#manifest

manifest declares the extension manifest (the content of the final manifest.json in the build output). It supports three styles: inline object, object split by browser (chromium/firefox), or file paths; it can also be omitted so the framework auto-loads manifest files from the source directory.

#Type and default behavior

• Type: ManifestConfig | ManifestPathConfig | undefined
• Default: When omitted, the framework loads from appDir or appDir/manifest/:
  • manifest.json (shared or single browser)
  • manifest.chromium.json (Chrome overrides)
  • manifest.firefox.json (Firefox overrides)
• At build time, the branch is chosen by CLI -b chrome|edge|brave|vivaldi|opera|santa|firefox and merged with base, then written to outputRoot/outDir/manifest.json.

#Configuration styles

#1. Single object (Chrome / Firefox shared)

All fields in one object. The framework injects entry paths for background, content_scripts, action, options_ui, side_panel, devtools_page according to the current target; other fields are output as-is.

// addfox.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "addfox";

export default defineConfig({
  manifest: {
    name: "My Extension",
    version: "1.0.0",
    manifest_version: 3,
    permissions: ["storage", "activeTab"],
    action: { default_popup: "popup/index.html" },
    background: { service_worker: "background/index.js" },
    content_scripts: [
      { matches: ["<all_urls>"], js: ["content/index.js"], run_at: "document_start" },
    ],
  },
});

Entry paths (e.g. popup/index.html, background/index.js) are computed by the framework from entry and outDir. You only need to keep these keys in manifest; see MANIFEST_ENTRY_PATHS for custom keys.

#2. Split by browser (chromium / firefox)

When Chrome and Firefox need different manifest fields (e.g. Chrome action vs Firefox sidebar_action, or service_worker vs scripts), use chromium and firefox branches. The framework picks the branch by current -b and deep-merges with base.

// addfox.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "addfox";

export default defineConfig({
  manifest: {
    chromium: {
      name: "My Ext",
      manifest_version: 3,
      action: { default_popup: "popup/index.html" },
      background: { service_worker: "background/index.js" },
      content_scripts: [{ matches: ["<all_urls>"], js: ["content/index.js"] }],
    },
    firefox: {
      name: "My Ext",
      manifest_version: 2,
      sidebar_action: { default_panel: "sidepanel/index.html" },
      background: { scripts: ["background/index.js"] },
      content_scripts: [{ matches: ["<all_urls>"], js: ["content/index.js"] }],
    },
  },
});

#3. Path config (relative to appDir)

To keep manifest in external JSON files, specify paths relative to appDir.

// addfox.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "addfox";

export default defineConfig({
  appDir: "src",
  manifest: {
    chromium: "manifest/manifest.chromium.json",
    firefox: "manifest/manifest.firefox.json",
  },
});

#4. Omit (auto-load)

When manifest is not set, the framework looks for:

1. appDir/manifest.json, appDir/manifest.chromium.json, appDir/manifest.firefox.json
2. appDir/manifest/manifest.json, appDir/manifest/manifest.chromium.json, appDir/manifest/manifest.firefox.json

Any found file is used as base and merged with chromium/firefox files in the same directory.

#Specifying entry source files in manifest

You can specify the source file paths of entries directly in the manifest. The framework automatically recognizes and builds them, replacing the paths with the output artifact paths.

// addfox.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  manifest: {
    name: "My Extension",
    version: "1.0.0",
    manifest_version: 3,
    
    // Specify source file paths directly
    background: {
      service_worker: "./background/index.ts",  // source path
    },
    action: {
      default_popup: "./popup/index.tsx",       // source path
    },
    content_scripts: [
      {
        matches: ["<all_urls>"],
        js: ["./content/index.ts"],              // source path
      },
    ],
  },
});

The framework will:

1. Identify these source paths (.ts, .tsx, .js, .jsx).
2. Treat them as entries.
3. Replace them with build output paths (e.g. background/index.js) in the final manifest.json.

#Supported fields

You can use source paths in the following manifest fields:

#Entry resolution priority

1. Highest: Explicitly configured entries in config.entry.
2. Second: Source paths specified in manifest.
3. Third: Auto-discovery based on file conventions.

#Priority

#Related

• entry: Entry scripts and HTML determine manifest paths.
• appDir: Path config and auto-load are relative to appDir.
• outDir, outputRoot: Build output directory.