Adding Manifests

Software packages are defined as TOML manifests in the astro-up-manifests repository.

Steps

1. Fork the manifests repo
2. Create manifests/<package-id>.toml (e.g., nina-app.toml)
3. Add a package icon to assets/icons/<package-id>.png (128x128 PNG, transparent background)
4. Submit a pull request

Complete Example

id = "nina-app"
name = "N.I.N.A."
slug = "nina"
type = "application"
category = "capture"
publisher = "N.I.N.A. Team"
homepage = "https://nighttime-imaging.eu"
description = "Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy — advanced capture sequencer."
license = "MPL-2.0"
aliases = ["NINA", "Nighttime Imaging"]
tags = ["capture", "sequencer", "imaging"]

[install]
method = "inno_setup"
scope = "user"
elevation = "required"
zip_wrapped = false
upgrade_behavior = "install"
timeout = "10m"

[install.switches]
silent = ["/VERYSILENT", "/NORESTART", "/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES"]
interactive = ["/NORESTART"]
log = "/LOG=$TEMP\\nina-install.log"

[install.known_exit_codes]
"1" = "package_in_use"
"5" = "cancelled_by_user"
"3010" = "reboot_required"

[detection]
method = "registry"
registry_key = "HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall\\NINA 2_is1"
registry_value = "DisplayVersion"

[detection.fallback]
method = "pe_file"
file_path = "$PROGRAMFILES\\NINA\\NINA.exe"
version_regex = "^(\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+)"

[checkver]
provider = "github"
github = "nightwatch-astro/nina"
asset_pattern = "NINA-.*-setup\\.exe$"

[checkver.autoupdate]
url = "https://github.com/nightwatch-astro/nina/releases/download/v$version/NINA-$version-setup.exe"

[dependencies]
requires = [{ id = "dotnet-desktop-runtime", min_version = "8.0" }]
optional = ["ascom-platform"]

[hardware]
vid_pid = []
device_class = "Camera"

Field Reference

Top-level

Field	Required	Description
id	yes	Package ID (vendor-product convention, lowercase, hyphens only)
name	yes	Display name
slug	yes	URL-friendly short name
type	yes	application, driver, runtime, database, usb_driver, resource
category	yes	capture, guiding, platesolving, equipment, focusing, planetarium, viewers, prerequisites, usb, driver
publisher	no	Developer or organization
homepage	no	Official project URL
description	no	Short description
license	no	SPDX license identifier
aliases	no	Alternative names (used in search)
tags	no	Searchable tags

[install]

Field	Type	Description
method	string	exe, msi, inno_setup, nsis, wix, burn, zip, portable, download_only
scope	string	machine, user, either
elevation	string	required (UAC via astro-up), prohibited (no elevation), self (installer handles UAC)
zip_wrapped	bool	Download is a zip containing the actual installer
zip_inner_path	string	Subfolder inside zip where installer lives (e.g., "x64")
upgrade_behavior	string	install (over-install), uninstall_previous, deny
timeout	duration	Installer timeout override (default 10m, range 10s--3600s)
switches.silent	string[]	Silent install arguments
switches.interactive	string[]	Interactive install arguments
switches.log	string	Log file path template
switches.install_dir	string	Install location argument
known_exit_codes	map	Exit code to meaning: package_in_use, reboot_required, cancelled_by_user, already_installed, missing_dependency, disk_full
success_codes	int[]	Non-zero exit codes that mean success

[detection]

Field	Type	Description
method	string	registry, pe_file, wmi, wmi_apps, driver_store, ascom_profile, file_exists, config_file, ledger
registry_key	string	Full registry key path
registry_value	string	Registry value name (e.g., DisplayVersion)
file_path	string	Path to executable or config file
version_regex	string	Regex to extract version from detected string
product_code	string	MSI product GUID
upgrade_code	string	MSI upgrade GUID
inf_provider	string	Driver INF provider name (for driver_store)
device_class	string	Driver device class
inf_name	string	Driver INF filename
fallback	object	Another [detection] config tried if primary fails

[checkver] / [dependencies] / [hardware]

See the complete example above. Detection configs are optional -- the lifecycle testing workflow discovers them automatically by installing on a Windows runner and probing for detection signatures.

Tips

• Use vendor-product naming: zwo-asi-camera-driver, ascom-platform
• Every package needs an icon at assets/icons/<package-id>.png
• Test locally: astro-up install my-package --dry-run
• Detection configs are validated by CI lifecycle tests