Android Manifest File

Every Android application has an AndroidManifest.xml (or .android-xml) file. This file will get packaged into the .apk bundle and provides essential information about the app to the Android system, such as its startup class and available activities, and the permissions required to run the app.

A basic app manifest looks as follows, with the outer manifest root element and the application element being mandatory:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest>
  <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" android:targetSdkVersion="21" />

  <application android:icon="@drawable/appicon" android:label="@string/app_name">

    <activity android:name="org.me.myapp.MainActivity" >
        ...
    </activity>
    ...

  </application>

  ...
</manifest>

A typical app will define one (or more) activity or service, and may list additional meta-data to describe the app, as needed. The Android docs provide a full overview of what elements are allowed in an app manifest, and what they do.

See Also