Skip to main content

​
One-off — no install

You can run any CLI command on demand without a global install: 
npx @photon-ai/cli login
npx @photon-ai/cli projects ls
Each time you run it, it pulls the latest release automatically. This is useful for scripts, throwaway machines, or trying the CLI before committing.

​
Global install

For daily use, you can install globally so photon is always on your PATH: 
npm install -g @photon-ai/cli

photon login
The pho shortcut alias is created automatically the first time you run photon.
You need Node.js >= 18 to run the CLI. You can also use Bun, but it’s not required.

​
Standalone binary

If you don’t want any runtime dependency (e.g. CI environments), you can download a prebuilt binary directly. Replace <os> and <arch> with your platform: 
# <os>: darwin | linux
# <arch>: arm64 | x64
curl -L -o /usr/local/bin/photon \
  https://github.com/photon-hq/cli/releases/latest/download/photon-<os>-<arch>
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/photon
photon --version
For example, on an Apple Silicon Mac: 
curl -L -o /usr/local/bin/photon \
  https://github.com/photon-hq/cli/releases/latest/download/photon-darwin-arm64
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/photon
Available platforms:
PlatformArchitectures
macOSarm64, x64
Linuxarm64, x64
Each binary ships with a corresponding .sha256 checksum on the release page.

​
Update

The CLI shows a notification when a new version is available. To update: 
npm update -g @photon-ai/cli
If you installed via a standalone binary, re-download the latest release: 
curl -L -o /usr/local/bin/photon \
  https://github.com/photon-hq/cli/releases/latest/download/photon-<os>-<arch>
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/photon
If you use a one-off runner (npx / pnpx / yarn dlx / bunx), you automatically pick up new releases — no manual update needed. These tools cache resolved versions, so to force the latest immediately, pin to @latest: 
npx @photon-ai/cli@latest projects ls
To suppress the update notification, set PHOTON_NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER=1.

​
Verify the installation

photon --version
photon ping
photon ping hits the Photon API health endpoint — if you see a success response, you’re ready to authenticate.