> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.photon.codes/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Use Stable documentation by default. Honor an explicit Beta request or a URL under /docs/beta/. If the requested version conflicts with the installed CLI package or API origin, clarify the target before writing integration code.
> Pages under /docs/beta/ document Beta; other product pages document Stable. Keep the CLI package, commands, API origin, and credentials within the selected version. State the documentation version in your answer.
> For MCP search, always pass version: Stable or version: Beta. Unfiltered search mixes both versions. For filesystem reads, keep Beta queries under /beta/ and exclude /beta/ from Stable queries; discover paths before reading them.
> The public docs base is https://photon.codes/docs. Convert MCP page paths to public URLs under that base, preserving /beta/ when present. Read https://photon.codes/docs/skill.md for version selection and https://photon.codes/docs/llms.txt for the version indexes.

# Installation

> Install the Photon CLI with a package manager or as a standalone binary.

Photon CLI runs on **Node.js 22 or newer**. Node must be available on your
`PATH` regardless of which package manager installs the CLI.

<Note>
  The current beta talks only to `https://api.staging.photon.codes`.
</Note>

## Install with a package manager

<CodeGroup>
  ```sh npm theme={null}
  npm install --global photon-cli
  ```

  ```sh pnpm theme={null}
  pnpm add --global photon-cli
  ```

  ```sh Yarn theme={null}
  yarn add --dev photon-cli
  yarn photon --version
  ```

  ```sh Bun theme={null}
  bun add --global photon-cli
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Bun works as the package manager, but Node.js remains the supported runtime.

## Install a standalone binary

If you would rather not install Node.js, use a standalone release. The
installer verifies release checksums:

```sh theme={null}
curl -fsSL \
  https://github.com/photon-hq/cli-beta/releases/latest/download/install.sh |
  sh
```

On Windows, download and extract the `.zip` release asset directly.

## Verify the install

```sh theme={null}
photon --version
photon --help
```

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/docs/beta/cli/authentication">
    Sign in with `photon login` and check your session.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Projects" icon="folder" href="/docs/beta/cli/projects">
    Pick an active project and start working.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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