Manifest Viewer

The Manifest Viewer is a diagnostic tool in KOS Studio that allows you to examine the manifest chain that defines what software and content is running on your device. A manifest chain consists of a base device manifest (created during software release) plus optional chained manifests that add customizations. This tool is essential for troubleshooting issues like missing files or unexpected behavior by showing you exactly how the final configuration was assembled.

Key Features

  • Complete Chain Visibility: View the entire manifest chain from device manifest through all chained manifests, helping you understand exactly how your device configuration was built and identify where changes occurred
  • Detailed Manifest Information: Access comprehensive details about each manifest including ID, authority, creation date, mode, and properties, providing full transparency into your device configuration
  • Section Analysis: Examine all sections within each manifest to see which KABs (application bundles) are included, making it easy to verify that expected files and applications are present
  • Artifact Browser Integration: Jump directly from any published or market artifact in the manifest to the Artifact Browser for deeper investigation, streamlining your troubleshooting workflow
  • Node-Specific Views: For multi-node devices, view manifest details for each node type separately with clear primary node identification, essential for complex device configurations
  • Chain Correlation: Easily trace the relationship between manifests through nextManifestId references, helping you understand the order and dependencies in your manifest chain
  • Offline Support: Continue analyzing manifests even when disconnected from the server, ensuring uninterrupted troubleshooting with previously loaded data
  • Running Image Context: See which image from your project is currently running on the device for better troubleshooting context

Understanding Manifests

In KOS, a manifest defines which KAB files run on a device. There are two types of manifests that form a manifest chain:

  • Device Manifest: The base software release for a device, defining the KOS version, system application, and default content. This is created when building a release in KOS Studio and forms the foundation of the chain.
    • Key characteristics:
      • Created when building a release in KOS Studio
      • Forms the foundation of the manifest chain
      • Only one device manifest can exist per chain, and it’s always at the base
      • Produced by the software team as part of release management
      • Contains chained section references that control what can be added by chained manifests
  • Chained Manifest: Additional KABs that can be added to a device manifest, containing anything from custom content to additional applications. Multiple chained manifests can be added to a chain, allowing external systems to customize what’s deployed to specific devices.
    • Key characteristics:
      • Multiple chained manifests can exist in a single chain
      • Each must have a unique name
      • Allow external systems to customize deployment to specific devices
      • Can only contribute new sections—cannot replace or modify the device manifest
      • Must follow rules defined by chained section references in the device manifest
      • Created by external systems, not the software team

This architecture allows distributed teams to contribute customizations independently while maintaining device integrity and security.

Accessing the Manifest Viewer

Opening the Tool

  1. Log into the KOS studio.
  2. Once logged in, KOS Studio displays my images and connection manager windows.
  3. Select the running image/device from the connection manager window to start a tool.
  4. Find the Active Tools section
  5. Click + Start New Tool
  6. Select Manifest Viewer from the dropdown menu

Persistent Access

Unlike other tools, the Manifest Viewer remains accessible even after your connection becomes inactive. You can still view previously loaded manifest data, making it useful for offline analysis and comparison.

Viewing the Resolved Manifest

The Manifest Viewer displays your complete resolved manifest, showing how all manifests in the chain combine to create the final device configuration.

Manifest Chain Structure

The manifest chain consists of zero or more chained manifests followed by a single device manifest. Each chained manifest links to the next manifest in the chain through a nextManifestId reference until the device manifest is reached.

When viewing a resolved manifest, you’ll see:

  • Each chained manifest in the chain (if present)
  • The device manifest at the base of the chain
  • Correlation indicators showing how manifests link together via nextManifestId
  • Type, name (when present), and authority for each manifest

Note: Some devices may only have a device manifest without any chained manifests.

Chained Manifest Details

Each chained manifest in the chain contains detailed information to help you understand its purpose and contents.

Manifest Information

For each chained manifest, you can view:

  • Name: The manifest’s identifier
  • Authority: The organization that signed the manifest
  • Mode: File mode settings
  • Created Date and Time: When the manifest was created
  • Manifest ID: Unique identifier (UUID)
  • Manifest Properties: Key-value pairs with additional configuration

Sections and Artifacts

Each manifest is fundamentally a collection of sections, where a section is a named list of KABs. Each section is clearly identified by name, and within each section you can see artifact instances with the following information:

  • Name: Displayed for published or market artifacts only
  • KAB ID: Unique identifier for the KAB file
  • KAB Size: File size
  • Authority: Organization that signed the KAB
  • Mode: File mode settings
  • Artifact Data (for published/market artifacts only):
    • Qualifier
    • Version
    • Repository

Opening Artifacts in Artifact Browser

For any published or market artifact in a chained manifest, you can click to open the Artifact Browser. The selected artifact will be preselected in the Artifact Browser, allowing you to immediately view its detailed information.

Device Manifest Details

The device manifest forms the foundation of your device configuration. It contains comprehensive information about the base release.

Manifest Information

For the device manifest, you can view:

  • ID: Unique identifier
  • Type: Manifest type
  • Created Date and Time: When the manifest was created
  • Authority: Organization that signed the manifest
  • Mode: File mode settings
  • Device Type: The type of device this manifest supports
  • Manifest Properties: Key-value pairs with additional configuration
  • Running Image Name: The name of the Studio image currently running (in test mode)

Multi-Node Devices

If your device has multiple node types, the Manifest Viewer displays a node manifest for each unique node. The primary node is clearly identified to help you understand the device architecture.

Node Manifest Information

Each node manifest provides five categories of information to help you understand the complete device configuration.

Sections

Sections are named lists of KABs that define how the KABs should be used. KOS defines two special section names:

  • KOS.system: Contains the system application KAB that KOS loads at boot
  • KOS.autostart.*: Contains application KABs that automatically start after the system application

For each section, you can view:

  • Section name
  • Artifact instances within the section, including:
    • Name (for published/market artifacts)
    • KAB ID
    • KAB Size
    • Authority
    • Mode
    • Artifact Data (qualifier, version, repository) for published/market artifacts

Layers

Layers show artifact instances organized by layer, with the same detailed information available as in sections:

  • Name (for published/market artifacts)
  • KAB ID
  • KAB Size
  • Authority
  • Mode
  • Artifact Data (qualifier, version, repository) for published/market artifacts

Properties

Node-specific properties are displayed as key-value pairs, providing additional configuration information for the node.

Chained Section References

Chained section references are rules that define how chained manifests can contribute additional sections to the device manifest. These rules are created by release developers and encoded into the device manifest to control exactly what can be added through chained manifests.

For each chained section reference, you can view:

  • Name: Chained manifest name this rule applies to
  • Authority: Expected authority of the chained manifest (establishes trust)
  • Source Section: Section name(s) in the chained manifest that can be imported
  • Destination Section: Transformed name for the section in the device manifest
  • Required: Whether the section is required for proper device operation

KMF (Kynite Manifest File)

The KMF view displays the raw JSON representation of the Kynite Manifest File, providing complete technical details for advanced troubleshooting.

Quick Tips

  • Trace missing files by examining the manifest chain from device manifest through each chained manifest to see where files were added or omitted
  • Verify authority on each manifest and artifact to ensure proper signing and trust chain
  • Use Artifact Browser integration to quickly investigate published or market artifacts without switching contexts
  • Check chained section references to understand what external systems are allowed to add to your device
  • Keep manifest data accessible by leaving the tool open but minimized—you can analyze it even after disconnecting
  • Identify primary nodes in multi-node configurations to understand the device architecture
  • Review KMF JSON for complete technical details when standard views don’t provide enough information