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Manifest Documentation 👋

Introduction​

Manifest is a 1-file backend for prototypes and MVPs.

Most backend tools feel too heavy for simple apps. They force you to use bloated configuration UIs. Even with AI tools that generate frontend code, the backend remains a pain to set up and validate. It slows you down when you just want to test an idea or build something simple.. The solution

Manifest is an open source backend that fits in only 1 file. You define it in a simple yaml language to get data, auth, storage, logic and an admin panel.

Key advantages:

  • 🧠 Zero friction setup
  • 🚀 Ship your backend fast and stay focused on building your app
  • 🤖 Easy for LLMs to generate
  • 💻 Can run everywhere

Install Manifest​

Follow the steps below to install Manifest in your local machine.

Prerequisites​

Installation steps​

Run this command to create a Manifest project ready to use with Cursor IDE.

# NPX
npx create-manifest@latest my-project --cursor

# Yarn
yarn create manifest my-project --cursor

This will create a my-project folder with a Manifest backend configured for Cursor.

You can replace --cursor with another option if you're using a different AI tool;

  • --copilot if you're using GitHub Copilot
  • --windsurf for Windsurf
  • or remove it entirely if you're not using any AI coding tool

To start the Manifest backend, run the following command in the new project folder:

cd my-project
npm run start

You can now:
- See your Admin panel at http://localhost:1111 using the email admin@manifest.build and the password admin
- Use your REST API at http://localhost:1111/api

tip

If you already have a frontend app, we recommend that you use a monorepo structure with one folder for the backend and one folder for the frontend. For example you can run npx create-manifest@latest server at root level to add your Manifest to a server folder that you put next to the client folder that will contain your frontend.

Note with PNMP​

As PNPM blocks postinstall scripts, we have to adapt the package.json. Add this to your package.json file before doing pnpm install:

  "pnpm": {
    "onlyBuiltDependencies": [
      "@nestjs/core",
      "sharp",
      "sqlite3"
    ]
  }