Manifest Basics

The essential manifest fields

A minimal manifest must have enough information for the browser to install the app and display it correctly. The table below lists the most important fields:

Field	Required	Purpose
`name`	Yes	Full app name shown in install prompts and the app launcher
`short_name`	Recommended	Truncated name for home screens with limited space
`start_url`	Yes	URL the app opens when launched from the home screen
`scope`	Recommended	URL prefix that defines which pages are “inside” the app
`id`	Recommended	Stable identifier; prevents duplicate installs across URL changes
`description`	Recommended	Short blurb shown in app stores and install UI
`lang`	Recommended	Primary language of the manifest content (e.g. `"en"`)
`dir`	Recommended	Text direction: `"ltr"`, `"rtl"`, or `"auto"`

A full example

{
  "name": "My Awesome PWA",
  "short_name": "AwesomePWA",
  "id": "/",
  "start_url": "/",
  "scope": "/",
  "description": "A fast, offline-capable progressive web app.",
  "lang": "en",
  "dir": "ltr",
  "display": "standalone",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "theme_color": "#5A0FC8",
  "icons": [
    { "src": "/icons/icon-192.png", "sizes": "192x192", "type": "image/png" },
    { "src": "/icons/icon-512.png", "sizes": "512x512", "type": "image/png" }
  ]
}

Field details

name vs short_name — name is displayed in the install dialog and splash screen. short_name is used on the home screen where space is tight (Android typically truncates at around 12 characters). If short_name is omitted, the browser falls back to name.

start_url — This is where the app navigates to when a user taps its icon. Use "/" to start at the root. You can also append query params to track installs: "/?source=pwa".

scope — Any navigation outside the scope forces the browser to open a regular browser tab instead of staying in the standalone window. Keep scope equal to "/" for single-origin apps, or narrow it to a sub-path like "/app/" if your marketing pages should stay outside the PWA shell.

id — A stable string that uniquely identifies the app. If you later change start_url, the browser will not create a duplicate install as long as id stays the same. Set it to "/" or a permanent URL path.

lang and dir — These tell assistive technology and the OS which language and text direction to use for the app’s name and description.

Try it live

The playground below serves a minimal manifest. Open it in StackBlitz and check the DevTools Application → Manifest panel to verify every field is parsed correctly.

Runs a real service worker + manifest in your browser.