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What is Photon?

Photon is a next-generation server toolkit designed primarily for library and framework developers who need universal server capabilities.

Philosophy

Photon follows these core principles:

Universal Server Support

Unlike other solutions that lock you into specific frameworks, Photon works with any server framework:

• Hono - Ultrafast web framework for edge runtimes
• Express - The most popular Node.js web framework
• Fastify - High-performance web framework
• Elysia - Bun-optimized framework with end-to-end type safety
• H3 - Minimal and modern web framework
• HatTip - Universal web framework built on Web Standards

Deploy Anywhere

Write once, deploy anywhere. Photon applications can be deployed to:

• Edge Runtimes: Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge, Netlify Edge
• Serverless: AWS Lambda, Vercel Functions, Netlify Functions
• Traditional Servers: Node.js, Docker, VPS
• Static Hosting: GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel (for SSG)

Vite-Powered

Built on top of Vite's Environment API, Photon provides:

• Hot Module Replacement for server code
• Fast builds with Vite's optimized bundling
• Rich ecosystem compatibility with Vite plugins
• TypeScript support out of the box

Architecture

Photon's architecture consists of three main components:

Core (@photonjs/core)

The foundation that provides:

• Vite plugin integration
• Configuration management
• Virtual module system
• Build orchestration

Server Adapters

Framework-specific adapters that handle:

• Universal middleware application
• Server lifecycle management
• Runtime-specific optimizations

Deployment Adapters

Platform-specific adapters for:

• Build output optimization
• Runtime environment setup
• Platform-specific features

Key Features

Server Code Splitting

Each page and API route can be deployed as a separate function:

// Each route becomes its own deployable unit
export default {
  entries: {
    'api/users': './src/api/users.ts',
    'api/posts': './src/api/posts.ts',
    'pages/dashboard': './src/pages/dashboard.ts'
  }
}

Universal Middleware

Write middleware once, use everywhere:

// Works across all server frameworks
const authMiddleware = createUniversalMiddleware((context) => {
  // Universal middleware logic
})

Comparison

When to Use Photon

For Framework Developers

Photon is ideal when building:

• Universal web frameworks that work across runtimes
• Server-agnostic libraries and tools
• Platform-agnostic solutions for diverse deployment needs
• Developer tools that need maximum compatibility

For Advanced Users

Direct usage is suitable when you need:

• Maximum flexibility in architectural decisions
• Multi-runtime support without framework lock-in
• Custom deployment strategies across platforms
• Integration with existing complex systems

For End Users

If you're building applications rather than frameworks, consider using frameworks built with Photon:

• Vike - Fast Vite-based framework with Photon under the hood
• Other Photon-powered frameworks - Check the ecosystem for more options

These frameworks provide the benefits of Photon's universal deployment while offering the developer experience optimized for application development.

Photon Ecosystem

Frameworks Built with Photon

• Vike - Fast Vite-based framework with flexible architecture
• More coming soon - The ecosystem is growing as Photon matures

Success Stories

Frameworks using Photon benefit from:

• Universal deployment - Deploy to any platform without framework changes
• Server flexibility - Choose the best server framework for each use case
• Future-proof architecture - Adapt to new runtimes and platforms easily