Manifest Schema
- Version
- 0.1 (Working Draft)
- Date
- 2026-03-06
- Editors
- Daniel Meppiel (Microsoft)
- Repository
- https://github.com/microsoft/apm
- Format
- YAML 1.2
Status of This Document
Section titled “Status of This Document”This is a Working Draft. It may be updated, replaced, or made obsolete at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.
This specification defines the manifest format (apm.yml) used by the Agent Package Manager (APM). Feedback is welcome via GitHub Issues.
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”The apm.yml manifest declares the full closure of agent primitive dependencies, MCP servers, scripts, and compilation settings for a project. It is the contract between package authors, runtimes, and integrators — any conforming resolver can consume this format to install, compile, and run agentic workflows.
1. Conformance
Section titled “1. Conformance”The key words “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, “RECOMMENDED”, “MAY”, and “OPTIONAL” in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
A conforming manifest is a YAML 1.2 document that satisfies all MUST-level requirements in this specification. A conforming resolver is a program that correctly parses conforming manifests and performs dependency resolution as described herein.
2. Document Structure
Section titled “2. Document Structure”A conforming manifest MUST be a YAML mapping at the top level with the following shape:
name: <string> # REQUIREDversion: <string> # REQUIREDdescription: <string>author: <string>license: <string>target: <enum>type: <enum>scripts: <map<string, string>>includes: <enum | list<string>>dependencies: apm: <list<ApmDependency>> mcp: <list<McpDependency>>devDependencies: apm: <list<ApmDependency>> mcp: <list<McpDependency>>compilation: <CompilationConfig>policy: <PolicyConfig>marketplace: <MarketplaceConfig> # OPTIONAL; marketplace authoringmarketplace: is the source for apm pack’s marketplace output and is OPTIONAL. Repositories that do not publish a marketplace omit it entirely. The block, its schema, and the build flow are documented in the Authoring a marketplace guide. Within marketplace:, the inheritable fields name, description, and version default to the top-level values above and SHOULD be omitted unless an override is required.
3. Top-Level Fields
Section titled “3. Top-Level Fields”3.1. name
Section titled “3.1. name”| Type | string |
| Required | MUST be present |
| Description | Package identifier. Free-form string (no pattern enforced at parse time). Convention: alphanumeric, dots, hyphens, underscores. |
3.2. version
Section titled “3.2. version”| Type | string |
| Required | MUST be present |
| Pattern | ^\d+\.\d+\.\d+ (semver; pre-release/build suffixes allowed) |
| Description | Semantic version. A value that does not match the pattern SHOULD produce a validation warning (non-blocking). |
3.3. description
Section titled “3.3. description”| Type | string |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Description | Brief human-readable description. |
3.4. author
Section titled “3.4. author”| Type | string |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Description | Package author or organization. |
3.5. license
Section titled “3.5. license”| Type | string |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Description | SPDX license identifier (e.g. MIT, Apache-2.0). |
3.6. target
Section titled “3.6. target”| Type | string | list<string> |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Default | Auto-detect: vscode if .github/ exists, claude if .claude/ exists, codex if .codex/ exists, windsurf if .windsurf/ exists, all if multiple target folders exist, minimal if none |
| Allowed values | vscode · agents · copilot · claude · cursor · opencode · codex · gemini · windsurf · all |
Controls which output targets are generated during compilation and installation. Accepts a single string or a list of strings. When unset, a conforming resolver SHOULD auto-detect based on folder presence. Unknown values MUST raise a parse error pointing at the offending token. Auto-detection applies only when target: is unset.
# Single targettarget: copilot
# Multiple targets -- flow-list formtarget: [claude, copilot]
# Multiple targets -- block-list form (equivalent)target: - claude - copilotWhen a list is specified, only those targets are compiled, installed, and packed — no output is generated for unlisted targets. all cannot be combined with other values.
