The package.json File

This document describes what a typical package.json file should look like, and the relevance of the fields in the file.

As far as integrating your app with Bolt is concerned, this is the starting point. The package.json file can be thought of as the manifest for your application (you know, like the AndroidManifest.xml in your Android projects). This is what Bolt will consult during the installation of an app.

This package.json is expected to be in the root folder of your app. It is no different from the package.json for npm modules, except that a few more fields have been added to it.

Open the package.json file; it's time to start editing.

First, let us go through some npm-specific fields to see what they mean to Bolt.

As far as Bolt is concerned, the most important npm-specific fields are:

• name: This is the name with which Bolt will identify your app. Other apps can also identify/communicate with your app using that name. App names must be unique through out the system. App names are NOT case-sensitive, but npm encourages you to use lowercase characters only. DO not use slashes, question marks or other characters that may cause issues when inserted in a URL. You can stick to alpha-numeric, dash, and underscore characters.
• version: The version of your app.
• description: A description of your app..

Let us now begin to add Bolt-specific fields.

Every Bolt-specific field must be contained in an object called bolt. So add the following:

"bolt": {}

The following are fields expected inside bolt:

• main
• checks
• collections
• dependencies: String //the same format as npm dependencies but lists apps (not npm modules) that this app depends on
• displayName: String //a user-friendly caption for your app
• extensions
• files
• hooks
• index
• module
• order: Number //(default: 0) provides another way for dashboards/desktops/launchers to sort apps
• permissions
• public
• routers
• system
• tags
• target: Number //specifies the version of Bolt your app targets

Note that users have the final say concerning the startup and system attributes of your app.