managing-photon-engine

name	managing-photon-engine
description	Use when working with Photon Engine — photon Engine real-time multiplayer services management including Photon Realtime, PUN, Fusion, Quantum, Chat, and Voice. Covers CCU monitoring, room statistics, region health, bandwidth usage, and application configuration review.
connection_type	photon-engine
preload	false

Photon Engine Management Skill

Monitor and manage Photon multiplayer networking services.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover applications and their types before querying usage metrics.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
PHOTON_API="https://dashboard.photonengine.com/api"
AUTH="Authorization: Bearer ${PHOTON_API_TOKEN}"

echo "=== Photon Applications ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.name) | AppID: \(.appId) | Type: \(.type) | Created: \(.createdAt)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Subscription Info ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/account/subscription" | \
  jq -r '"Plan: \(.planName)\nCCU Limit: \(.ccuLimit)\nTraffic Limit: \(.trafficLimitGB)GB\nExpires: \(.expirationDate)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Available Regions ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/regions" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.region) | Status: \(.status) | Ping: \(.avgPingMs)ms"'

echo ""
echo "=== Application Config ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/settings" | \
  jq -r '"MaxPlayers/Room: \(.maxPlayersPerRoom)\nCustomAuth: \(.customAuthEnabled)\nWebhooks: \(.webhooksEnabled)"'

Phase 1 outputs: App list, subscription tier, regions, app config

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Current CCU ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/stats/ccu" | \
  jq -r '"Current CCU: \(.current)\nPeak Today: \(.peakToday)\nPeak Month: \(.peakMonth)\nCCU Limit: \(.limit)"'

echo ""
echo "=== CCU by Region ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/stats/ccu/regions" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.region): \(.ccu) CCU (\(.rooms) rooms)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Bandwidth Usage (current month) ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/stats/traffic" | \
  jq -r '"Used: \(.usedGB)GB / \(.limitGB)GB\nMessages/sec: \(.messagesPerSecond)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Room Statistics ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PHOTON_API/applications/${PHOTON_APP_ID}/stats/rooms" | \
  jq -r '"Active Rooms: \(.activeRooms)\nAvg Players/Room: \(.avgPlayersPerRoom)\nEmpty Rooms: \(.emptyRooms)"'

Output Format

PHOTON ENGINE STATUS
====================
App: {app_name} ({type})
Plan: {plan} | CCU Limit: {limit}
Current CCU: {ccu} | Peak: {peak}
Active Rooms: {rooms} | Avg Players: {avg}
Bandwidth: {used}GB / {limit}GB
Regions: {count} active
Issues: {list_of_warnings}

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• Photon Realtime vs PUN vs Fusion: Different SDKs but same backend — AppID determines type
• CCU = Concurrent Users: Not total users — plan limits are based on peak CCU
• Region pinning: Clients auto-select best region — server-side stats show distribution
• Traffic spikes: Photon throttles above plan limits — monitor bandwidth closely