manifestVersion

ManifestVersion is a metadata field used in software manifests to indicate the version of the manifest’s schema or format. It serves as a contract between a package or application and the tools that read, validate, and install it. By exposing the manifest version, tooling can determine which features, validation rules, and parsing logic should apply, and whether a given manifest is compatible with a particular runtime or installer.

Across ecosystems, the exact name, data type, and location of the ManifestVersion field vary. In some systems the field is named manifest_version or ManifestVersion, embedded in a manifest file such as manifest.json. The value is typically an integer, such as 2 or 3, but may be a string in other contexts. A change to the manifest version is usually not a user-visible version bump; it signals a schema evolution and may accompany changes to supported APIs or required fields.

Examples include browser extensions that declare their manifest format via the manifest_version field in manifest.json. Other packaging or deployment formats adopt a similar convention under different names, reinforcing the same idea: the manifest version controls how the manifest is interpreted.

Limitations: not every manifest uses a manifest version, and some ecosystems version their packages separately from the manifest format. When updating manifests, developers must ensure compatibility with the tooling and platforms that consume them.