Telegram Claude Bot - Session Notes

Date: 2026-02-28

What We Worked On

• Set up full infrastructure for a Claude-powered Telegram bot on DigitalOcean
• Created Anthropic API workspaces to separate G&M, Personal, and Hey Royal usage
• Created API key, Telegram bot (@heyroyalbot), and DigitalOcean Droplet
• Deployed bot code, tested end-to-end, and hardened the server

Key Decisions Made

• Bot platform: Telegram (most stable, clean API)
• Hosting: DigitalOcean Droplet ($4/mo, 512MB, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, NYC3)
• API billing: Separate Anthropic API account (not Max plan — Max doesn't include API access)
• Org structure: Single Anthropic org (Eric's Individual Org) with 4 workspaces: Default (personal), Claude Code, Grain & Mortar, Hey Royal
• Bot workspace: Default workspace (personal project)
• Model: Sonnet (best cost/capability ratio for coding + research tasks)

Infrastructure

DigitalOcean Droplet

• Name: claude-telegram-bot
• Droplet ID: 555128056
• Public IP: 174.138.58.154
• SSH: Key-based access from Eric's Mac (ssh root@174.138.58.154)
• DO Account: hey@heyroyal.co
• Credentials: In ~/Desktop/CLAUDE-BOT-CREDENTIALS.md → save to 1Password then delete

Bot Details

• Username: @heyroyalbot
• Eric's Telegram User ID: 8630998612 (bot locked to this ID)
• Bot code: /opt/claude-bot/bot.py on Droplet
• Service: claude-bot.service (systemd, auto-restart)
• Runs as: claude-bot system user (not root)

Changes Made

• Created 2 new Anthropic workspaces: "Grain & Mortar" (Gold) and "Hey Royal" (Purple)
• Enabled API key creation in Default workspace
• Created telegram-bot API key in Default workspace
• Created DigitalOcean Droplet claude-telegram-bot in Claude Bot project
• Installed sshpass locally via Homebrew, copied SSH key to Droplet
• Python 3.12.3 venv with anthropic (0.84.0) and python-telegram-bot (22.6)
• Wrote and deployed bot.py with conversation history, access control, /whoami, /clear, /model commands
• Created systemd service for auto-start/restart
• Security hardening:
• Enabled UFW firewall (SSH only)
• Disabled SSH password authentication (key-only)
• Installed and enabled fail2ban
• Created dedicated claude-bot user (bot no longer runs as root)
• Access control: only Eric's Telegram ID (8630998612) can use the bot

Completed

• [x] Write the Telegram bot Python code
• [x] Create Python venv and install dependencies
• [x] Configure environment variables on the Droplet
• [x] Set up systemd service for auto-start/restart
• [x] Test the bot end-to-end
• [x] Add access control (locked to Eric's Telegram ID)
• [x] Server security hardening (UFW, fail2ban, no password SSH, non-root bot user)

Still Pending (User Action)

• [ ] Save ~/Desktop/CLAUDE-BOT-CREDENTIALS.md to 1Password, then delete it
• [ ] Add credit card to Anthropic account ($4.68 free credits expire Apr 1, 2026)

Future Enhancements (Discussed)

• GitHub integration (search repos from the bot)
• Web search capability
• doctl CLI setup for Droplet management

Technical Notes

• SSH access: ssh root@174.138.58.154 (key-based, no password)
• Droplet uses ~45MB RAM for the bot — plenty of headroom on 512MB
• Max plan (claude.ai) does NOT include API access — separate billing required
• Anthropic console doesn't support multiple orgs per account — workspaces are the alternative
• DigitalOcean account is under hey@heyroyal.co (Hey Royal entity)
• sshpass installed locally at /opt/homebrew/Cellar/sshpass/1.06
• Bot uses polling (not webhooks) — no inbound ports needed beyond SSH

Session completed 2026-02-28