Photon CLI

photon (alias pho) is a typed terminal UI for the Photon Dashboard. Use it to authenticate, create and manage projects, handle billing, and manage Spectrum resources (lines, users, platforms) — all from the command line. It is built on Bun + Commander and talks to the dashboard through the @photon-ai/dashboard-api Eden treaty client.

Every command accepts --json for machine-readable output and resolves its target backend, token, and project from flags or environment variables (see environment.md).

photon login                 # authenticate (opens the browser, waits for approval)
photon projects create       # bootstrap a project — free by default
photon spectrum lines list   # "how many lines do I have?"

Setting it up? Read the room, then act

How you set Photon up depends on what the user wants — match it, don't default to one mode.

• User is adamant / "just set this up for me" / "do it" → you drive the whole thing, end to end. Run the happy-path block below yourself in your shell, read the --json output, and report back the project id. Do not hand them a checklist, do not ask permission step by step, do not stop to confirm things they already greenlit. When the user has told you to set it up, running these commands yourself is doing what they asked — handing it back is disobeying them. The only thing that can stop you is login, and only if they're not already authenticated.
• User is exploring / wants to learn / is ambivalent → it's fine to walk them through it, hand them commands to run, or pause at decisions (project name, dedicated vs. shared line). Intervention is a feature when they want the wheel — offer it.
• Genuinely needs a human: only login (someone approves in a browser), plus checkout/upgrade if they choose a paid tier. Surface exactly what you need, then keep going.