Manifest package

Deployment and startup configuration for your app's client and server code. Required.

The package field tells Root which files to bundle and how to launch your server. When you push, the CLI reads these paths and creates a .pkg archive containing your manifest, server code, and client build output.

Example

Apps have both a client (the browser-based UI) and a server. A typical manifest declares paths for both:

root-manifest.json

{
  "id": "...",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "package": {
    "client": {
      "deploy": "client/dist"
    },
    "server": {
      "launch": "server/dist/main.js",
      "deploy": [
        "server/dist"
      ],
      "nodeModules": [
        "server/node_modules"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Client

The client section specifies where your built single-page application lives. Root serves these files to users who open your app in their browser.

Property	Type	Required	Description
deploy	string	Yes	Path to the client build output directory, relative to the project root (e.g., client/dist).

Server

The server section specifies your server entry point and which files to include in the deployment.

Property	Type	Required	Description
launch	string	Yes	Path to the JavaScript entry point that Root executes to start your server (e.g., server/dist/main.js). Must be a .js file.
deploy	string[]	Yes	Directories to include in the server package, relative to the project root. Typically your compiled output (e.g., ["server/dist"]).
nodeModules	string[]	Yes	node_modules directories to bundle with your server. These are your production dependencies (e.g., ["server/node_modules"]).

How packaging works

When you push, the CLI:

1. Reads the paths from your manifest.
2. Creates server.tar.gz from the deploy and nodeModules directories.
3. Creates client.tar.gz from the client.deploy directory.
4. Bundles everything into a .pkg file along with your root-manifest.json.

The deploy array can include multiple directories if your compiled output spans more than one folder (e.g., ["server/dist", "networking/gen/server"]).

Excluded modules

The CLI automatically excludes sqlite3 and @rootsdk/dev-tools from the node_modules bundle. These are development-only dependencies that are not needed at runtime.