The Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN)

This is a Request For Comments on the Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN). Please open discussions in the issues list, and send pull requests to patch this document and associated files.

This document, and all associated files, are licensed under the MIT/Expat license.

The key words "must", "must not", "required", "shall", "shall not", "should", "should not", "recommended", "may" and "optional" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

Introduction

There have been many comprehensive archive networks for various languages and platforms. While the original network was for TeX (the CTAN), the most successful has been for Perl (the CPAN), with over 11,000 contributors and 30,000 distributions.

The goal of the CKAN is to provide a network that is easy to use for both mod authors and end users. By providing a standardised way to release and install modules, it is hoped that many of the misinstall problems will be eliminated (reducing the workload on authors), and a more straightforward path of installing mods is provided (making it easier for users to use mods).

Design

The fundamental design of the CKAN is as follows:

Each distribution (a mod and its associated files) must have an associated meta-data file that describes its contents.
The meta-data file must be detachable from the distribution itself. This facilities easy building of indexes, and means meta-data can be created independently of the distribution itself, easing adoption by authors.
The meta-data file may be included in the distribution, to facilitate easier indexing. CKAN files may be placed anywhere inside a distribution.
It is an error for a distribution (zipfile) to contain more than one CKAN file.

Presently the authoritative CKAN metadata repository is hosted on github.

Validation

A JSON Schema is provided for validation purposes. Any CKAN file must conform to this schema to be considered valid.

The CKAN file

A CKAN file is designed to contain all the relevant meta-info about a mod, including its name, license, download location, dependencies, compatible versions of KSP, and the like. CKAN files are simply JSON files using UTF-8 as character-encoding.

Except where stated otherwise all strings should be printable unicode only.

CKAN files should have a naming scheme of their mod's identifier, followed by a dash, followed by the version number, followed by the extension .ckan. For example: RealSolarSystem-7.3.ckan.

The CKAN metadata spec is inspired by the CPAN metadata spec, the Debian Policy Manual and the KSP-RealSolarSystem-Bundler

Example CKAN file

    {
        "spec_version"   : 1,
        "name"           : "Advanced Jet Engine (AJE)",
        "abstract"       : "Realistic jet engines for KSP",
        "identifier"     : "AJE",
        "download"       : "https://github.com/camlost2/AJE/archive/1.6.zip",
        "license"        : "LGPL-2.1",
        "version"        : "1.6",
        "release_status" : "stable",
        "ksp_version"    : "0.25",
        "resources" : {
            "homepage"     : "https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?showtopic=139868",
            "repository"   : "https://github.com/camlost2/AJE"
        },
        "tags" : [
            "physics",
            "resources",
            "atmospheric",
            "engines",
            "nasa-enginesim",
            "b9-turbofans"
        ],
        "install" : [
            {
                "file"       : "AJE-1.6",
                "install_to" : "GameData"
            }
        ],
        "depends" : [
            { "name" : "FerramAerospaceResearch" },
            { "name" : "ModuleManager", "min_version" : "2.3.5" }
        ],
        "recommends" : [
            { "name" : "RealFuels" },
            { "name" : "HotRockets" }
        ]
    }

Metadata description

The metadata file provides machine-readable information about a distribution.

Mandatory fields

spec_version

The version number of the CKAN specification used to create this .ckan file.

A vx.x string (eg: "v1.2"), being the minimum version of the reference CKAN client that will read this file.

For compatibility with pre-release clients, and the v1.0 client, the special integer 1 should be used.

This document describes the CKAN specification 'v1.34'. Changes since spec 1 are marked with v1.2 through to v1.34 respectively. For maximum compatibility, using older spec versions is preferred when newer features are not required.

identifier

This is the globally unique identifier for the mod, and is how the mod will be referred to by other CKAN documents. It may only consist of ASCII-letters, ASCII-digits and - (dash). Eg: "FAR" or "RealSolarSystem". This is the identifier that will be used whenever the mod is referenced (by depends, conflicts, or elsewhere).

Identifiers must be both: case sensitive for machines, and unique regardless of capitalization for human consumption and case-ignorant systems. Example: MyMod must always be expressed as MyMod, but another module cannot assume the mymod identifier.

