Skip to main content
The Inkbox Claude Code plugin is a standalone bridge for Claude Code. It connects a Claude Code agent to an Inkbox identity and supports email, SMS/MMS and voice calls, iMessage, and an Inkbox tunnel when those channels are configured. This is a harness plugin, not an Inkbox SDK skill or marketplace bundle. It runs a persistent gateway that turns inbound messages and calls into real Claude Code sessions with access to the project directory you choose.

View plugin on GitHub

​
Prerequisites

  • Claude Code installed and logged in
  • Python 3.11 or newer
  • macOS or Linux
You do not need to create an Inkbox identity first. The setup wizard can sign up a new agent or connect an existing agent-scoped API key.

​
Install

For sponsored group conversations, check the Companion receiver requirements before installing or updating. Run the one-command installer:
bash
The installer creates an isolated environment, adds inkbox-claude to your path, and launches the setup wizard. The wizard:
  • creates or connects an Inkbox agent
  • offers to provision a phone number
  • offers to connect iMessage
  • configures signed inbound messaging
  • asks which project directory Claude Code should work in
  • offers to keep the gateway running in the background and after restarts
Re-running the installer or inkbox-claude setup is safe when you need to change the configuration.

​
Run the gateway

Check the configuration, then start the gateway if the setup wizard did not already start it:
bash
Use these commands to manage it later:
bash
Keep the gateway running. On startup it opens an Inkbox tunnel, configures the identity’s inbound channels, and routes configured email, SMS/MMS, iMessage, and call channels into Claude Code sessions.

​
Companion mode

The Companion contract requires SDK 0.7.3 or later. Confirm your installed Claude Code adapter supports the current receiver contract. Updating the SDK alone does not establish plugin compatibility. Enable the separate Companion toggle, then use active exact bidirectional allows to make senders eligible. Enabling can precede rules or channel resources. The gateway must load every authorized snapshot page before one combined Claude input, keep live messages behind initialization, and checkpoint the host turn. Replies and sponsor-specific approvals retain the original activation and actual trigger author. Historical text is context rather than commands or approvals. Host restrictions remain in effect; incomplete initialization or uncertain acceptance must not release partial context. Installing or updating does not enable Companion mode. Restart the gateway after upgrading. See Companion mode for email authentication, consent, dedicated-line group requirements, and revocation.

​
Available capabilities

Depending on your setup choices and account availability, your Claude Code agent can have:
  • An email address - send, receive, and reply from an Inkbox mailbox
  • A phone number, when available - SMS/MMS and voice calls, inbound and outbound
  • iMessage, when connected - continue the same agent conversation from an iMessage thread
  • An Inkbox tunnel - inbound messages and calls reach the local gateway without a public server
  • Persistent Claude Code sessions - each contact keeps one conversation across configured email, text, iMessage, and call channels
  • Remote permission prompts - approve or reject Claude Code tool requests from the channel you are using
Claude Code also receives Inkbox tools for sending messages, placing calls, reading conversation history, managing contacts, and delegating work to other agents.

​
What Inkbox adds

Claude Code itself stays upstream. The plugin adds the Inkbox identity, gateway, channel routing, session continuity, messaging tools, and setup commands without requiring a Claude Code fork.

​
Permission prompts

Read-only work can proceed without interrupting you. When Claude Code wants to run a command or change files, the plugin pauses the tool call and sends you a short approval prompt. Reply to allow it once, allow that kind of action for the current session, or reject it. Questions from Claude Code are delivered as numbered choices. Your next reply answers the pending question instead of starting a separate turn.

​
After install

Run a health check:
bash
Use any channels you configured. If the agent has a phone number, text START to it from every phone the agent needs to text. You can also email the agent mailbox, connect over iMessage when enabled, or call the agent phone number when available. The gateway routes each configured channel into Claude Code and returns the response on the channel you most recently used.