| Value | Effect |
|---|---|
vscode | Emits AGENTS.md at the project root (and per-directory files in distributed mode) |
agents | Alias for vscode |
copilot | Alias for vscode |
claude | Emits CLAUDE.md at the project root |
cursor | Emits to .cursor/rules/, .cursor/agents/, .cursor/skills/ |
opencode | Emits to .opencode/agents/, .opencode/commands/, .opencode/skills/ |
codex | Emits AGENTS.md and deploys skills to .agents/skills/, agents to .codex/agents/ |
gemini | Emits GEMINI.md and deploys to .gemini/commands/, .gemini/skills/, .gemini/settings.json |
windsurf | Emits AGENTS.md and deploys to .windsurf/rules/, .windsurf/skills/, .windsurf/workflows/, .windsurf/hooks.json |
all | All targets. Cannot be combined with other values in a list. |
minimal | AGENTS.md only at project root. Auto-detected only — this value MUST NOT be set explicitly in manifests; it is an internal fallback when no target folder is detected. |
3.7. type
Section titled “3.7. type”| Type | enum<string> |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Default | None (behaviour driven by package content; synthesized plugin manifests use hybrid) |
| Allowed values | instructions · skill · hybrid · prompts |
Declares how the package’s content is processed during install and compile. Currently behaviour is driven by package content (presence of SKILL.md, component directories, etc.); this field is reserved for future explicit overrides.
| Value | Behaviour |
|---|---|
instructions | Compiled into AGENTS.md only. No skill directory created. |
skill | Installed as a native skill only. No AGENTS.md output. |
hybrid | Both AGENTS.md compilation and skill installation. |
prompts | Commands/prompts only. No instructions or skills. |
3.8. scripts
Section titled “3.8. scripts”| Type | map<string, string> |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Key pattern | Script name (free-form string) |
| Value | Shell command string |
| Description | Named commands executed via apm run <name>. MUST support --param key=value substitution. |
3.9. includes
Section titled “3.9. includes”| Type | string (literal auto) | list<string> |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Default | Undeclared (legacy implicit auto-publish; flagged by apm audit) |
| Allowed values | auto or a list of paths relative to the project root |
Declares which local .apm/ content the project consents to publish when packing or deploying. Three forms are supported:
- Undeclared — field omitted. Legacy behaviour: all local
.apm/content is published as ifautowere set.apm auditemits anincludes-consentadvisory (the check itself passes; the message recommends declaringincludes: auto) whenever local content is deployed under this form. includes: auto— explicit consent to publish all local.apm/content via the file scanner. No path enumeration required. Default for newly initialised projects.includes: [<path>, ...]— explicit allow-list of paths the project consents to publish. Strongest governance form; changes are reviewable in PR diffs.
# Form 1: undeclared (legacy; audit advisory)# includes: <omitted>
# Form 2: explicit auto-publish (default for new projects)includes: auto
# Form 3: explicit path list (strongest governance)# includes:# - .apm/instructions/# - .apm/skills/my-skill/includes: is allow-list only. There is no exclude: form. The field controls which .apm/ content the project consents to publish; it cannot be used to fence off subdirectories of .apm/ from the scanner. To keep maintainer-only primitives out of shipped artifacts, author them OUTSIDE .apm/ and reference them via a local-path devDependency — see Dev-only Primitives.
When policy.manifest.require_explicit_includes is true (see Governance guide), only form 3 passes the policy check; auto and undeclared are rejected at install/audit time by the explicit-includes policy check (not at YAML parse time).
3.10. policy
Section titled “3.10. policy”| Type | map<string, string> |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Description | Consumer-side controls for org policy discovery and verification. All fields are optional; defaults preserve current fail-open install behaviour. |
policy: fetch_failure_default: warn # warn | block, default warn (#829) hash: "sha256:<hex>" # optional consumer-side pin on the org policy bytes hash_algorithm: sha256 # sha256 (default) | sha384 | sha512| Sub-key | Type | Default | Allowed values | Semantic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
fetch_failure_default | string | warn | warn, block | Posture when no enforceable policy is available — covers fetch failures (malformed, cache_miss_fetch_fail, garbage_response) AND no-policy outcomes (no_git_remote, absent, empty). warn keeps installs unblocked when GitHub is unreachable or no org policy is published; block opts into fail-closed semantics for both apm install and apm audit --ci. See Network failure semantics. |
hash | string | unset | <algo>:<hex-digest> (e.g. sha256:6a8c...e2f1) | Pin on the raw bytes of the fetched leaf org policy. Verified before YAML parsing; mismatch is always fail-closed regardless of fetch_failure_default. See Hash pin: policy.hash. |
hash_algorithm | string | sha256 | sha256, sha384, sha512 | Digest algorithm for policy.hash. Inferred from the <algo>: prefix when present; this field is the explicit override. MD5 and SHA-1 are rejected at parse time. |
4. Dependencies
Section titled “4. Dependencies”| Type | object |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Known keys | apm, mcp |
Contains two OPTIONAL lists: apm for agent primitive packages and mcp for MCP servers. Each list entry is either a string shorthand or a typed object. Additional keys MAY be present for future dependency types; conforming resolvers MUST ignore unknown keys for resolution but MUST preserve them when reading and rewriting manifests, to allow forward compatibility.
