tg-check · diff

git:20260814.3d74bc3 to git:20260908.2ec1bf8

16 added, 14 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: tg-check

- description: >

- Per-machine self-test of BOTH Telegram rails (MCP + userbot library) — does THIS computer's

- Telegram work on both? Trigger on "/tg-check", "are both tg rails up", "check telegram

- channels". Runs the deterministic detector (0 tokens) AND a true in-session MCP probe, prints

- a per-rail verdict with the exact fix for whichever is down.

+ description: >-

+ Self-test both Telegram rails on this machine, the MCP connector and the userbot library, with

+ a deterministic zero-token detector plus a real in-session MCP probe, and print a per-rail

+ verdict with the exact fix for whichever is down. Triggers: "/tg-check", "are both tg rails

+ up", "check telegram channels".

license: MIT

---

# /tg-check — both Telegram rails on THIS machine

The operator's order (2026-06-27): "every computer checks whether BOTH of its Telegram rails work — MCP and telethon."

A local self-test: **this** computer checks **its own** two Telegram rails. Not to be confused with the

hub-only `connector-health-daily` (centralized). The root canon = the house rule

`reglament-shina-telegram-bez-mcp-i-svoya-sessiya-na-mashinu`.

## Why two steps (this matters, don't shortcut it)

- **The telethon rail** is checked DETERMINISTICALLY and SAFELY (a shared lock `_refresh_work_acct_a.lock` → no `AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED`).

- **MCP cannot honestly be checked by a script** — it is a harness stdio server, reachable only by the LLM inside a session.

The script gives the best deterministic signal (is the process alive? a fresh fatal in the log?), while the REAL

MCP verdict comes from THIS skill — probing the tool inside the session. Memory `mcp-health-check`:

NEVER spin up a second Telethon client as a health check (AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED).

## Step 1 — the deterministic detector (0 tokens)

```bash

PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8 python "$USERPROFILE/.claude/scripts/tg_channels_check.py"

```

Prints the per-machine matrix: MCP (by process + the tail of `mcp_errors.log` — a fresh `AuthKeyDuplicated`

= the RED root cause; `TypeNotFound` = an outdated telethon) and the telethon rail (GREEN/RED via

`tg_bus_read.py --check`). Exit 1 = something is RED. Flags: `--json`, `--notify` (pings the bus on RED).

## Step 2 — the REAL in-session MCP test (this decides the MCP verdict)

- **Are the Telegram MCP tools present in this session at all?** If `mcp__telegram__*` are NOT loaded

(absent from the tool list / ToolSearch cannot find them) → MCP is **RED: not loaded into the session**.

- If they are — call ONE cheap read tool: `mcp__telegram__list_accounts` (or `get_me`, expecting the

work account). Answered without an error → MCP is **GREEN**. An error (AuthKeyDuplicated / timeout) →

**RED** + the reason from the error.

- ⚠️ Exactly ONE cheap call. Don't call `get_history`/`search_dialogs` (heavy → they can take the MCP down).

## Step 3 — merge and report (a 🟢/🔴 matrix)

Merge the detector (Step 1) with the live MCP probe (Step 2) into a single per-machine verdict:

```

=== Telegram: both rails @ <machine> ===

🟢/🔴 MCP (chigwell) : <the Step 2 verdict — it wins> — <reason>

🟢/🔴 telethon rail : <the Step 1 verdict>

```

- The Step 2 verdict (live) BEATS the Step 1 detector (indirect) — the log can lag behind.

- On RED — hand over the runbook (below). Both 🟢 — a single line: "both rails alive".

## The RED runbook (from the house rules)

- **MCP RED + `AuthKeyDuplicated`** → ROOT CAUSE: one TG session used on 2+ machines. The band-aid is to restart

Claude Code (the harness brings MCP back up; it will hit the same root cause again). The durable fix is that every

machine has ITS OWN TG session (Rule B in the house rules) — coordinated by the hub, the operator logs in locally.

- - **MCP RED + `TypeNotFound`** → an outdated telethon in `C:\mcp\telegram-mcp\.venv` → update it.

+ - **MCP RED + `TypeNotFound`** → an outdated telethon in `<TELEGRAM_MCP_DIR>\.venv` → update it.

- **MCP "not loaded into the session"** → restart Claude Code (or open a session that loads MCP).

- **The telethon rail RED** → a missing/broken `REFRESH_*` in `$IMPORTS_ROOT/dialogs/.env` on this machine,

or the group is unreachable → check the `.env` / access to the group `<YOUR_CHAT_ID>`.

- **The bus still works over the rail** (if it is 🟢): `tg_bus_read.py` / `tg_bus_send.py` — no MCP needed.

## Turn it into a routine? (offer it, don't impose — the "recurring → routine" rule)

If the operator wants EVERY computer to watch both rails itself — set up a nightly task (window

23:00-06:00 local) running `python tg_channels_check.py --notify` on each machine: silent when green,

a bus/Saved ping on RED. That is a local watchdog (deterministic, no LLM); the hub watchdog

`connector-health-daily` stays centralized. The operator decides.

## Boundaries

- Read/diagnose only. Reconnecting MCP = restarting Claude Code (a stdio MCP cannot be raised from inside a session).

- Splitting TG sessions across machines is a multi-machine change (Tier-2) → coordinate with the hub.

- Canon: the house rule `reglament-shina-telegram-bez-mcp-i-svoya-sessiya-na-mashinu`, memory

`machine-bus-telegram-rail`, `connector-health-watchdog`, `mcp-health-check`.

---

-

- ## About & contact

- Built and battle-tested at **Palo Alto AI Research Lab** — a fleet of Claude Code machines

- running 24/7 as a second brain and synthetic cofounder. Every skill here survived real

- production use before publication.

+

- - 📦 All 101 skills: https://github.com/tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit

- - 👤 Author: **Anton Dziatkovskii** — Telegram [@tonydzi](https://t.me/tonydzi) · WhatsApp [+1 341 222 9178](https://wa.me/13412229178) · X [@Tony_Stef_](https://x.com/Tony_Stef_)

- - 🧪 **Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me — I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back. Custom skill requests welcome.

+ ---

+ **Like this skill?** It is one of 100 in [second-brain-starter-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit): the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with `npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit`. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.

+ Flagships worth a look on their own: [secondop-panel](https://github.com/tonydzi/secondop-panel) (a second opinion from a panel of external models), [claude-memory-tidy](https://github.com/tonydzi/claude-memory-tidy) (stop your agent's memory from rotting), [telegram-mcp-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/telegram-mcp-kit) (your own Telegram over MCP in about 15 minutes).

+ Author: **Anton Dziatkovskii**, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram [@tonydzi](https://t.me/tonydzi) - WhatsApp [+1 341 222 9178](https://wa.me/13412229178) - X [@Tony_Stef_](https://x.com/Tony_Stef_)

+ **Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.