app.json5 Configuration File

This document gives an overview of the app.json5 configuration file. To start with, let's go through an example of what this file contains.

{
  "app": {
    "bundleName": "com.application.myapplication",
    "vendor": "example",
    "versionCode": 1000000,
    "versionName": "1.0.0",
    "icon": "$media:app_icon",
    "label": "$string:app_name",
    "description": "$string:description_application",
    "minAPIVersion": 9,
    "targetAPIVersion": 9,
    "apiReleaseType": "Release",
    "debug": false,
    "car": {
      "minAPIVersion": 8,
    }
  },
}

As shown above, the app.json5 file contains several tags.

Table 1 Tags in the app.json5 file

Name Description Data Type Initial Value Allowed
bundleName Bundle name, which uniquely identifies an application. The value must comply with the following rules:
- Consists of letters, digits, underscores (_), and periods (.).
- Starts with a letter.
- Contains 7 to 127 bytes.
You are advised to use the reverse domain name notation, for example, com.example.demo, where the first part is the domain suffix com, the second part is the vendor/individual name, and the third part is the application name, which can be of multiple levels.
If an application is built with the system source code, you are advised to name it in com.ohos.demo notation, where ohos signifies that the application is an OpenHarmony system application.
String No
bundleType Bundle type, which is used to distinguish applications and atomic services.
- app: The bundle is a common application.
- atomicService: The bundle is an atomic service.
String Yes (initial value: "app")
debug Whether the application can be debugged. This tag is generated during compilation and building in DevEco Studio.
- true: The application can be debugged.
- false: The application cannot be debugged.
Boolean Yes (initial value: false)
icon Icon of the application. The value is an icon resource index. String No
label Name of the application. The value is a string resource index. String No
description Description of the application. The value is a string with a maximum of 255 bytes or a resource index to the description. String Yes (initial value: left empty)
vendor Vendor of the application. The value is a string with a maximum of 255 bytes. String Yes (initial value: left empty)
versionCode Version number of the application. The value is a 32-bit non-negative integer less than 2 to the power of 31. It is used only to determine whether a version is later than another version. A larger value indicates a later version. Ensure that a new version of the application uses a value greater than any of its predecessors. Number No
versionName Version number of the application displayed to users.
The value consists of only digits and dots. The four-part format A.B.C.D is recommended, wherein:
Part 1 (A): major version number, which ranges from 0 to 99. A major version consists of major new features or large changes.
Part 2 (B): minor version number, which ranges from 0 to 99. A minor version consists of some new features and large bug fixes.
Part 3 (C): feature version number, which ranges from 0 to 99. A feature version consists of scheduled new features.
Part 4 (D): maintenance release number or patch number, which ranges from 0 to 999. A maintenance release or patch consists of resolution to security flaws or minor bugs.
The value contains a maximum of 127 bytes.
String No
minCompatibleVersionCode Minimum compatible version of the application. It is used to check whether the application is compatible with a version on other devices in the cross-device scenario. Number Yes (initial value: value of versionCode)
minAPIVersion Minimum API version required for running the application. Number Yes (initial value: value of compatibleSdkVersion in build-profile.json5)
targetAPIVersion Target API version required for running the application. Number Yes (initial value: value of compileSdkVersion in build-profile.json5)
apiReleaseType Type of the target API version required for running the application. The value can be "CanaryN", "BetaN", or "Release", where N represents a positive integer.
- Canary: indicates a restricted release.
- Beta: indicates a publicly released beta version.
- Release: indicates a publicly released official version.
The value is set by DevEco Studio reading the stage of the SDK in use.
String Yes (initial value: set by DevEco Studio)
multiProjects Whether the application supports joint development of multiple projects.
- true: The application supports joint development of multiple projects.
- false: The application does not support joint development of multiple projects. For details about multi-project development, see Multi-Project Build.
Boolean Yes (initial value: false)
tablet Tablet-specific configuration, which includes minAPIVersion and distributedNotificationEnabled attributes.
When running on tablets, the application applies the attribute settings under this tag and ignores the general counterparts.
Object Yes (initial value: general settings in the app.json5 file)
tv TV-specific configuration, which includes minAPIVersion and distributedNotificationEnabled attributes.
When running on TVs, the application applies the attribute settings under this tag and ignores the general counterparts.
Object Yes (initial value: general settings in the app.json5 file)
wearable Wearable-specific configuration, which includes minAPIVersion and distributedNotificationEnabled attributes.
When running on wearables, the application applies the attribute settings under this tag and ignores the general counterparts.
Object Yes (initial value: general settings in the app.json5 file)
car Head unit–specific configuration, which includes minAPIVersion and distributedNotificationEnabled attributes.
When running on head units, the application applies the attribute settings under this tag and ignores the general counterparts.
Object Yes (initial value: general settings in the app.json5 file)
default Default device–specific configuration, which includes minAPIVersion and distributedNotificationEnabled attributes.
When running on default devices, the application applies the attribute settings under this tag and ignores the general counterparts.
Object Yes (initial value: general settings in the app.json5 file)