Better Call Claude

Better Call Claude

Bi-directional communication for Claude Code via Voice Calls, SMS, and WhatsApp.

Call Claude from your phone to start tasks, and receive callbacks when Claude needs input or wants to share status.

📞 "Hey Claude, refactor the auth module and call me when you're done or need a decision."

*[20 minutes later, phone rings]*

🤖 "I've finished the refactor but found a security issue. Should I fix it now or create a ticket?"

💬 *Or via SMS/WhatsApp:*

You: "Claude, how's the deployment going?"

Claude: "Deployment complete. 3 services updated, all health checks passing."

Features

• 📱 Inbound calls - Call Claude Code from your phone to start tasks
• 📲 Outbound calls - Claude calls you when done, stuck, or needs decisions
• 💬 SMS messaging - Send and receive text messages with Claude
• 📱 WhatsApp - Full WhatsApp Business integration
• 🔄 Cross-channel context - Start on voice, continue on WhatsApp seamlessly
• 🔗 Persistent sessions - Claude stays alive listening for WhatsApp messages
• 🔒 Secure transport - Tailscale Funnel with guided auto-setup
• 🗣️ Natural conversations - Multi-turn interactions across all channels
• 🔧 Tool composable - Claude can use other tools while communicating
• ⚡ Auto-webhook updates - Twilio webhooks auto-update when URL changes
• 🆓 Free WhatsApp via Baileys - Personal WhatsApp with zero API costs, no business verification
• ⌚ Works anywhere - Phone, smartwatch, or any device

### ⚠️ Testing Status

| Channel | Provider | Status |

|---------|----------|--------|

| Voice | Twilio | ✅ Tested & Working |

| WhatsApp | Twilio Sandbox | ✅ Tested & Working |

| SMS | Twilio | ⏳ Pending A2P 10DLC verification |

| Voice | Telnyx | 🔬 Not yet tested |

| SMS | Telnyx | 🔬 Not yet tested |

| WhatsApp | Telnyx | 🔬 Not yet tested |

| WhatsApp | Baileys (free) | 🔬 New - testing welcome |

*Contributions welcome for testing other provider/channel combinations!*

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Quick Start

1. Choose Your Setup

Just want WhatsApp? Skip to Option C: Baileys — no accounts, no API keys, completely free.

2. Set Up Phone Provider

Option A: Telnyx (Recommended - 50% cheaper)

1. Create account at portal.telnyx.com and verify identity
2. Buy a phone number (~$1/month)
3. Create a Voice API application:

• Set webhook URL to your tunnel URL + /webhook/telnyx/inbound
• Set API version to v2

1. Enable SMS on your phone number:

• Go to Messaging and create a Messaging Profile
• Assign your phone number to the profile
• Set SMS webhook URL to your tunnel URL + /webhook/telnyx/sms

1. Enable WhatsApp (optional):

• Go to WhatsApp in portal
• Complete WhatsApp Business verification
• Set webhook URL to your tunnel URL + /webhook/telnyx/whatsapp

1. Verify your phone number for outbound calls
2. Get your Connection ID (or Messaging Profile ID) and API Key

Option B: Twilio

1. Create account at twilio.com/console
2. Buy a phone number
3. Configure webhooks for your number:

• Voice webhook: your tunnel URL + /webhook/twilio/inbound
• SMS webhook: your tunnel URL + /webhook/twilio/sms

1. Enable WhatsApp (optional):

• Go to WhatsApp Senders
• Complete WhatsApp Business setup
• Set webhook URL to your tunnel URL + /webhook/twilio/whatsapp

1. Get your Account SID and Auth Token

Option C: Baileys (Free WhatsApp — no API provider needed)

Baileys connects directly to WhatsApp's Web protocol via WebSocket. It uses your personal WhatsApp account — no business verification, no API costs, no Twilio/Telnyx required.

How it works: Same as WhatsApp Web — you link a device by scanning a QR code.

Step 1: Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/sns45/better-call-claude

cd better-call-claude bun install

Step 2: Pair your WhatsApp

bun run baileys:pair

1. A QR code will appear in your terminal
2. Open WhatsApp on your phone > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
3. Scan the QR code
4. Wait for "Paired successfully!" message

Your session is saved in data/baileys-auth/ — you won't need to scan again.

