App manifests
App manifests are optional .itch.toml files placed at the top level of a build.
Use an app manifest when you want more control over how the itch app launches and prepares your software.
A manifest can:
- Define one or more launch actions (play, editor, docs, links, platform-specific actions, arguments, sandbox opt-in)
- Request API scope so your app can receive a temporary itch.io API key
- Declare prerequisites the app should install before launch (VC++, .NET, XNA, DirectX, etc.)
"It launches the wrong thing" is usually a bad reason to ship a manifest. Read Troubleshooting first.
Learn more
This documentation is a guide, not a full schema reference.
If you want raw field definitions, see butlerd manifest type definitions.
Minimal example
This minimal manifest defines one action and one prerequisite:
[[actions]]
name = "play"
path = "FooBar.exe"
[[prereqs]]
name = "vcredist-2010-x86"