4.1. dependencies.apm — list<ApmDependency>
Section titled “4.1. dependencies.apm — list<ApmDependency>”Each element MUST be one of two forms: string or object.
4.1.1. String Form
Section titled “4.1.1. String Form”Grammar (ABNF-style):
dependency = url_form / shorthand_form / local_path_formurl_form = ("https://" / "http://" / "ssh://git@" / "git@") clone-urlshorthand_form = [host "/"] owner "/" repo ["/" virtual_path] ["#" ref]local_path_form = ("./" / "../" / "/" / "~/" / ".\\" / "..\\" / "~\\") pathclone-url MAY include a :port segment on https://, http://, and ssh://git@ forms (e.g. ssh://git@host:7999/owner/repo.git). The SCP shorthand git@host:path cannot carry a port — : is the path separator in that form. When a port is present, APM preserves it across all clone attempts: the SSH attempt uses ssh://host:PORT/... and the HTTPS fallback uses https://host:PORT/... (same port on both protocols).
| Segment | Required | Pattern | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
host | OPTIONAL | FQDN (e.g. gitlab.com) | Git host. Defaults to github.com. |
port | OPTIONAL | 1–65535 | Non-default port on ssh://, https://, http:// clone URLs. Not expressible in SCP shorthand. |
owner/repo | REQUIRED | 2+ path segments of [a-zA-Z0-9._-]+ | Repository path. GitHub uses exactly 2 segments (owner/repo). Non-GitHub hosts MAY use nested groups (e.g. gitlab.com/group/sub/repo). |
virtual_path | OPTIONAL | Path segments after repo | Subdirectory or file within the repo. See §4.1.3. |
ref | OPTIONAL | Branch, tag, or commit SHA | Git reference. Commit SHAs matched by ^[a-f0-9]{7,40}$. Semver tags matched by ^v?\d+\.\d+\.\d+. |
Examples:
dependencies: apm: # GitHub shorthand (default host) — each line shows a syntax variant - microsoft/apm-sample-package # latest (lockfile pins commit SHA) - microsoft/apm-sample-package#v1.0.0 # pinned to tag (immutable) - microsoft/apm-sample-package#main # branch ref (may change over time)
# Non-GitHub hosts (FQDN preserved) - gitlab.com/acme/coding-standards - bitbucket.org/team/repo#main
# Full URLs - https://github.com/microsoft/apm-sample-package.git - http://github.com/microsoft/apm-sample-package.git - git@github.com:microsoft/apm-sample-package.git - ssh://git@github.com/microsoft/apm-sample-package.git
# Custom ports (e.g. Bitbucket Datacenter, self-hosted GitLab) - ssh://git@bitbucket.example.com:7999/project/repo.git - https://git.internal:8443/team/repo.git
# Virtual packages - ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills/brand-guidelines # subdirectory - contoso/prompts/review.prompt.md # single file
# Azure DevOps - dev.azure.com/org/project/_git/repo
# Local path (development only) - ./packages/my-shared-skills # relative to project root - ../sibling-repo/my-package # parent directory4.1.2. Object Form
Section titled “4.1.2. Object Form”REQUIRED when the shorthand is ambiguous (e.g. nested-group repos with virtual paths).
| Field | Type | Required | Pattern / Constraint | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
git | string | REQUIRED (remote) | HTTPS URL, SSH URL, or FQDN shorthand | Clone URL of the repository. Required for remote dependencies. |
path | string | OPTIONAL / REQUIRED (local) | Relative path within the repo, or local filesystem path | When git is present: subdirectory or file (virtual package). When git is absent: local filesystem path (must start with ./, ../, /, or ~/). |
ref | string | OPTIONAL | Branch, tag, or commit SHA | Git reference to checkout. |
alias | string | OPTIONAL | ^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$ | Local alias. |
Remote dependency (git URL + sub-path):
- git: https://gitlab.com/acme/repo.git path: instructions/security ref: v2.0 alias: acme-secLocal path dependency (development only):
- path: ./packages/my-shared-skillsMonorepo sibling reference (git: parent):
# In agents/pkg-a/apm.yml inside org/monorepo- git: parent path: skills/sharedThe literal sentinel git: parent is valid only inside a transitively resolved package whose clone coordinates are known to the resolver. APM expands parent to the consumer’s host, repo_url, and resolved ref, with virtual_path set from path. The lockfile records the expanded coordinates — parent MUST NOT appear as durable identity (repo_url / source). path is REQUIRED for git: parent and is normalised to a single relative path; absolute paths and .. traversal are refused. ref and alias overrides are accepted; when ref is omitted the parent’s resolved ref is inherited.
