Manifest · Mod Template guide

The JSON Schemas are normative for structure; this page is normative for meaning. Fields marked optional MAY be absent; every other field MUST be present. Absent means unknown, never false.

Project manifest#

{
  "schema_version": "2",
  "document": "project",
  "generator": "DreamWeave Mod Template 5.0.0",
  "project": { ... },
  "channels": { "stable": { "version": "1.1.0" }, "development": { "version": "1.1.1-dev.3" } },
  "releases": [ ... ]
}

generator is informational. Clients MUST NOT change behavior based on it.

`project`#

Field	Meaning
`id`	UUID, canonical lowercase. The project’s identity.
`name`	Display name. May change at any time.
`summary`	Optional. One line.
`type`	`mod`, `library`, `framework`, `tool`, `assets`, `total-conversion` or `documentation`. Presentation only.
`status`	`active`, `maintenance`, `experimental`, `deprecated` or `archived`.
`versioning`	`numeric` or `decimal`: how this project’s versions compare. See Versions.
`game`	Lowercase token, e.g. `morrowind`.
`license`	Optional. SPDX expression.
`tags`	Free-form strings.
`maintainers`	`[{ name, url? }]`.
`links`	Object of URLs. Always `page`, `source`, `issues`; optionally `documentation`, `support`, `donate`, `homepage`, `nexusmods`, and `crate` for a Rust crate: its crates.io page.
`integrations`	Locations on other services, e.g. `{ "nexusmods": { "game": "morrowind", "mod_id": 57511 } }`. Never identity.
`media`	`[{ kind: image\|video, url, alt, thumbnail?, caption?, category?, featured? }]`.
`credits`	`[{ name, role?, url? }]`.

`channels`#

Each channel’s head, the highest-precedence release in that channel whose status is available. A channel with no available release is absent. Clients MAY recompute heads from releases and MUST get the same answer.

`releases`#

Every published release, newest first by precedence, including yanked and deprecated ones.

Field	Meaning
`version`	The release’s version under the project’s scheme. Unique by precedence within the project.
`channel`	Lowercase token. `development` is the rolling build of the default branch.
`date`	Optional. ISO date the author gives the release.
`status`	`available`, `yanked` or `deprecated`.
`yanked`, `deprecated`	Optional. `{ reason, replacement? }`, present exactly when `status` says so.
`source`	`{ repository, tag?, release?, revision? }`. `revision` is the full commit hash when known.
`notes`	Optional. `{ summary?, highlights?, added?, changed?, fixed?, breaking?, migration?, known_issues?, notes? }`. Strings are CommonMark; a consumer MUST treat embedded HTML as untrusted.
`runtimes`	Object of runtime id to constraint. The release runs on any listed runtime. Empty means runtime-independent.
`platforms`	`[{ os, arch }]`, desktop systems only: `windows`, `macos`, `linux`. Empty means platform-independent. A program’s Android and handheld builds are described on their artifacts.
`provides`	Capability strings.
`relationships`	See below.
`components`, `groups`	See Installation.
`extensions`	Namespaced extension data. See Evolution.
`critical_extensions`	Extensions a client MUST implement to install this release.
`artifacts`	See Artifacts. At least one.

Everything from runtimes down describes the release’s bytes and does not change after publication, except by a deliberate amendment from the publisher. date, channel, status and notes may be corrected.

`relationships`#

{ "kind": "requires", "project": "9b7e3f21-…", "name": "Tallow", "version": ">=1.0", "url": "https://…" }

Field	Meaning
`kind`	`requires`: the release does not work without the target. `recommends`: works better with it. `conflicts`: MUST NOT be active together. `compatible`: tested together. `replaces`: supersedes the target.
`project`	Optional. The target’s id.
`capability`	Optional. Instead of `project`: any project whose release `provides` it satisfies the relationship. Only for `requires`, `recommends`, `conflicts`.
`name`	Optional. For display. A relationship with neither `project` nor `capability` is informational and cannot be resolved.
`version`	Optional. Constraint, only with `project`, evaluated with the target project’s versioning scheme. Absent means any version.
`url`	Optional. Where to discover the target.
`reason`	Optional. For display.

A requires or conflicts on a project satisfies or violates only when the target is installed at a version the constraint allows. Resolution order, how far to follow chains, and what to do with unresolvable targets are client policy.

Site index#

{
  "schema_version": "2",
  "document": "index",
  "generator": "…",
  "site": { "name": "Cool Mods", "url": "https://you.github.io/cool-mods/" },
  "projects": [
    {
      "id": "…", "name": "…", "summary": "…", "type": "mod", "status": "active",
      "page": "https://…/home/", "manifest": "https://…/dreamweave/projects/….json",
      "manifest_sha256": "…", "updated": "2026-09-27", "channels": { "stable": "1.1.0" }
    }
  ]
}

projects is sorted by id. An index entry is a pointer and a change detector; everything it says is repeated, authoritatively, in the manifest.

Release payload#

dreamweave.release.json at an archive’s root has document: "release-payload", the project’s id, name, slug and versioning, the release version, the package format, and the same runtimes through critical_extensions fields as the manifest’s release. It lets a loose archive identify itself. It cannot contain its archive’s own digest, so it is never proof of anything; when it and the manifest disagree, the manifest wins.

Project manifest#

project#

channels#

releases#