What is a web app manifest?

A web app manifest is a JSON file that tells the browser a web app's name, icons, colors and how it should open when installed.

Sites link to it from their HTML with a link tag. Browsers read it to decide whether to offer installing the app, and to show the right icon and name once it's installed.

Browsers ask for a name, an icon of at least 192 pixels and a display mode such as standalone, which opens the app in its own window. Linkstore reads each app's manifest to mark which ones can be installed.