Manifest settings

The OpenFin Runtime requires each application or platform to provide a JSON formatted manifest file with configuration information. This manifest file defines the visual properties of the app, its dependencies, and other deployment settings. The developer is in control of the app development process and how this file is hosted and configured. Both the OpenFin CLI tool and OpenFin RVM use a manifest file to launch applications as well as to make use of other configuration data.

Starting with RVM version 15, the OpenFin RVM retrieves the application manifest over a secure connection (HTTPS with a valid server certificate).
This approach reduces the odds of a malicious actor substituting a modified manifest file.
If the secure fetch fails, the RVM logs the failure and the reason.
If security settings are not explicitly defined (see Enable HTTPS security), then RVM retries fetching the manifest file with the default settings.

Many of the properties that can be used in a manifest are defined as types in the OpenFin API. Follow links to the API reference for complete details.

📘

Note

The application manifest is read by the RVM when an application starts up and so it needs to be available in order for settings to take effect. If the manifest cannot be read, the RVM uses default settings where applicable, including those that affect reporting about application errors. The RVM can cache manifest settings and use the cached values if the actual manifest fails to load (for example, if the file server containing it is unavailable). In such a circumstance, the last cached version of the manifest is used.

Sections in this document

• Top-level properties

• appAssets properties

• dialogSettings properties

• domainSettings properties

• Platform properties

• Runtime properties

• Shortcut properties

• startup_app properties

• supportInformation properties

📘

Note

Required properties: Properties marked with a plus-sign (+) are required to be defined for their enclosing object.

Top-level properties
The following properties can be declared at the top level of a manifest file. Complex properties in this table link to later sections that detail their members.

Example top-level properties

{
    "splashScreenImage": "http://SERVER/IMAGE_FILE.png",
    "offlineAccess": true,
    "licenseKey": "LICENSE_KEY",
    "runtime": {
        "version": "XX.xx.xx.xx"
    },
    "startup_app": {
        "name": "APP_NAME",
        "uuid": "APP_UUID",
        "url": "APP_SERVER_NAME/START_PAGE.html",
        "autoShow": true,
        "defaultWidth": 500,
        "defaultHeight": 500
    }
}

appAssets properties

Example appAssets object properties

"appAssets": [{
    "src": "http://SERVER_NAME/PATH/APP_NAME.zip",
    "alias": "APP_ALIAS",
    "version": "3.2.50.71",
    "target": "APP_NAME.exe",
    "args": "--flag=3",
    "mandatory": true
    }, 
    {
    "src": "http://SERVER_NAME/PATH/ANOTHER_APP.zip",
    "alias": "ANOTHER_APP_ALIAS",
    "version": "0.0.0.72"
}]

dialogSettings properties

Example dialogSettings object properties

"dialogSettings": {
    "logo": "http://SERVER_NAME/LOGO_FILE.png",
    "bgColor": 4163183909,
    "textColor": 4293980400,
    "progressBarBgColor": 4278190080,
    "progressBarFillColor": 4281513430,
    "progressBarBorderColor": 4282137660
}

domainSettings properties

A domainSettings object may be a property of either a platform object or a startup_app object. It contains a rules array and (starting in version 37), a default object that defines default values for certain properties. The rules property is an array of match pattern strings, and option definitions for rules that apply to domains that match the match patterns.

Refer to Domain-based permission for details.

In Runtime v34 and earlier, the domainSettings object, and the corresponding DomainSettings and DomainSettingsRule interfaces, were known as defaultDomainSettings, DefaultDomainSettings, and DefaultDomainSettingsRule, respectively.

Platform properties

A platform object inherits, and therefore can accept, properties from the following:

• Application options

• Window creation options

The following Application options are usually specified for a platform:

A platform object can also contain a permissions object, which declares the secured APIs used by the application. Refer to Declaring APIs in an application manifest for details.

Runtime properties

Example runtime object properties

"runtime": {
    "arguments": "",
    "version": "15.80.48.12",
    "fallbackVersion": "14.78.48.16",
    "futureVersion": "16.83.53.26"
}

Shortcut properties

Example shortcut object properties

"shortcut": {
    "company": "COMPANY_NAME",
    "description": "APP_DESCRIPTION",
    "icon": "http://SERVER_NAME/PATH/ICON_FILE.ico",
    "name": "APP_NAME",
    "target": ["desktop", "start-menu","automatic-start-up"],
    "startMenuRootFolder": "FOLDER_NAME"
}

startup_app properties

A startup_app object can accept properties from any of the following:

• Application options

• Window creation options

A startup_app object can also contain:

• A permissions object, which declares the secured APIs used by the application. Refer to Declaring APIs in an application manifest for details.

• A domainSettings object to control file downloads and access to the OpenFin API, through domain-based rules.

The following Application options are usually specified for a classic app:

• uuid+: The unique universal identifier of the application; it must be unique within the set of all applications running in OpenFin Runtime.

• name: The name of the application. This name is used in error message and permissions dialog boxes and in the directory name in %localappdata%/OpenFin/apps/<name><hash>. If there is a Platform properties section of the manifest, then this value is ignored in favor of the name value provided in the platform section.

• url: The URL of the application's main window; defaults to "about-blank".

The following option can be specified to customize the dialog box that appears when a user is prompted to allow or deny security permissions to an app:

• securityPermissionsMoreInfoUrl: A string containing a URL to be linked from "more information" in the dialog box.
  Refer to API security for more information about customizing this dialog box.

Example startup_app options

"startup_app": {
    "name": "APP_NAME",
    "icon": "http://SERVER_NAME/PATH/ICON_FILE.ico",
    "description": "APP_NAME",
    "url": "http://SERVER_NAME/PATH/START_PATH.html",
    "uuid": "UUID",
    "backgroundColor": "#fffff",
    "contextMenu": true,
    "contentNavigation": {
        "whitelist": ["https://ALLOWED_DOMAIN/*"]
    },
    "autoShow": true,
    "defaultWidth": 480,
    "maxWidth": 480,
    "minWidth": 480,
    "maxHeight": 50,
    "defaultHeight": 50,
    "minHeight": 50,
    "defaultTop": 50,
    "defaultLeft": 10,
    "resizable": false,
    "maximizable": false,
    "frame": false,
    "cornerRounding": {
        "width": 5,
        "height": 5,
    },
    "taskbarIconGroup": "APP_GROUP",
    "loadErrorMessage": "There was an error loading the application."
}

supportInformation properties

The following properties are used to customize the dialog box that appears when an application fails to load, that is, the app load error dialog. Note that if the application's manifest itself cannot be reached, the app load error dialog uses default values for these settings.

Example supportInformation object properties

"supportInformation" : {
    "company": "COMPANY_NAME",
    "product": "PRODUCT_NAME",
    "email": "EMAIL_ADDRESS",
    "forwardErrorReports": true,
    "moreInfoUrl": "TROUBLESHOOTING_INFO_URL"
}

Have questions? Get in touch with us at [email protected].