4.1.3. Virtual Packages
Section titled “4.1.3. Virtual Packages”A dependency MAY target a subdirectory or a file within a repository rather than the whole repo. Conforming resolvers MUST classify virtual packages using the following rules, evaluated in order:
| Kind | Detection rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| File | virtual_path ends in .prompt.md, .instructions.md, .agent.md, or .chatmode.md | owner/repo/prompts/review.prompt.md |
| Subdirectory | virtual_path does not match any file extension above | owner/repo/skills/security |
Classification is by extension only — never by path segment. A path like owner/repo/collections/security (no extension) is Subdirectory: the actual on-disk shape (APM package with apm.yml, skill bundle, or plugin) is resolved at fetch time by probing for apm.yml first.
Removed (#1094): the legacy
.collection.yml/.collection.yamlvirtual-package form is no longer supported. Convert any such reference to anapm.ymlwith adependencies:section, then reference the resulting subdirectory as a regular subdirectory virtual package.
4.1.4. Canonical Normalisation
Section titled “4.1.4. Canonical Normalisation”Conforming writers MUST normalise entries to canonical form on write. github.com is the default host and MUST be stripped; all other hosts MUST be preserved as FQDN.
| Input | Canonical form |
|---|---|
https://github.com/microsoft/apm-sample-package.git | microsoft/apm-sample-package |
git@github.com:microsoft/apm-sample-package.git | microsoft/apm-sample-package |
gitlab.com/acme/repo | gitlab.com/acme/repo |
4.2. dependencies.mcp — list<McpDependency>
Section titled “4.2. dependencies.mcp — list<McpDependency>”Each element MUST be one of two forms: string or object.
4.2.1. String Form
Section titled “4.2.1. String Form”A plain registry reference: io.github.github/github-mcp-server
4.2.2. Object Form
Section titled “4.2.2. Object Form”| Field | Type | Required | Constraint | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | string | REQUIRED | Non-empty | Server identifier (registry name or custom name). |
transport | enum<string> | Conditional | stdio · sse · http · streamable-http | Transport protocol. REQUIRED when registry: false. Values are MCP transport names, not URL schemes: remote variants connect over HTTPS. |
env | map<string, string> | OPTIONAL | Environment variable overrides. Values may contain ${VAR}, ${env:VAR}, or ${input:<id>} references — see §4.2.4. | |
args | dict or list | OPTIONAL | Dict for overlay variable overrides (registry), list for positional args (self-defined). | |
version | string | OPTIONAL | Pin to a specific server version. | |
registry | bool or string | OPTIONAL | Default: true (public registry) | false = self-defined (private) server. String = custom registry URL. |
package | enum<string> | OPTIONAL | npm · pypi · oci | Package manager type hint. |
headers | map<string, string> | OPTIONAL | Custom HTTP headers for remote endpoints. Values may contain ${VAR}, ${env:VAR}, or ${input:<id>} references — see §4.2.4. | |
tools | list<string> | OPTIONAL | Default: ["*"] | Restrict which tools are exposed. |
url | string | Conditional | Endpoint URL. REQUIRED when registry: false and transport is http, sse, or streamable-http. | |
command | string | Conditional | Single binary path; no embedded whitespace unless args is also present | Binary path. REQUIRED when registry: false and transport is stdio. |
4.2.3. Validation Rules for Self-Defined Servers
Section titled “4.2.3. Validation Rules for Self-Defined Servers”When registry is false, the following constraints apply:
transportMUST be present.- If
transportisstdio,commandMUST be present. - If
transportishttp,sse, orstreamable-http,urlMUST be present. - If
transportisstdio,commandMUST be a single binary path with no embedded whitespace. APM does not splitcommandon whitespace; useargsfor additional arguments. A path that legitimately contains spaces (e.g./opt/My App/server) is allowed whenargsis also provided (including an explicit empty listargs: []), signaling the author has taken responsibility for the shape.
