Manifest package

Deployment and startup configuration for your bot. Required.

The package field tells Root which files to bundle and how to launch your server. When you push, the CLI reads these paths and creates a .pkg archive containing your manifest and server code.

Example

Bots are server-only, so the manifest declares a single server section:

root-manifest.json

{
  "id": "...",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "package": {
    "server": {
      "launch": "dist/main.js",
      "deploy": [
        "dist"
      ],
      "nodeModules": [
        "node_modules"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Server

Property	Type	Required	Description
launch	string	Yes	Path to the JavaScript entry point that Root executes to start your server (e.g., dist/main.js). Must be a .js file.
deploy	string[]	Yes	Directories to include in the server package, relative to the project root. Typically your compiled output (e.g., ["dist"]).
nodeModules	string[]	Yes	node_modules directories to bundle with your server. These are your production dependencies (e.g., ["node_modules"]).

How packaging works

When you push, the CLI:

1. Reads the paths from your manifest.
2. Creates server.tar.gz from the deploy and nodeModules directories.
3. Bundles it into a .pkg file along with your root-manifest.json.

The deploy array can include multiple directories if your compiled output spans more than one folder.

Excluded modules

The CLI automatically excludes sqlite3 and @rootsdk/dev-tools from the node_modules bundle. These are development-only dependencies that are not needed at runtime.