The strongly.manifest.yaml File

The manifest file provides declarative configuration for building and deploying your application. It must be placed in your project root alongside the Dockerfile.

Basic Structure

# strongly.manifest.yaml (place in project root)
version: "1.0"
type: nodejs  # react, nodejs, flask, rshiny, mcp_server, static, fullstack, custom
name: my-app
description: Brief description of your application
author: Your Name or Organization
homepage: https://github.com/yourorg/my-app
license: MIT
icon: "https://example.com/icon.png"
tags:
  - api
  - backend

ports:
  - port: 3000
    name: http
    expose: true
    target_port: 3000  # Optional: if different from port

env:
  - name: NODE_ENV
    value: "production"
    required: true

  - name: DATABASE_URL
    value: ""  # User must provide
    required: true
    secret: true  # Stored as Kubernetes Secret
    description: PostgreSQL connection string
    inject_as: env  # How to inject: 'env' (default), 'file', 'config'

runtime:
  command: ["node", "server.js"]
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health
  readiness_check_path: /ready  # Defaults to health_check_path if not set
  startup_timeout: 60  # Startup timeout in seconds

health_check:
  path: /health
  initial_delay: 15
  period: 30

resources:
  cpu_request: "100m"
  memory_request: "256Mi"
  cpu_limit: "500m"
  memory_limit: "512Mi"
  ephemeral_storage: "1Gi"  # Optional: ephemeral storage limit
  gpu: 1  # Optional: number of GPUs required

Application Types

The type field determines default configuration and runtime behavior:

Type	Default Port	Use Case	Special Features
`react`	3000	React/Vue SPA with client-side routing	Nginx-based serving, SPA fallback
`nodejs`	3000	Node.js APIs, Express, NestJS	Standard Node.js runtime
`flask`	5000	Python Flask/FastAPI applications	Python WSGI/ASGI support
`rshiny`	3838	R Shiny interactive dashboards	R Shiny server runtime
`static`	80	Static HTML/CSS/JS sites	Nginx static file serving
`fullstack`	3000, 8000	Monorepo with frontend + backend	Multiple port exposure
`mcp_server`	8080	MCP protocol tool servers	MCP-specific configurations
`custom`	8080	Any other application type	No special defaults

Configuration Sections

Ports

Define which ports your application listens on:

ports:
  - port: 3000
    name: http
    expose: true  # Expose externally via ingress
    target_port: 3000  # Optional: target port if different from port
  - port: 8080
    name: metrics
    expose: false  # Internal only

Fields:

port: Port number (1-65535)
name: Friendly name for the port (default: "http")
expose: Whether to expose externally (default: true)
target_port: Target port if different from port (optional)

Environment Variables

Define runtime configuration with proper metadata:

env:
  # Regular environment variable
  - name: API_URL
    value: "https://api.example.com"
    required: false
    description: Backend API endpoint
    inject_as: env  # How to inject: 'env' (default), 'file', 'config'

  # Secret (passwords, API keys, tokens)
  - name: API_KEY
    value: ""  # Must be provided by user
    required: true
    secret: true  # Encrypted in Kubernetes
    description: Third-party API key

  # Build-time variable
  - name: REACT_APP_VERSION
    value: "1.0.0"
    buildtime: true  # Passed as Docker build arg
    description: App version

Fields:

name: Variable name (uppercase with underscores)
value: Default value (can be empty for required vars)
required: Whether variable must have a value (default: false)
secret: Store as Kubernetes Secret (default: false)
buildtime: Pass to Docker build as ARG (default: false)
description: User-friendly description
inject_as: How to inject the variable - env (default), file, or config

Secrets Management

Variables marked as secret: true are stored in Kubernetes Secrets and encrypted at rest. Use this for passwords, API keys, and tokens.

React/Static App Configuration

For React and static applications, configure nginx serving:

type: react
static:
  root: /app/build
  index: index.html
  spa: true  # Fallback to index.html for client-side routing
  config_file: /app/build/config.js
  config_placeholder: __APP_CONFIG__

build:
  args:
    NODE_ENV: production
  output_dir: /app/build

Static Fields:

root: Directory containing built static files
index: Index file name (default: index.html)
spa: Enable SPA routing fallback (default: true for react)
config_file: Runtime config injection file path
config_placeholder: Placeholder to replace with config

Health Checks

Your app must expose a health endpoint for Kubernetes liveness and readiness probes:

health_check:
  path: /health
  port: 3000
  initial_delay: 10  # Seconds before first check
  period: 30  # Check every 30 seconds
  timeout: 3
  failure_threshold: 3

Implementation Example (Express.js):

app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
  res.status(200).json({ status: 'ok' });
});

Implementation Example (Flask):

@app.route('/health')
def health():
    return {'status': 'ok'}, 200

Required Endpoint

Health checks are mandatory. If your app doesn't respond to health checks, Kubernetes will continuously restart it.

