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Photon

<div align="center"> <img src="public/logo.png" alt="Photon Logo" width="1000" height="300"> </div>

Research. Instantly.

The terminal research tool for people who value speed and simplicity. Ask anything, get answers in seconds, work from anywhere.

Demo

<div align="center"> <img src="public/demo.gif" alt="Photon Demo" width="800"> </div>

What makes it different

Fast — Sub-second AI responses
Light — 3MB binary, zero setup
Free — Unlimited queries, always
Global — Works everywhere, including China

For developers who think in terminal

ptn "quantum computing basics"
# → Instant, structured insights
# → No context switching
# → No distractions

Simple tools. Powerful results.

Installation

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap Jacky040124/photon
brew install photon

Manual Download

Download pre-built binaries from GitHub Releases and add to your PATH.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Jacky040124/photon.git
cd photon
go build -o ptn ./cmd
mv ptn /usr/local/bin/

Setup

Set your OpenRouter API key:

export PHOTON_OPEN_ROUTER_KEY="your_openrouter_api_key_here"

To make it permanent, add to your shell profile:

# For Zsh (macOS default)
echo 'export PHOTON_OPEN_ROUTER_KEY="your_key_here"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# For Bash
echo 'export PHOTON_OPEN_ROUTER_KEY="your_key_here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Note: Get a free OpenRouter API key from openrouter.ai - no credit card required for the free tier!

Usage

Just run:

./ptn "your research topic here"

Examples:

ptn "machine learning basics"
ptn "rust vs go performance"
ptn "docker best practices"

Output Format

Photon provides clean, structured output:

• Summary: Concise 2-3 sentence overview
• Key Points: 3-5 essential insights, clearly numbered

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Photon — Simple tools. Powerful results.