Instance Manifest (schema v2)

The manifest lists every file the launcher keeps in sync inside the instance folder: where to download it and how to verify it. The Neko API serves it at GET /api/v1/instances/<name>/install; self-hosted owners write manifest.json and point the DNS record's manifest= key at it.

• Schema: https://cdn.neko-launcher.com/schema/nekolauncher-manifest.json (version 2, 2026-09-21)
• Previous schema (out of date): https://cdn.neko-launcher.com/schema/alice-magic-manifest.json

Shape

A JSON array of file entries, or the API envelope with the array in data.

[
  {
    "path": "mods/fabric-api-0.100.0.jar",
    "url": "https://cdn.modrinth.com/data/P7dR8mSH/versions/abc123/fabric-api-0.100.0.jar",
    "size": 2154321,
    "hash": "3f786850e387550fdab836ed7e6dc881de23001b",
    "storageType": "MODRINTH"
  },
  {
    "path": "config/server.toml",
    "url": "https://cdn.example.com/config/server.toml",
    "size": 812,
    "hash": "89e6c98d92887913cadf06b2adb97f26cde4849b"
  }
]
json

Fields

How the launcher uses it

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• Files under an ignored path are downloaded once (when missing) and never overwritten.
• With readonly on, files inside managed folders that are not in the manifest are removed; mods/.connector and the launcher's own markers are never touched.
• With hidden mods on, entries under mods/ are stored outside the instance folder and injected at launch.
• Each download has a deadline scaled to size; a stalled download fails the launch with a message rather than hanging.

Generating hashes

# Linux / macOS
sha1sum mods/*.jar

# PowerShell
Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA1 mods\*.jar
bash

A small script that walks a folder and prints entries:

find . -type f | sort | while read -r f; do
  p="${f#./}"
  printf '{"path":"%s","url":"https://cdn.example.com/%s","size":%s,"hash":"%s"},\n' \
    "$p" "$p" "$(stat -c %s "$f")" "$(sha1sum "$f" | cut -d" " -f1)"
done
bash

Guidelines

• Keep path stable; renaming a file re-downloads it for everyone.
• Serve files over HTTPS with correct sizes; a size mismatch is treated as a changed file.
• Put player settings (options.txt, key binds, resource packs) in the instance's ignored list rather than leaving them out of the manifest, so first-time players get your defaults.
• Do not list mods/.connector or other per-machine caches.

Differences from v1

• storageType added (optional).
• hash must be SHA-1 hex; path may not traverse upward.
• The API envelope is accepted at the top level.
• v1 manifests remain valid v2 documents.

See also

• Instance configuration
• Files and versions in the dashboard