Manifest File Structure

The plugin's manifest is where you include metadata about your plugin. Simply put, the manifest is a list of facts about your plugin in the form of a JSON object. No executable code goes into your manifest.

The manifest is located in your plugin's root folder and must be named manifest.json.

If you are a bit rusty at reading JSON, here's a good reference.

Example manifest

{
    "manifestVersion": 4,
    "id": "YOUR_ID_HERE",
    "name": "Name of your plugin",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "main": "index.html",
    "host": {
        "app": "PS",
        "minVersion": "22.0.0"
    },
    "entrypoints": [
        {
            "type": "command",
            "id": "commandFn",
            "label": {
                "default": "Show A Dialog"
            }
        },
        {
            "type": "panel",
            "id": "panelName",
            "label": {
                "default": "Panel Name"
            },
            "minimumSize": {"width": 230, "height": 200},
            "maximumSize": {"width": 2000, "height": 2000},
            "preferredDockedSize": {"width": 230, "height": 300},
            "preferredFloatingSize": {"width": 230, "height": 300},
            "icons": [
                {"width":23,"height":23,"path":"icons/dark.png","scale":[1,2],"theme":["darkest","dark","medium"]},
                {"width":23,"height":23,"path":"icons/light.png","scale":[1,2],"theme":["lightest","light"]}
            ]
        }
    ],
    "icons": [
        { "width": 23, "height": 23, "path": "icons/icon_D.png", "scale": [ 1, 2 ], "theme": [ "dark", "darkest" ], "species": [ "generic" ] },
        { "width": 23, "height": 23, "path": "icons/icon_N.png", "scale": [ 1, 2 ], "theme": [ "lightest", "light" ], "species": [ "generic" ] }
    ]
}
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1{
2    "manifestVersion": 4,
3    "id": "YOUR_ID_HERE",
4    "name": "Name of your plugin",
5    "version": "1.0.0",
6    "main": "index.html",
7    "host": {
8        "app": "PS",
9        "minVersion": "22.0.0"
10    },
11    "entrypoints": [
12        {
13            "type": "command",
14            "id": "commandFn",
15            "label": {
16                "default": "Show A Dialog"
17            }
18        },
19        {
20            "type": "panel",
21            "id": "panelName",
22            "label": {
23                "default": "Panel Name"
24            },
25            "minimumSize": {"width": 230, "height": 200},
26            "maximumSize": {"width": 2000, "height": 2000},
27            "preferredDockedSize": {"width": 230, "height": 300},
28            "preferredFloatingSize": {"width": 230, "height": 300},
29            "icons": [
30                {"width":23,"height":23,"path":"icons/dark.png","scale":[1,2],"theme":["darkest","dark","medium"]},
31                {"width":23,"height":23,"path":"icons/light.png","scale":[1,2],"theme":["lightest","light"]}
32            ]
33        }
34    ],
35    "icons": [
36        { "width": 23, "height": 23, "path": "icons/icon_D.png", "scale": [ 1, 2 ], "theme": [ "dark", "darkest" ], "species": [ "generic" ] },
37        { "width": 23, "height": 23, "path": "icons/icon_N.png", "scale": [ 1, 2 ], "theme": [ "lightest", "light" ], "species": [ "generic" ] }
38    ]
39}

See the sections below to learn more about each key/value field. All fields are required unless otherwise noted below.

Top-level metadata

The top level of the manifest JSON object contains high-level information about your plugin.

Here are the definitions of the keywords in the "Required" column:

• Develop - required field for the plugin to be loaded.
• Publish - required field for plugins to be submitted in the Adobe Developer Console and published in the Plugin Manager.

Icons

Icons are not required during development, but must be provided when distributing through the Plugin Marketplace. The icons field is an array of a IconDefinitions.

IconDefinition

Host

The host field is an object matching the HostDefinition format specified below. This entry allows your plugin to specify which app your plugin can run on such as Adobe XD or Photoshop. During development, the field can contain an array of HostDefinition's. This can be very convient during development of cross-compatible UXP plugins. However, during submission to the marketplace, only one HostDefinition is allowed.

HostDefinition

Entry Points

The entryPoints field is an array of objects matching the EntryPointDefinition format specified below. These entries appear both in the Plugins menu in the native menubar, and the plugin panel.

Each entry point specifies a type, to create either a direct-action command or a panel show/hide command.

EntryPointDefinition

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts are not yet available for plugins.

Menu Localization

Plugin menu item labels or panel labels can be localized to match the host's current UI language setting. Other manifest fields such as name cannot be localized yet. Localized labels are represented as an object containing multiple translations, instead of a single string value:

"label": {
    "default": "Menu Label",
    "fr": "Etiquette de Menu",
    "de": "Menübezeichnung"
}
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1"label": {
2    "default": "Menu Label",
3    "fr": "Etiquette de Menu",
4    "de": "Menübezeichnung"
5}

A default string is always required.

Inheritance and Overrides

Certain top-level fields can be overridden deeper in the manifest.

• icons can be overridden for each panel's entry point.

Last updated 9/29/2021

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