Your 24/7 AI agent on a €30 TV box: Claude + Termux + Telegram bot (step by step)

A €30 Android TV box (or an old phone from your drawer) can act as an "always-on 24/7 computer" for an AI agent. The box only runs things; Claude does the thinking in the cloud. You talk to it through a private Telegram bot that only answers you, even when your laptop is off.

What it's good for (and what it isn't)

What you need

• An Android TV box you own: an X96Q, H96 or similar, 4-core ARM chip, 2 GB of RAM and Android 7 or later (9+ is better). Around €25-35. Not your ISP's set-top box: it's usually locked, it belongs to them and tinkering with it may breach your contract.
• Wi-Fi or a cable, and a USB keyboard/mouse (or the remote app on your phone) for the first steps.
• An account on the Claude Console (platform.claude.com) with credit. The API is pay-as-you-go; it's not the Pro subscription.
• Telegram on your phone.

Step 0: the prompt (photo + Claude)

Take a photo of the box (and of the label underneath, if it shows a model) and paste it into claude.ai with this prompt. Claude will guide you, adapted to your box:

This is my Android TV box (photo attached). I want to turn it into a server that runs an AI agent 24/7, even when my laptop is off. Plan:
1) Identify the model, the chip (ARM architecture, 32 or 64 bits) and the likely Android version. If you're not sure, tell me how to check it from Settings or with "uname -m" and "getprop ro.build.version.release".
2) Guide me step by step to install Termux and Termux:Boot from F-Droid (not Google Play) on THIS device, with whatever Android settings are needed (unknown sources, turning off battery optimization for Termux).
3) Make sure Android doesn't kill the process: termux-wake-lock and auto-start with Termux:Boot.
4) Write me a Telegram bot in Python with NO external dependencies (standard library only) that:
 - uses long polling (no open ports),
 - ONLY replies to my chat_id (read from an environment variable) and ignores everyone else,
 - sends my messages to the Claude API and returns the answer to me,
 - reads the keys from environment variables. NEVER ask me to paste my keys into this chat.
5) Tell me how to test it and how to check the logs if it fails.
Go step by step: give me one step, wait for me to say "done" or send the error, and continue.

Below you have the same path written out, in case you'd rather do it by hand.

Step 1: Termux and Termux:Boot from F-Droid

1. On the box, open the browser and download F-Droid from f-droid.org. Allow installing apps from "unknown sources" when asked.
2. From F-Droid install Termux and Termux:Boot. Both from the same place: Termux:Boot only runs scripts if it's signed with the same key as Termux, and each store signs with a different key.
3. Open Termux:Boot once (just open it). That way Android lets it start at boot.
4. Android Settings → Apps → Termux → Battery → Unrestricted / don't optimize.

Step 2: set up Linux inside Termux

Open Termux and type:

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install -y python
uname -m          # aarch64 = 64-bit ARM (the usual)

Step 3: the Telegram bot

1. In Telegram, talk to @BotFather → /newbot → give it a name. It gives you a token: don't share it.
2. Your chat_id: send anything to your new bot and open https://api.telegram.org/bot<TU_TOKEN>/getUpdates in the browser (replace <TU_TOKEN> with your token). Look for "chat":{"id":123456789: that number is your chat_id.

Step 4: the keys, out of the code and out of the chat

Create a key in the Claude Console → API keys. Then, in Termux:

nano ~/.agente.env

Paste this with your values:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
export TELEGRAM_TOKEN="123456:ABC..."
export CHAT_ID="123456789"
export MODELO="put-the-model-id-here"

Copy the model ID from the official model list (a Haiku is the cheapest for small tasks). Save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X) and protect the file:

chmod 600 ~/.agente.env

Step 5: the agent (dependency-free Python)

nano ~/agente.py

import json, os, time, urllib.request

TG = f"https://api.telegram.org/bot{os.environ['TELEGRAM_TOKEN']}"
YO = int(os.environ["CHAT_ID"])
KEY, MODELO = os.environ["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"], os.environ["MODELO"]

def post(url, data, headers=None):
    req = urllib.request.Request(url, json.dumps(data).encode(), {"Content-Type": "application/json", **(headers or {})})
    with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=120) as r:
        return json.load(r)

def claude(texto):
    r = post("https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages",
             {"model": MODELO, "max_tokens": 1500,
              "system": "You are my assistant. Clear, short answers, in English.",
              "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": texto}]},
             {"x-api-key": KEY, "anthropic-version": "2023-06-01"})
    return "".join(b.get("text", "") for b in r.get("content", [])) or "(no answer)"

offset = 0
while True:
    try:
        upd = post(f"{TG}/getUpdates", {"offset": offset, "timeout": 50})
        for u in upd.get("result", []):
            offset = u["update_id"] + 1
            msg = u.get("message") or {}
            if msg.get("chat", {}).get("id") != YO or "text" not in msg:
                continue  # only replies to you
            post(f"{TG}/sendMessage", {"chat_id": YO, "text": "Got it. Working on it."})
            post(f"{TG}/sendMessage", {"chat_id": YO, "text": claude(msg["text"])[:4000]})
    except Exception as e:
        print("error:", e)
        time.sleep(10)

Test it:

source ~/.agente.env && python ~/agente.py

Message your bot from Telegram. If it replies, it works. Ctrl+C to stop it.

Step 6: keep it awake and auto-start it

mkdir -p ~/.termux/boot
nano ~/.termux/boot/agente.sh

#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh
termux-wake-lock
. ~/.agente.env
nohup python ~/agente.py >> ~/agente.log 2>&1 &

chmod +x ~/.termux/boot/agente.sh

Restart the box. Without opening anything, message the bot: it should reply. If it doesn't, check the log with cat ~/agente.log. termux-wake-lock leaves a persistent Termux notification: that's normal, it's what stops Android from closing it.

Task ideas to get started

• "Summarize this text I'm pasting."
• "Draft 3 versions of this message for a client."
• "Write me a script for a reel about X."
• Reminders: install cronie (pkg install cronie) and schedule a script that runs every morning and sends you the result through the bot.

Limits and security (read this)

• Unofficial and not tested end to end by us. If a step fails on your box, paste the error into Claude.
• Claude Code (the terminal tool) isn't officially supported on Termux either; that's why this guide uses the API directly.
• Cost: every message spends API tokens. Spending limit set = peace of mind.
• Keys: only in ~/.agente.env, on the box. Never in the chat with Claude, never in screenshots, never on GitHub.
• Privacy: what you send the bot goes through Telegram and the Anthropic API. Don't send it sensitive data.
• If you sell or give away the box: delete Termux (or factory reset) and revoke the API key and the bot token.

Checklist

• A TV box you own (or an old phone) with Android 7 or later.
• Termux and Termux:Boot installed from F-Droid, and Termux:Boot opened once.
• Termux with battery optimization off.
• Bot created with @BotFather and your chat_id noted down.
• Keys in ~/.agente.env with chmod 600 and a spending limit set.
• The bot replies after restarting the box.