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Configure

Phonton reads ~/.phonton/config.toml and also checks provider-specific environment variables.

[provider]
name = "deepseek"
model = "deepseek-v4-flash"

[budget]
max_tokens = 120000
max_usd_cents = 200

[index]
backend = "local-hnsw"

Environment-variable examples:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="..."
export OPENAI_API_KEY="..."
export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="..."
export TOGETHER_API_KEY="..."

Windows PowerShell:

$env:GEMINI_API_KEY = "..."

Verify setup:

phonton doctor
phonton doctor --provider
phonton doctor --json

Index backend​

The default code retrieval backend is local HNSW:

[index]
backend = "local-hnsw"

v0.19.0 can also point code and symbol retrieval at an existing Qdrant service:

[index]
backend = "qdrant"
qdrant_url = "http://127.0.0.1:6333"
qdrant_collection = "phonton-code"

Phonton does not start containers or manage Qdrant lifecycle. phonton doctor reports the selected backend and checks Qdrant connectivity when Qdrant is configured.

SQLite keyword memory remains the authoritative decision memory store. Qdrant is for external vector retrieval over code slices, not memory-record storage.

BYOK model​

Phonton should not be positioned as a hosted model proxy. The product promise is that the developer controls provider routing and credentials.

Do not paste API keys into review records, issue reports, or screenshots. Prefer environment variables over committing local config files.

Configuration checklist​

  • Pick a provider and model.
  • Set provider keys as environment variables or under [provider.keys].
  • Set a task budget.
  • Choose local-hnsw or configure an existing Qdrant backend.
  • Run phonton doctor --provider.
  • Use phonton config show to inspect resolved configuration.

Cost visibility​

Phonton reports token usage and cost when the provider and model expose enough information to make the estimate meaningful. If pricing is unknown, the CLI should say so instead of pretending the number is exact.