Runtime Configuration

Customize the container runtime:

runtime:
  command: ["node", "dist/server.js"]
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health
  readiness_check_path: /ready  # Defaults to health_check_path
  startup_timeout: 60  # Startup timeout in seconds (default: 60)
  user: appuser  # User to run as (if not set in Dockerfile)

Fields:

command: Override container CMD (string or array format)
working_dir: Working directory (default: /app)
health_check_path: Health check endpoint path (default: /health)
readiness_check_path: Readiness check path (defaults to health_check_path)
startup_timeout: Startup timeout in seconds (default: 60)
user: User to run as (optional)

Resource Requirements

Set CPU and memory limits to ensure stable performance:

resources:
  cpu_request: "100m"    # 0.1 CPU cores (default)
  memory_request: "256Mi"  # 256 MiB (default)
  cpu_limit: "500m"      # 0.5 CPU cores (default)
  memory_limit: "512Mi"  # 512 MiB (default)
  ephemeral_storage: "1Gi"  # Optional: ephemeral storage limit
  gpu: 1                  # Optional: number of GPUs required

Default Resource Values:

Field	Default
`cpu_request`	`100m`
`memory_request`	`256Mi`
`cpu_limit`	`500m`
`memory_limit`	`512Mi`
`ephemeral_storage`	not set
`gpu`	not set

Recommended Resources by App Type:

App Type	CPU Request	Memory Request	CPU Limit	Memory Limit
React/Static	50m	128Mi	200m	256Mi
Node.js API	100m	256Mi	500m	512Mi
Flask API	200m	512Mi	1000m	1Gi
Heavy Processing	500m	1Gi	2000m	2Gi

CPU Units

1000m = 1 CPU core
500m = 0.5 CPU cores
100m = 0.1 CPU cores

Proxy Configuration

Configure ingress proxy behavior:

proxy:
  websocket: true  # Enable WebSocket support
  timeout: 30  # Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)
  preserve_host: false  # Preserve original host header
  rewrite_paths:  # Path rewriting rules
    "/api": "/api/v1"
  headers:  # Additional headers to add
    X-App-Version: "1.0.0"

Fields:

websocket: Enable WebSocket proxying (default: false)
timeout: Proxy timeout in seconds (default: 30)
preserve_host: Preserve original host header (default: false)
rewrite_paths: Path rewriting rules (optional)
headers: Additional headers to add (optional)

MCP Configuration

For MCP server applications (type: mcp_server):

mcp:
  protocol_version: "1.0"
  transport: http  # 'http', 'stdio', 'sse'
  capabilities:
    - tools
    - prompts
    - resources
  authentication_required: true
  tools:
    - name: example_tool
      description: An example tool
      parameters:
        type: object
        properties:
          input:
            type: string
        required: [input]
  prompts:
    - name: analyze_data
      description: Analyzes data
      arguments:
        - name: data_source
          required: true
  resources:
    - uri: "mcp://data/*"
      name: "Data Resource"
      description: "Access to data resources"

Complete Examples

Node.js API

version: "1.0"
type: nodejs
name: user-api
description: REST API for user management
author: Acme Corp
tags: [nodejs, api, backend]

ports:
  - port: 3000
    name: http
    expose: true

env:
  - name: NODE_ENV
    value: "production"
    required: true

  - name: DATABASE_URL
    value: ""
    required: true
    secret: true
    description: PostgreSQL connection string

  - name: JWT_SECRET
    value: ""
    required: true
    secret: true
    description: Secret for JWT signing

runtime:
  command: ["node", "dist/server.js"]
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health

health_check:
  path: /health
  initial_delay: 15
  period: 30

proxy:
  websocket: true
  timeout: 30

resources:
  cpu_request: "100m"
  memory_request: "256Mi"
  cpu_limit: "500m"
  memory_limit: "512Mi"

