doc/packaging_apps_manifest.md

Manifest

The manifest.json file defines the app's constants, a bunch of values that YunoHost needs to identify the app and install it correctly. It looks like this:

{
    "name": "Roundcube",
    "id": "roundcube",
    "description": {
        "en": "Open Source Webmail software",
        "fr": "Webmail Open Source"
    },
    "url": "http://roundcube.net/",
    "maintainer": {
        "name": "kload",
        "email": "kload@kload.fr"
    },
    "multi_instance": "true",
    "services": [
        "nginx",
        "php5-fpm",
        "mysql"
    ],
    "arguments": {
        "install" : [
            {
                "name": "domain",
                "type": "domain",
                "ask": {
                    "en": "Choose a domain for Roundcube",
                    "fr": "Choisissez un domaine pour Roundcube"
                },
                "example": "domain.org"
            },
            {
                "name": "path",
                "type": "path",
                "ask": {
                    "en": "Choose a path for Roundcube",
                    "fr": "Choisissez un chemin pour Roundcube"
                },
                "example": "/webmail",
                "default": "/webmail"
            }
        ]
    }
}

• name: the app name. It does not have to be unique, but it should be, since it is the name shown to all the YunoHost administrators in the app list.

• id: the unique ID of the app. You have to ensure that this ID is unique before submit an app integration request.

• description: the complete description of the app. You can make it as detailed as you feel it should be. Only en is required right now, but you can translate the description by prepending the locale prefix.

• url: software website.

• license: software license type: free or non-free. Be careful to not confuse with package license which must be put in LICENSE file.

• maintainer: informations about the app maintainer.

• multi_instance: this defines your app's ability to be installed multiple times. When YunoHost tries to install a second instance of the app, it will replace the id in the scripts by an id__2. It means that, if you want to be multi_instance, you have to put all the identifiers in the scripts.
  
  E.g. in the roundcube script, database is called roundcube, the install directory roundcube and the Nginx configuration roundcube. This way, the second instance of roundcube will not conflict with the first one, and will be installed in the roundcube__2 database, in the roundcube__2directory, and with the roundcube__2 Nginx configuration.

• services: services needed by the application among nginx, php5-fpm, mysql, uwsgi, metronome…

• arguments: the settings for the YunoHost's administrator to enter at installation. You have to set a name (for argument identification), and a question in ask (at least in en) that you can translate like the description above. You can also set a default value and an example to help administrator to fill the input.