture notes

### Why polling instead of push?

The existing external-agent integration in Molecule uses **push**: register an inbound URL, platform POSTs A2A to that URL. That's lower latency but requires a tunnel (ngrok/Cloudflare) or a static IP — non-trivial for a laptop-launched Claude Code session.

This plugin uses **polling** as the default because it works through every NAT/firewall with zero infra. The cost is up to `MOLECULE_POLL_INTERVAL_MS` (default 5s) of inbound latency. For production setups where lower latency matters, a future `MOLECULE_INBOUND_MODE=push` can opt into the existing register-and-receive flow.

### Why `since_secs=30` overlapping a `5s` poll interval?

A single missed tick (transient network blip, GC pause, laptop sleep) shouldn't lose messages. The plugin re-fetches the last 30 seconds on every poll and dedups by `activity_id`, so 25 seconds of overlap is the recovery margin. Set `MOLECULE_POLL_WINDOW_SECS` higher for noisier networks.

### Singleton lock

Only one channel server can poll a given workspace set at a time — multiple instances would race the dedup state and double-deliver. The plugin maintains a PID file at `~/.claude/channels/molecule/bot.pid` and on startup kills any stale predecessor (matches the telegram channel pattern).

### File attachments

A2A messages can carry `Part` entries with `url` and `media_type`. The MVP delivers attachments by-reference (URL surfaces in the meta block, Claude can fetch via the workspace_secrets-scoped token); inline image-content delivery (mirroring telegram's `image_path` mechanism) is a v0.2 feature.

## Limitations (v0.1)

- **Polling-only inbound.** No push mode yet; latency floor is `MOLECULE_POLL_INTERVAL_MS`.
- **No pairing flow.** Tokens are configured manually via `.env`; no canvas-side approval handshake. Add `MOLECULE_ACCESS_MODE=pair` (mirroring telegram) in v0.2.
- **No file-attachment download.** URLs surface in the meta block; the host fetches on-demand.
- **No outbound channel-init.** The plugin only sends replies (in response to inbound A2A); starting a fresh A2A conversation initiated FROM the channel side requires a future `start_workspace_chat` tool.

## Compatibility

- **molecule-runtime/workspace-server**: requires the `?since_secs=` query parameter on `GET /workspaces/:id/activity` (shipped in molecule-core PR #2300, available staging-onward).
- **Claude Code**: tested against the channel-plugin contract that expects `notifications/claude/channel` with `{content, meta}` (matches `@claude-plugins-official/telegram` v0.0.6).
- **bun**: the MCP server runs under bun for fast startup; `package.json` `start` does `bun install --no-summary && bun server.ts` so no global install needed.

## Contributing

Single-file MCP server. The whole bridge lives in `server.ts`. Open issues at [Molecule-AI/molecule-mcp-claude-channel](https://github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-mcp-claude-channel/issues).

## License

Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE.