diff --git a/external_plugins/discord/README.md b/external_plugins/discord/README.md
index 3cbdf2b..ad04f6f 100644
--- a/external_plugins/discord/README.md
+++ b/external_plugins/discord/README.md
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ Install the plugin:
 /discord:configure MTIz...
 ```
 
-Writes `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...` to `.claude/channels/discord/.env` in your project. You can also write that file by hand, or set the variable in your shell environment — shell takes precedence.
+Writes `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...` to `~/.claude/channels/discord/.env`. You can also write that file by hand, or set the variable in your shell environment — shell takes precedence.
+
+> To run multiple bots on one machine (different tokens, separate allowlists), point `DISCORD_STATE_DIR` at a different directory per instance.
 
 **6. Relaunch with the channel flag.**
 
diff --git a/external_plugins/discord/server.ts b/external_plugins/discord/server.ts
index 078c29a..4d220be 100644
--- a/external_plugins/discord/server.ts
+++ b/external_plugins/discord/server.ts
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, rmSync, statSync,
 import { homedir } from 'os'
 import { join, sep } from 'path'
 
-const STATE_DIR = join(homedir(), '.claude', 'channels', 'discord')
+const STATE_DIR = process.env.DISCORD_STATE_DIR ?? join(homedir(), '.claude', 'channels', 'discord')
 const ACCESS_FILE = join(STATE_DIR, 'access.json')
 const APPROVED_DIR = join(STATE_DIR, 'approved')
 const ENV_FILE = join(STATE_DIR, '.env')
diff --git a/external_plugins/telegram/README.md b/external_plugins/telegram/README.md
index 8d5632e..d72dbc1 100644
--- a/external_plugins/telegram/README.md
+++ b/external_plugins/telegram/README.md
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ Install the plugin:
 /telegram:configure 123456789:AAHfiqksKZ8...
 ```
 
-Writes `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` to `.claude/channels/telegram/.env` in your project. You can also write that file by hand, or set the variable in your shell environment — shell takes precedence.
+Writes `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` to `~/.claude/channels/telegram/.env`. You can also write that file by hand, or set the variable in your shell environment — shell takes precedence.
+
+> To run multiple bots on one machine (different tokens, separate allowlists), point `TELEGRAM_STATE_DIR` at a different directory per instance.
 
 **4. Relaunch with the channel flag.**
 
diff --git a/external_plugins/telegram/server.ts b/external_plugins/telegram/server.ts
index 3caaf6e..ee1050c 100644
--- a/external_plugins/telegram/server.ts
+++ b/external_plugins/telegram/server.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, rmSync, statSync,
 import { homedir } from 'os'
 import { join, extname, sep } from 'path'
 
-const STATE_DIR = join(homedir(), '.claude', 'channels', 'telegram')
+const STATE_DIR = process.env.TELEGRAM_STATE_DIR ?? join(homedir(), '.claude', 'channels', 'telegram')
 const ACCESS_FILE = join(STATE_DIR, 'access.json')
 const APPROVED_DIR = join(STATE_DIR, 'approved')
 const ENV_FILE = join(STATE_DIR, '.env')