Step 3: Add to Claude Code (~/.claude.json or ~/.claude/settings.json):

{

"mcpServers": { "better-call-claude": { "command": "bun", "args": ["run", "/path/to/better-call-claude/src/index.ts"], "env": { "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_WHATSAPP_PROVIDER": "baileys", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_USER_PHONE_NUMBER": "+1234567890" } } } }

That's it! No Tailscale, no Twilio, no OpenAI keys needed.

Step 4: Restart Claude Code and test

Send a WhatsApp message to yourself (or have someone message you) — Baileys receives it and spawns a Claude task. Or ask Claude to send you a WhatsApp:

"Send me a WhatsApp saying hello"

Option D: Hybrid (Twilio/Telnyx voice + Baileys WhatsApp)

Get the best of both worlds: Twilio/Telnyx handles voice calls and SMS, Baileys handles WhatsApp for free.

1. Set up Twilio or Telnyx (Options A/B above)
2. Run bun run baileys:pair to pair your WhatsApp
3. Add to your MCP config:

{

"env": { "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_PROVIDER": "twilio", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_WHATSAPP_PROVIDER": "baileys", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_ACCOUNT_SID": "your-account-sid", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-auth-token", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15551234567", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_USER_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15559876543", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..." } }

Voice calls and SMS go through Twilio. WhatsApp goes through Baileys (free).

3. Set Up Tailscale Funnel (for webhooks)

Skip this step if you're using Baileys-only mode (Option C). Baileys doesn't need webhooks.

Tailscale Funnel provides free, stable public URLs for receiving webhooks from your phone provider.

Why Tailscale? Free unlimited tunnels, stable URLs (no random subdomains), enterprise-grade security.

Path: Better Call Claude uses /bcc path (e.g., https://your-hostname.ts.net/bcc) to avoid conflicts with other services.

First-time setup (automated):

When you first start the MCP server, it will guide you through setup:

1. Install Tailscale (if not installed):

   # macOS

brew install tailscale

Linux

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

1. Authenticate - The server will auto-run tailscale up and open your browser

1. Enable Funnel - Visit the URL shown in the terminal to enable Funnel on your tailnet (one-time admin step)

That's it! The server handles the rest automatically.

4. Install Better Call Claude

# Quick start with bunx (recommended)

bunx better-call-claude

Or install globally

bun install -g better-call-claude better-call-claude

5. Add to Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "better-call-claude": { "command": "bunx", "args": ["better-call-claude"], "env": { "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_PROVIDER": "telnyx", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_ACCOUNT_SID": "your-connection-id", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-api-key", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15551234567", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_USER_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15559876543", "BETTERCALLCLAUDE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..." } } } }

Note: Tailscale setup is automatic on first run. The server will guide you through installation and authentication if needed.

Restart Claude Code. Done!

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Environment Variables

Required Variables

Baileys (Free WhatsApp)

Baileys-only mode: When WHATSAPP_PROVIDER=baileys and no Twilio/Telnyx credentials are set, only USER_PHONE_NUMBER is required. No Tailscale, no OpenAI key needed.

Tailscale (Optional)

Optional Variables

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Usage

Voice Calls

You → Claude (Inbound Calls)

Call your Telnyx/Twilio phone number from your personal phone:

📱 "Hey Claude, I need you to write unit tests for the payment module. Call me when you're done."

Claude will acknowledge and start working. When done, it calls you back.

Claude → You (Outbound Calls)

Claude can initiate calls when it needs your input:

🤖 "I found 3 different approaches for the caching layer. Want me to explain them so you can choose?"

Voice Commands During Calls

• "Hang up" or "Goodbye" - End the call
• "Hold on" - Claude waits for you to continue
• "Go ahead" - Claude continues with the task
• "Cancel that" - Abort current action

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SMS Messaging

You → Claude (Inbound SMS)

Text your Telnyx/Twilio number:

💬 "Hey Claude, what's the status of the deployment?"

Claude will respond via SMS:

🤖 "Deployment is 80% complete. Running integration tests now. ETA: 5 minutes."

Claude → You (Outbound SMS)

Claude can send you text updates:

🤖 "Build failed on line 42 of auth.ts. Reply with 'fix' to auto-fix or 'skip' to continue."

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WhatsApp

You → Claude (Inbound WhatsApp)

Send a WhatsApp message to your business number:

💬 "Show me the error logs from the last hour"

Claude responds in WhatsApp:

🤖 "Found 3 errors:\n1. Co