CallMe: Claude Code Plugin for Phone Calls—Quick Setup

January 19, 2026

Category: Practical Open Source Projects

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Open Source Twilio Claude Code Phone Call Plugin Telnyx

CallMe – The Minimal Claude Code Plugin for Phone Calls

If you’ve ever wished Claude could finish a task and then call you to discuss the next steps, CallMe turns that wish into reality. It is an ultra‑lightweight open‑source plugin that turns Claude Code into a Voice‑Enabled assistant. Whether you want to stay in the loop after a code review or get instant feedback on a feature, CallMe gives you a phone ring instead of an email or Slack message.

The plugin supports two popular voice‑API providers – Telnyx (recommended for its low cost) and Twilio – and uses ngrok to expose local webhooks securely. Once set up, the plugin exposes four convenient tools to your prompts:

Tool	What it does
`initiate_call`	Start a new phone call
`continue_call`	Ask a follow‑up question
`speak_to_user`	Speak without waiting for a reply
`end_call`	Terminate the conversation

Below is a complete, step‑by‑step tutorial that will have CallMe ringing in your pocket in minutes.

Prerequisites

Item	Why you need it
A phone number	The number Claude will dial from
A Telnyx or Twilio account	Access to voice API and webhook management
An OpenAI account	TTS (Text‑to‑Speech) and STT (Speech‑to‑Text) services
ngrok account	Tunnel local HTTP server to the public internet
`git` and a modern CLI	Clone the repo and run commands

All providers give you a free tier, making the cost negligible during testing.

1️⃣ Get the Provider Set Up

Option A: Telnyx (recommended)

Visit portal.telnyx.com and verify your account.
Order a phone number (~$1/month).
Create a Voice API application:
Webhook URL: https://<your‑ngrok‑url>/twiml
API version: v2
Copy the Application ID and API Key.
(Optional) In Account Settings → Keys & Credentials, copy the Public Key for webhook signing.

Option B: Twilio (alternative)

Sign up at twilio.com and grab the free trial number.
Copy the Account SID and Auth Token from the dashboard.

2️⃣ Configure Environment Variables

Create a JSON file at ~/.claude/settings.json (recommended) with the following structure:

{
  "env": {
    "CALLME_PHONE_PROVIDER": "telnyx",
    "CALLME_PHONE_ACCOUNT_SID": "YOUR_APPID_OR_SID",
    "CALLME_PHONE_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_KEY_OR_TOKEN",
    "CALLME_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15551234567",        
    "CALLME_USER_PHONE_NUMBER": "+15559876543",    
    "CALLME_OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-…",
    "CALLME_NGROK_AUTHTOKEN": "YOUR_NGROK_TOKEN"
  }
}

Tip: For Twilio simply switch the CALLME_PHONE_PROVIDER value and replace the two SID/Token entries.

If you opted for the optional webhook signing, add:

"CALLME_TELNYX_PUBLIC_KEY": "YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY"

All other environment variables are optional and have sensible defaults.

3️⃣ Install the Plugin

# In Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add ZeframLou/call-me
/plugin install callme@callme

Restart Claude Code to load the new tools.

4️⃣ Run the Local MCP Server

The plugin bundles a lightweight MCP (Multi‑Channel Provider) server that automatically spins an ngrok tunnel.

cd call-me
bn run dev   # (or bun run dev if bun is installed)

The server will log the public URL; this is your webhook endpoint.

5️⃣ Start a Call

In your Claude prompt, you can now invoke the tools. For example:

You finished the auth flow! Call me to discuss next steps.

Claude will respond with:

{
  "tool": "initiate_call",
  "arguments": {
    "message": "Hey! I finished the auth system. What should I work on next?"
  }
}

Claude will place the call, ring your phone, and let you speak. As you converse, you can *

continue_call

* or use *

speak_to_user

* to handle non‑blocking speech.

6️⃣ Cost Snapshot

Item	Telnyx	Twilio
Outbound per minute	~$0.007	~$0.014
Phone number per month	~$1	~$1.15
OpenAI TTS/ STT	~$0.02/min	Same
Totals	~$0.03–$0.04/min	~$0.04–$0.05/min

All numbers are estimates and vary with usage volume.

7️⃣ Troubleshooting Guide

Issue	Likely Cause	Fix
Claude won’t use the tool	Environment variables missing	Add all mandatory vars to `settings.json`
No call rings	Wrong webhook URL	Ensure the URL matches the ngrok output
Audio glitches	Phone number not verified	Re‑verify provider number
ngrok errors	Auth token wrong	Re‑generate and set `CALLME_NGROK_AUTHTOKEN`
Tool name mismatch	Using older Claude Code	Update to the latest plugin

Check claude --debug for detailed MCP logs.

8️⃣ Advanced Usage

Custom TTS Voice

Add a line to your env:

"CALLME_TTS_VOICE": "onyx"   // options: alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, shimmer

Using a Custom ngrok Domain

If you have a paid ngrok plan, set:

"CALLME_NGROK_DOMAIN": "mycustom.ngrok.io"

The MCP server will bind to that domain.

9️⃣ Scaling & Deployment

While the local MCP server works great for prototypes, you can containerize the server or expose it via a cloud function. The repository already contains a Dockerfile and a bun run dev command for easy Docker builds.

docker build -t callme .
docker run --env-file ~/.claude/settings.json -p 3333:3333 callme

Once deployed, point your provider’s webhook URL to the public endpoint.

📌 Conclusion

CallMe gives Claude the missing human touch in the form of a real phone call, combining natural language understanding, TTS/STT, and telephony into one minimal effort. Whether you’re building a remote‑first startup, orchestrating a distributed team, or just want a more engaging way to interact with Claude, the plugin delivers instant, hands‑free communication.

Ready to give it a whirl? Clone the repo, set up Telnyx or Twilio, and let Claude ring your phone. Happy calling!

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