Application

Create an app definition, then activate exactly one runtime handle from it.

createManifesto(schema, effects)

createManifesto() is the SDK entry point for the base runtime.

import { createManifesto } from "@manifesto-ai/sdk";

import todoMel from "./todo.mel";
import type { TodoDomain } from "./todo.domain";

const manifesto = createManifesto<TodoDomain>(todoMel, {});
const app = manifesto.activate();

Parameter	Meaning
schema	A compiled DomainSchema or MEL source string
effects	A record of SDK effect handlers, keyed by effect type. You can author it directly or via @manifesto-ai/sdk/effects.

createManifesto() returns an app definition. Runtime reads and writes such as snapshot(), action.<name>.submit(), observe, and inspect exist only after activate().

Compiler tooling artifacts such as DomainModule are outside this seam. If you compile through compileMelModule(), pass module.schema to createManifesto(), not the whole module.

Tooling vs Runtime

import { compileMelModule } from "@manifesto-ai/compiler";
import { createManifesto } from "@manifesto-ai/sdk";

const result = compileMelModule(melSource, { mode: "module" });
const module = result.module!;

const manifesto = createManifesto(module.schema, {});
const annotations = module.annotations;
const sourceMap = module.sourceMap;

• createManifesto() accepts MEL source or DomainSchema.
• createManifesto() does not accept DomainModule.
• tooling may read module.annotations, module.sourceMap, and module.graph, but the runtime still starts from the schema.
• importing a .mel file through the default loader/bundler path still yields schema-only output, even when the MEL source uses @meta.

Activation Boundary

const app = createManifesto(schema, effects).activate();

Activation owns the host loop, Snapshot projection, observers, action handles, and runtime inspection surface.

Do not activate the same app definition more than once. Create a new app definition if you need a separate runtime instance.

Decorate Before Activation

Optional approval and history layers wrap the app definition before it is activated. Skip this section when you only need the base runtime.

import { createManifesto } from "@manifesto-ai/sdk";
import { createInMemoryLineageStore, withLineage } from "@manifesto-ai/lineage";
import { createInMemoryGovernanceStore, withGovernance } from "@manifesto-ai/governance";

const app = withGovernance(
  withLineage(createManifesto(schema, effects), {
    store: createInMemoryLineageStore(),
  }),
  {
    governanceStore: createInMemoryGovernanceStore(),
    bindings,
    execution,
  },
).activate();

The MEL domain stays the same. Base, history, and approval modes all expose the same action handles; their submit() result types express the active runtime mode.

Next

• Inspect the activated handle in Runtime Instance
• Submit work with Actions and Availability
• Add approval in Optional Approval/History Runtime