ChatGPT and Claude in the browser

Ask ChatGPT or Claude about your Telegram or MAX conversations, right in the chat window you already use — in a browser, at work, on a laptop with nothing installed. "What did Anna say about the contract?", "Which questions in the team chat are still unanswered?", "Draft a reply to the landlord." The assistant reads the messages it needs, and asks you before it sends anything.

Available from the next release of tg and max. The steps below need a version with mcp --http; until it is on npm, ask for a test build.

What you getCopy Anchor Link

• Your own assistant, your own messages. ChatGPT or Claude can search your chats, summarise unread messages, gather context before a call and prepare replies — the same tasks as in first tasks, from the browser.
• Nothing sent without you. Every change — a message, a reaction, a deletion — first shows you a form in the chat with exactly what will happen. You click to allow it, or nothing happens.
• No third-party service sees your messages. The program runs on your own computer and talks to Telegram or MAX directly. ChatGPT or Claude receive only what they ask for in your conversation.
• Free, apart from your ChatGPT or Claude plan. The tunnel we use, Tailscale, is free for personal use.

How it worksCopy Anchor Link

ChatGPT and Claude in a browser cannot run programs on your computer. Instead, they call tools on the internet that you add as a connector. So we make the program on your computer reachable — safely, and only while you want it.

1. On your computer, tg (Telegram) or max (MAX) runs in a special mode, mcp --http, which speaks the same MCP language the assistants use for tools.
2. A tunnel — Tailscale Funnel — gives that one program a public https address, like https://laptop.tail1234.ts.net. Nothing else on your computer becomes reachable, and you do not need a domain or router settings.
3. In ChatGPT or Claude you add that address as a connector. The first time, the app opens a login page from your computer, and you type a one-time code that only your terminal shows.
4. Then you just chat. When the assistant needs messages, its servers call your computer through the tunnel; your computer asks Telegram or MAX and answers.

Your computer has to be on, with the program running. To use it from anywhere, run it on a small always-on server instead — see the end of this page.

Is it safe?Copy Anchor Link

• Only you can log an app in. Each login needs a code printed in your terminal. It works once, for 10 minutes; five wrong codes lock the login page until you restart.
• The login page tells you where it leads. Before you type the code, check that it says the login goes to claude.ai or chatgpt.com.
• Changes always ask. Over this connection, every write shows a form, whatever your settings. If an app cannot show such forms, it can only read.
• You can cut everyone off. tg mcp --revoke ends every app's login at once. Logins also expire after 30 days unless the app keeps using them.
• A stolen login is limited. Access keys last an hour and renew only through the app that logged in; the program keeps only their fingerprints, never the keys themselves.
• Your permission settings still apply. A profile that may only read stays read-only; the send guard and its hourly limit work here too.

More detail: Security.

What you needCopy Anchor Link

• tg or max installed and logged in. If not yet: Installation.
• A ChatGPT or Claude plan that allows your own connectors:
  • Claude: every plan, including Free — custom connectors.
  • ChatGPT: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Education, in developer mode — developer mode.
• A free Tailscale account — you create it in step 1.
• About 15 minutes the first time; afterwards, two commands.

Step 1 · Set up Tailscale (once)Copy Anchor Link

1. Create an account at tailscale.com — signing in with Google, Microsoft or GitHub is enough.
2. Install Tailscale on the computer that runs tg or max:

   • macOS or Windows: download the app from tailscale.com/download, open it and sign in. You will also use its tailscale command in the terminal — see Tailscale's command-line guide.

   • Linux: in a terminal:

     Copy Text

     curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
     sudo tailscale up
     sudo tailscale set --operator=$USER

     The second command prints a link: open it and sign in. The third lets you run tailscale funnel without sudo.

3. Turn on three switches in the Tailscale admin console, once:
   1. DNS → MagicDNS → Enable. Your computer gets a name like laptop.tail1234.ts.net.
   2. DNS → HTTPS Certificates → Enable HTTPS. This gives the address a certificate. Your computer's name and network name then appear in public certificate logs — why.
   3. Access controls → Funnel → Add Funnel to policy → Save. This allows Funnel on your devices — Funnel guide.

Step 2 · Start itCopy Anchor Link

You need two terminal windows; keep both open while you use the assistant.

First window — the tunnel:

tailscale funnel 8765

It prints your public address, https://<computer>.<network>.ts.net. The very first time it may print a link to approve Funnel — open it.

Second window — the program, with your address:

tg mcp --http --public-url https://<computer>.<network>.ts.net

For MAX, use max instead of tg. The program prints a login code such as K7QP-M2XD, and a new one after each login.

Step 3 · Add it to ChatGPT or ClaudeCopy Anchor Link

The address to add is your Tailscale address with /mcp at the end: https://<computer>.<network>.ts.net/mcp.

Claude (guide):

1. Open Customize → Connectors, click + Add, then Add custom connector.
2. Name it, for example Telegram, and paste the address. Keep sign-in on.
3. Click Add, then connect: Claude opens the login page from your computer.

ChatGPT (guide):

1. Open Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode.
2. Create a developer-mode app for your MCP server with the address, as the guide shows.
3. Connect it: ChatGPT opens the login page from your computer.

On the login page: check the line that says where the login goes — it should be claude.ai or chatgpt.com — then type the code from the second terminal window and click Allow.

Step 4 · Try itCopy Anchor Link

Start a new chat with the connector turned on, and ask:

List my five most recent Telegram chats with their unread counts.

Then something useful:

• "Summarise what I missed in the team chat since yesterday."
• "Find where we agreed on the delivery date with Max."
• "Draft a reply to Anna's last message, and show it to me before sending."

When the assistant wants to send, a form appears with the chat and the exact text. Allow it, or decline and nothing is sent. Writing requests has more on asking well.

Stopping and revokingCopy Anchor Link

• Stop for now: press Ctrl-C in both windows. Nothing stays reachable once the tunnel is closed.

• Next time: run the same two commands again; the apps stay logged in for 30 days.

• End every app's access:

  Copy Text

  tg mcp --revoke

  Each app then has to log in again with a new code. Also remove the connector in the app's settings if you no longer want it.

Something does not workCopy Anchor Link

• The app cannot connect. Open https://<computer>.<network>.ts.net/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp in a browser. A short JSON document means the tunnel works; otherwise the tunnel is not running, Funnel is not enabled (step 1), or the port numbers in the two windows differ.
• "Too many wrong codes." Five wrong codes lock the login page until you restart the program. If you did not type them, someone found your address: restart, and consider renaming your computer in Tailscale.
• The code is refused as expired. Codes last 10 minutes. Try again: the terminal then shows a new code.
• A change fails with "the owner did not confirm this". The app did not show the form, or it was declined. Nothing was sent.
• It connects but shows no tools. Run tg chats list --limit 3 in a terminal; an expired login shows there, and Login explains how to renew it.
• The port is in use. Pick another with --port 8766, and give the tunnel the same number: tailscale funnel 8766.

Running it all the timeCopy Anchor Link

The steps above use your own computer, which must stay on. To reach your messages from anywhere — a phone, a borrowed laptop — run the same setup on a small always-on server: install tg or max there, log in (tg setup --agent none), install Tailscale, and start the two commands. Your side then needs only a browser.