dependencies: mcp: # Registry reference (string) - io.github.github/github-mcp-server
# Registry with overlays (object) - name: io.github.github/github-mcp-server tools: ["repos", "issues"] env: GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
# Self-defined server (object, registry: false) - name: my-private-server registry: false transport: stdio command: ./bin/my-server args: ["--port", "3000"] env: API_KEY: ${{ secrets.KEY }}4.2.4. Variable References in headers and env
Section titled “4.2.4. Variable References in headers and env”Values in headers and env may contain three placeholder syntaxes. APM resolves them per-target so secrets stay out of generated config files where possible.
| Syntax | Source | VS Code | Copilot CLI / Codex |
|---|---|---|---|
${VAR} | host environment | Translated to ${env:VAR} (resolved at server-start by VS Code) | Resolved at install time from env (or interactive prompt) |
${env:VAR} | host environment | Native — passed through verbatim | Resolved at install time from env (or interactive prompt) |
${input:<id>} | user prompt | Native — VS Code prompts at runtime | Not supported — use ${VAR} or ${env:VAR} instead |
<VAR> (legacy) | host environment | Not recognized | Resolved at install time (kept for back-compat) |
- VS Code has native
${env:VAR}and${input:VAR}interpolation, so APM emits placeholders rather than baking secrets intomcp.json. Bare${VAR}is normalized to${env:VAR}for you. - Copilot CLI has no runtime interpolation, so APM resolves
${VAR},${env:VAR}, and the legacy<VAR>at install time usingos.environ(or an interactive prompt when missing). Resolved values are not re-scanned, so a value containing literal${...}text is preserved. - Codex currently resolves only the legacy
<VAR>placeholder at install time;${VAR}/${env:VAR}are passed through verbatim in the Codex adapter today. - Recommended: Use
${VAR}or${env:VAR}in all new manifests — they work on every target that supports remote MCP servers.<VAR>is legacy and only resolved by Copilot CLI and Codex; in VS Code it would silently render as literal text in the generated config. - Registry-backed servers — APM auto-generates input prompts from registry metadata for
${input:...}. - Self-defined servers — APM detects
${input:...}patterns inapm.ymland generates matching input definitions automatically.
GitHub Actions templates (${{ ... }}) are intentionally left untouched.
dependencies: mcp: - name: my-server registry: false transport: http url: https://my-server.example.com/mcp/ headers: Authorization: "Bearer ${MY_SECRET_TOKEN}" # bare env-var X-Tenant: "${env:TENANT_ID}" # env-prefixed X-Project: "${input:my-server-project}" # VS Code input prompt5. devDependencies
Section titled “5. devDependencies”| Type | object |
| Required | OPTIONAL |
| Known keys | apm, mcp |
Development-only dependencies installed locally but excluded from plugin bundles (apm pack, plugin format is the default). Uses the same structure as dependencies.
devDependencies: apm: - owner/test-helpers - owner/lint-rules#v2.0.0Created automatically by apm init --plugin. Use apm install --dev to add packages:
apm install --dev owner/test-helpersPlain apm install (no flag) deploys both dependencies and devDependencies. There is currently no --omit=dev flag — the dev/prod separation kicks in at apm pack (plugin format, the default). The local-content scanner that builds plugin bundles also operates on .apm/ only and does not consult the devDep marker. To keep maintainer-only primitives out of shipped artifacts, author them outside .apm/ and reference them via a local-path devDependency. See Dev-only Primitives.
Local-path devDependency example:
devDependencies: apm: - path: ./dev/skills/release-checklist6. Compilation
Section titled “6. Compilation”The compilation key is OPTIONAL. It controls apm compile behaviour. All fields have sensible defaults; omitting the entire section is valid.
