appinfo.json

The appinfo.json file resides in an app's root directory and contains a single JSON object.

If the application is localized into more than one language, each language can have its own appinfo.json file. However, the application title and version number in each localized appinfo.json must be the same as in the top-level appinfo.json. The application title and version in the top-level appinfo.json are validated for correct value and structure. Any application that fails the validation cannot be packaged or uploaded.

A note about JSON syntax:

• Do not include any comments in json files (/* or //)
• Use double quotes around properties--no single quotes.

Schema

{
   "dockmode"            : boolean,
   "icon"                : string,
   "id"                  : string,
   "keywords"            : string array,
   "main"                : string,
   "miniicon"            : string,
   "noDeprecatedStyles"  : boolean,
   "noWindow"            : boolean,
   "plug-ins"            : boolean,
   "requiredMemory"      : number,
   "tapToShareSupported" : boolean,
   "theme"               : string,
   "title"               : string,
   "type"                : string,
   "uiRevision"          : string,
   "vendor"              : string,
   "vendorurl"           : string,
   "version"             : string,
   "universalSearch" : {
      "action" :  { 
          "displayName" : string,
          "url"         : string,
          "launchParam" : string | any object
      },
      "dbsearch":  {
          "displayName"        : string,
          "url"                : string,
          "launchParam"        : string,
          "launchParamDbField" : string,
          "displayFields"      : string array,
          "dbQuery"            : db8 Query object array
      },
      "search" :   { 
          "displayName"  : string,
          "url"          : string,
          "launchParam"  : string | any object
      }
   } 
}

Properties

Although the framework does not use it, it is worth mentioning that the application launcher uses a params property, which it passes in its entirety to ApplicationService.launch(). The appinfo.json file can contain any other valid JSON a developer finds useful, which can then be accessed through Mojo.Controller.appInfo. For example, the Email and Calendar applications use this to specify an lwStages property that they pass to createStageWithCallback() to indicate whether or not lightweight stages should be used.

Just Type Integration

See Configuring appinfo.json for Just Type for more information on parameters (universalSearch object) required to integrate Just Type functionality into your app.

App ID

The appinfo.json object gives the system the information it needs to load and launch your application. The most important property is id, which must be unique for each application. The ID is used in service calls to identify the caller and in other ways serves as a unique application identifier. We recommend a reverse DNS naming convention, but you can use other schemes if the ID is guaranteed to be unique.

The app id must consist only of lowercase letters (a-z), digits (0-9), plus and minus signs, and periods. It must be at least two characters long and must start with an alphanumeric character.

Examples

Here is a simple example of an appinfo.json object using the required fields and defaults. This is generated by the palm-generate command if you gave it "My App" as input for the application name.

{
    "title":    "MyApp",
    "type":     "web",
    "main":     "index.html",
    "id":       "com.yourdomain.app.myapp",
    "version":  "1.0.3",
    "icon":     "icon.png"
}

Here is a more involved example - an app configured to use the new Just Type feature:

{
  "timestamp": "2011-06-02.10:48:51",
  "title": "Memos",
  "splashicon": "icon-256x256.png",
  "icon": "icon.png",
  "id": "com.palm.app.notes",
  "version": "3.0.1307036931",
  "type": "web",
  "uiRevision": 2,
  "main": "index.html",
  "vendor": "Palm, Inc.",
  "universalSearch": {
    "action": {
      "displayName": "New Memo",
      "url": "com.palm.app.notes",
      "launchParam": "text"
    }
  },
  "keywords": [
    "Notes",
    "Stickies",
    "Notepad"
  ],
  "splashBackground": "images/splash-background.png"
}