Manifest (jiangyu.json)

Every mod has a jiangyu.json at its root. It carries the mod's identity (name, version, author) and its dependency list. Replacements aren't listed in the manifest. They're discovered by convention from assets/replacements/. Template patches aren't authored in the manifest either, but live in templates/*.kdl.

Default scaffold

jiangyu init and Studio's "New project" dialog call the same scaffold path. Both write:

{
  "name": "MyMod",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "depends": ["Jiangyu >= 1.0.0"]
}

name defaults to the project directory name (or to the name typed into the New project dialog). The scaffold also writes a .gitignore that excludes .jiangyu/ and compiled/.

Modder-authored fields

Field	Type	Required	Default	Notes
name	string	yes	(none)	Used as the dependency-resolution identity.
version	string	no	"0.1.0"	Free-form text; not parsed or enforced.
author	string	no	(none)	Display only.
description	string	no	(none)	Display only.
depends	string[]	no	(none)	See Dependencies.

Unknown fields are ignored on read.

Dependencies

Each entry in depends is <name> or <name> <op> <constraint>, where <op> is one of >=, <=, ==, !=, >, <, =.

{
  "depends": [
    "Jiangyu >= 1.0.0",
    "AnotherMod"
  ]
}

Only the name is enforced. The constraint is parsed and held in memory, but the loader logs a warning rather than blocking on version mismatch:

Mod 'X' dependency 'Y >= 1.0.0' includes a version constraint that is not enforced yet; required presence only.

Names match against other mods' name fields (case-sensitive). The literal name Jiangyu always satisfies because it represents the loader itself.

Dependency identity is provisional

depends resolves against display name until Jiangyu defines a stable machine-readable mod ID. Renaming a mod renames its dependency identity. Treat names as long-lived.

Compiler-owned fields

The compiler writes additional fields into compiled/jiangyu.json. Don't author these by hand. The next compile will overwrite them.

Field	Source
meshes	mesh compilation; one entry per replaced skinned-renderer path
templatePatches	emitted from templates/*.kdl
templateClones	emitted from templates/*.kdl
templateBindings	emitted from templates/*.kdl (bind "<kind>" ... directives)
additionPrefabs	logical names of prefab addition bundles staged into the compiled output (see Prefabs)

compiled/jiangyu.json ships inside the compiled mod folder. Modders read it for debugging compiled output, never edit it.

Loader validation

When MENACE starts, the loader scans Mods/**/jiangyu.json. A mod is blocked (its bundles aren't loaded, its templates don't apply) when:

• The manifest is missing or unreadable.
• name is empty or missing.
• A depends entry is empty or doesn't parse against the <name> <op> <constraint> grammar.
• A required mod (by name) isn't present in Mods/.
• Two mod folders share the same name. Both copies are blocked, with an error naming every duplicate location.

Mods with a valid manifest but no .bundle files are treated as present for dependency checks. This is useful for "metadata only" mods that consist entirely of template patches.

Load order

Mods load in lexical order of their folder paths under Mods/. When two mods replace the same asset or patch the same template field, the later-loaded mod wins, with a warning logged.