| Field | Type | Default | Constraint | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
target | enum<string> | all | vscode · agents · claude · codex · gemini · windsurf · all | Output target (same values as §3.6). Defaults to all when set explicitly in compilation config. |
strategy | enum<string> | distributed | distributed · single-file | distributed generates per-directory AGENTS.md files. single-file generates one monolithic file. |
single_file | bool | false | Legacy alias. When true, overrides strategy to single-file. | |
output | string | AGENTS.md | File path | Custom output path for the compiled file. |
chatmode | string | — | Chatmode filter for compilation. | |
resolve_links | bool | true | Resolve relative Markdown links in primitives. | |
source_attribution | bool | true | Include source-file origin comments in compiled output. | |
exclude | list<string> or string | [] | Glob patterns | Directories to skip during compilation (e.g. apm_modules/**). |
placement | object | — | Placement tuning. See §6.1. |
6.1. compilation.placement
Section titled “6.1. compilation.placement”| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
min_instructions_per_file | int | 1 | Minimum instruction count to warrant a separate AGENTS.md file. |
compilation: target: all strategy: distributed source_attribution: true exclude: - "apm_modules/**" - "tmp/**" placement: min_instructions_per_file: 17. Lockfile (apm.lock.yaml)
Section titled “7. Lockfile (apm.lock.yaml)”After successful dependency resolution, a conforming resolver MUST write a lockfile capturing the exact resolved state. The lockfile MUST be a YAML file named apm.lock.yaml at the project root. It SHOULD be committed to version control.
7.1. Structure
Section titled “7.1. Structure”lockfile_version: "1"generated_at: <ISO 8601 timestamp>apm_version: <string>dependencies: # YAML list (not a map) - repo_url: <string> # Resolved clone URL host: <string> # Git host (OPTIONAL, e.g. "gitlab.com") port: <int> # Non-default git port (OPTIONAL, 1-65535; omitted when default) resolved_commit: <string> # Full commit SHA resolved_ref: <string> # Branch/tag that was resolved version: <string> # Package version from its apm.yml virtual_path: <string> # Virtual package path (if applicable) is_virtual: <bool> # True for virtual (file/subdirectory) packages depth: <int> # 1 = direct, 2+ = transitive resolved_by: <string> # Parent dependency (transitive only) package_type: <string> # Package type (e.g. "apm_package", "marketplace_plugin", "meta_package") content_hash: <string> # SHA-256 of package file tree (e.g. "sha256:a1b2c3...") is_dev: <bool> # True for devDependencies deployed_files: <list<string>> # Workspace-relative paths of installed filesmcp_servers: <list<string>> # MCP dependency references managed by APM (OPTIONAL, e.g. "io.github.github/github-mcp-server")7.2. Resolver Behaviour
Section titled “7.2. Resolver Behaviour”- First install — Resolve all dependencies, write
apm.lock.yaml. - Subsequent installs — Read
apm.lock.yaml, use locked commit SHAs. A resolver SHOULD skip download if local checkout already matches. --updateflag — Re-resolve fromapm.yml, overwrite lockfile.
8. Integrator Contract
Section titled “8. Integrator Contract”Any runtime adopting this format (e.g. GitHub Agentic Workflows, CI systems, IDEs) MUST implement these steps:
- Parse — Read
apm.ymlas YAML. Validate the two REQUIRED fields (name,version) and thedependenciesobject shape. - Resolve
dependencies.apm— For each entry, clone/fetch the git repo (respectingref), locate the.apm/directory (or virtual path), and extract primitives. - Resolve
dependencies.mcp— For each entry, resolve from the MCP registry or validate self-defined transport config per §4.2.3. - Transitive resolution — Resolved packages MAY contain their own
apm.ymlwith further dependencies, forming a dependency tree. Resolvers MUST resolve transitively. Conflicts are merged at instruction level (byapplyTopattern), not file level. - Write lockfile — Record exact commit SHAs and deployed file paths in
apm.lock.yamlper §7.
Appendix A. Complete Example
Section titled “Appendix A. Complete Example”name: my-projectversion: 1.0.0description: AI-native web applicationauthor: Contosolicense: MITtarget: alltype: hybrid # instructions | skill | hybrid | prompts
scripts: review: "copilot -p 'code-review.prompt.md'" impl: "copilot -p 'implement-feature.prompt.md'"
dependencies: apm: - microsoft/apm-sample-package#v1.0.0 - gitlab.com/acme/coding-standards#main - git: https://gitlab.com/acme/repo.git path: instructions/security ref: v2.0 mcp: - io.github.github/github-mcp-server - name: my-private-server registry: false transport: stdio command: ./bin/my-server env: API_KEY: ${{ secrets.KEY }}
devDependencies: apm: - owner/test-helpers
compilation: target: all strategy: distributed exclude: - "apm_modules/**" placement: min_instructions_per_file: 1Appendix B. Revision History
Section titled “Appendix B. Revision History”| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 2026-03-06 | Initial Working Draft. |