Generate Manifest

Scan a recipe directory and produce a valid manifest.yaml for it, then validate it against the schema.

Process

1. Identify the target recipe

The user will provide a path to a recipe directory (e.g. core/python/rag-agent-search, contrib/python/my-recipe, plugins/retail/store-ops). If they don't, ask for it before proceeding.

2. Read the schema

Read .github/schemas/manifest-schema.json from the repo root to understand the current required and optional fields, allowed enum values, and constraints. Do not rely on memory — always read the live schema file so changes to it are automatically picked up.

3. Scan the recipe directory and infer only what the code proves

Read the following files if they exist:

• pyproject.toml / requirements.txt — primary language (for language field)
• app/agent.py or equivalent entry point — single vs multi-agent, agent count
• Makefile — deploy targets (determines deployable)
• app/ source files — stateful writes, datasource patterns
• AGENTS.md — architecture notes if present

Field-by-field rules — read carefully before filling any field:

4. Make judgment calls explicitly

Before writing the manifest, briefly state what you found for each inferred field (type, deployable, architecture.*) and cite the specific file/line that supports your conclusion. This lets the user catch errors before they land in the file.

5. Write the manifest

Write manifest.yaml to the root of the recipe directory. Match the concise inline-comment style used by the existing manifests in core/ and contrib/ — allowed values shown as # Options: [...] after each field:

type: "..."          # Options: [standalone | module]
status: "active"     # Options: [active | inactive]
language: "..."      # Options: [python | java | go | kotlin | typescript]
description: "..."   # TODO: review and expand this draft description

# deployable: true   # (optional) one-command deploy, no manual steps; omit if false (default)
# large: true        # (optional) opt into the relaxed size tier; see .github/policy.yml (recipe_size_limits) for the exact numbers; omit if false (default)

architecture:          # (optional) omit the whole block if nothing below can be inferred from code
  agent: "..."          # Options: [single | multi]
  stateful: false       # Options: [true | false]
  datasources:          # Options: [hardcoded | local | external]
    - "..."

# dependencies: (optional) uncomment and fill in with canonical names
#   libraries:
#     - "ADK"
#     - "pandas"            # example — replace with actual libraries used
#   services:
#     - "GCP Project"
#     - "Cloud Run"         # example — replace with actual GCP/external services used

ownership:
  team: "TODO: Replace with your team name"
  poc: "TODO: Replace with your GitHub user ID"
  # contributors: (optional) uncomment and add GitHub IDs of additional contributors
  #   - "github-id-1"

# tags: (optional) uncomment and replace with meaningful labels
#   - "rag"               # example — use technology names, patterns, and use-case keywords
#   - "gemini"

# license: "Apache-2.0"  # (optional) SPDX identifier; only set if explicitly declared — see https://spdx.org/licenses/

Omit architecture entirely if none of its sub-fields can be determined from the code.

6. Validate

After writing the manifest, run the validator from the repo root (do not cd into tools/, and do not pass --active):

uv run validate manifest <recipe-path>

<recipe-path> must be relative to the repo root (e.g. core/python/my-recipe, contrib/python/my-recipe, plugins/retail/store-ops), not an absolute path.

Interpret the result carefully — there are two kinds of failure:

• Real schema errors (missing required field, invalid enum value, description under 10 characters, malformed YAML): fix these in the manifest and re-validate until they are gone.
• ownership.team / ownership.poc placeholder errors: these are EXPECTED and must be left as-is. The validator deliberately fails while the placeholders are in place, to force a human to supply real values before merge. Do NOT invent a team name or GitHub ID to make validation pass.

So a correctly generated manifest will still report [FAIL] — but only on the two ownership placeholders, and nothing else. That is the intended outcome; report it to the user as "valid except for the ownership placeholders you need to fill in". Do not change or modify any other files in the repository. Also do not commit the changes.

7. Report back

Tell the user:

1. What was inferred from the code and which file/line supports each inference.
2. Which fields need human input before the manifest will pass validation: ownership.team and ownership.poc (placeholders — validation intentionally fails until these are replaced with real values). Also flag description (draft generated — must be reviewed and expanded) and dependencies/tags (commented out, ready to uncomment and fill in).