React SPA

version: "1.0"
type: react
name: admin-dashboard
description: Admin dashboard SPA
author: Acme Corp
tags: [react, frontend]

ports:
  - port: 3000
    name: http
    expose: true

static:
  root: /app/build
  index: index.html
  spa: true
  config_file: /app/build/config.js
  config_placeholder: __APP_CONFIG__

build:
  args:
    NODE_ENV: production
    REACT_APP_VERSION: "1.0.0"
  output_dir: /app/build

env:
  - name: REACT_APP_API_URL
    value: "https://api.acme.com"
    buildtime: true
    description: Backend API endpoint

health_check:
  path: /
  initial_delay: 5
  period: 30

resources:
  cpu_request: "50m"
  memory_request: "128Mi"
  cpu_limit: "200m"
  memory_limit: "256Mi"

Flask API

version: "1.0"
type: flask
name: ml-api
description: Machine learning inference API
author: Data Team
tags: [python, flask, ml]

ports:
  - port: 5000
    name: http
    expose: true

env:
  - name: FLASK_ENV
    value: "production"
    required: true

  - name: MODEL_PATH
    value: "/app/models/model.pkl"
    description: Path to ML model file

  - name: REDIS_URL
    value: ""
    required: true
    secret: true
    description: Redis cache connection string

runtime:
  command: ["gunicorn", "-w", "4", "-b", "0.0.0.0:5000", "app:app"]
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health

health_check:
  path: /health
  port: 5000
  initial_delay: 20
  period: 30
  timeout: 5

resources:
  cpu_request: "200m"
  memory_request: "512Mi"
  cpu_limit: "1000m"
  memory_limit: "1Gi"

R Shiny Dashboard

version: "1.0"
type: rshiny
name: analytics-dashboard
description: Interactive R Shiny analytics dashboard
author: Data Team
tags: [rshiny, analytics, dashboard]

ports:
  - port: 3838
    name: http
    expose: true

env:
  - name: SHINY_LOG_LEVEL
    value: "INFO"
    description: Shiny log level

runtime:
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health

health_check:
  path: /
  initial_delay: 15
  period: 30

resources:
  cpu_request: "200m"
  memory_request: "512Mi"
  cpu_limit: "1000m"
  memory_limit: "1Gi"

MCP Server

version: "1.0"
type: mcp_server
name: my-mcp-server
description: MCP server providing custom tools
author: Your Organization
homepage: https://github.com/yourorg/mcp-server
license: MIT
tags: [mcp, tools]

ports:
  - port: 8080
    name: http
    expose: true

env:
  - name: LOG_LEVEL
    value: "info"
    description: Logging level

runtime:
  command: ["python", "server.py"]
  working_dir: /app
  health_check_path: /health
  startup_timeout: 60

health_check:
  path: /health
  initial_delay: 10
  period: 30

resources:
  cpu_request: "100m"
  memory_request: "256Mi"
  cpu_limit: "500m"
  memory_limit: "512Mi"

mcp:
  protocol_version: "1.0"
  transport: http
  capabilities: [tools, prompts, resources]
  authentication_required: true
  tools:
    - name: example_tool
      description: An example tool that processes data
      parameters:
        type: object
        properties:
          input:
            type: string
            description: Input data to process
        required: [input]

Validation

The platform validates your manifest during deployment. Common errors:

Missing required fields: version, type
Invalid type: Must be one of the supported types
Invalid port: Must be 1-65535
Invalid resource format: Must use Kubernetes format (e.g., "500m", "1Gi")
Secret without value: Required secrets need values (or user must provide)

Basic Structure​

Application Types​

Configuration Sections​

Ports​

Environment Variables​

React/Static App Configuration​

Health Checks​

Runtime Configuration​

Resource Requirements​

Proxy Configuration​

MCP Configuration​

Complete Examples​

Node.js API​

React SPA​

Flask API​

R Shiny Dashboard​

MCP Server​

Validation​

Next Steps​

Basic Structure

Application Types

Configuration Sections

Ports

Environment Variables

React/Static App Configuration

Health Checks

Runtime Configuration

Resource Requirements

Proxy Configuration

MCP Configuration

Complete Examples

Node.js API

React SPA

Flask API

R Shiny Dashboard

MCP Server

Validation

Next Steps