If the mod would generate a FOR pass in ModuleManager, then the identifier should be same as the ModuleManager name. For most mods, this means the identifier should be the name of the directory in GameData in which the mod would be installed, or the name of the .dll with any version and the .dll suffix removed.

name

This is the human readable name of the mod, and may contain any printable characters. Eg: "Ferram Aërospace Research (FAR)", "Real Solar System".

abstract

A short, one line description of the mod and what it does.

author

The author, or list of authors, for this mod. No restrictions are placed upon this field.

This field was optional prior to v1.28, but this was more of an oversight than an intentional design decision. It should always have been populated, but the client didn't always enforce this.

download

A fully formed URL, indicating where a machine may download the described version of the mod. Note: This field is not required if the kind is metapackage or dlc.

May also be an array of URLs (v1.34), any of which may be used to download the mod.

license

The license (v1.0), or list of licenses (v1.8), under which the mod is released. The same rules as per the Debian license specification apply, with the following modifications:

The MIT license is always taken to mean the Expat license.
The creative commons licenses are permitted without a version number, indicating the author did not specify which version applies.
Stripping of trailing zeros is not recognised.
(v1.2) WTFPL is recognised as a valid license.
(v1.18) Unlicense is recognised as a valid license.

The following license strings are also valid and indicate other licensing not described above:

open-source: Other Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license
restricted: Requires special permission from copyright holder
unrestricted: Not an OSI approved license, but not restricted
unknown: License not provided in metadata

A single license (v1.0) , or list of licenses (v1.8) may be provided. The following are both valid, the first describing a mod released under the BSD license, the second under the user's choice of BSD-2-clause or GPL-2.0 licenses.

    "license" : "BSD-2-clause"

    "license" : [ "BSD-2-clause", "GPL-2.0" ]

If different assets in the mod have different licenses, the most restrictive license should be specified, which may be restricted.

A future version of the spec may provide for per-file licensing declarations.

version

The version of the mod. Versions have the format [epoch:]mod_version.

epoch

epoch is a single (generally small) unsigned integer. It may be omitted, in which case zero is assumed.

It is provided to allow mistakes in the version numbers of older versions of a package, and also a package's previous version numbering schemes, to be left behind.

mod_version

mod_version is the main part of the version number. It is usually the version number of the original mod from which the CKAN file is created. Usually this will be in the same format as that specified by the mod author(s); however, it may need to be reformatted to fit into the package management system's format and comparison scheme.

The comparison behavior of the package management system with respect to the mod_version is described below. The mod_version portion of the version number is mandatory.

While the CKAN will accept any string as a mod_version, mod authors are encouraged to restrict version names to ASCII-letters, ASCII-digits, and the characters . + - _ (full stop, plus, dash, underscore) and should start with a digit.

Version ordering

When comparing two version numbers, first the epoch of each are compared, then the mod_version if epoch is equal. epoch is compared numerically. The mod_version part is compared by the package management system using the following algorithm:

The strings are compared from left to right.

First the initial part of each string consisting entirely of non-digit characters is determined. These two parts (one of which may be empty) are compared lexically. If a difference is found it is returned. The lexical comparison is a comparison of ASCII values modified so that all the letters sort earlier than all the non-letters.

Then the initial part of the remainder of each string which consists entirely of digit characters is determined. The numerical values of these two parts are compared, and any difference found is returned as the result of the comparison. For these purposes an empty string (which can only occur at the end of one or both version strings being compared) counts as zero.

These two steps (comparing and removing initial non-digit strings and initial digit strings) are repeated until a difference is found or both strings are exhausted.

Note that the purpose of epochs is to allow us to leave behind mistakes in version numbering, and to cope with situations where the version numbering scheme changes. It is not intended to cope with version numbers containing strings of letters which the package management system cannot interpret (such as ALPHA or pre-), or with silly orderings.

Optional fields

install

A list of install directives for this mod, each must contain exactly one of three source directives:

file: The file or directory root that this directive pertains to. All leading directories are stripped from the start of the filename during install. (Eg: MyMods/KSP/Foo will be installed into GameData/Foo.)
find: (v1.4) Locate the top-most directory which exactly matches the name specified. This is particularly useful when distributions have structures which change based upon each release.
find_regexp: (v1.10) Locate the top-most directory which matches the specified regular expression. This is particularly useful when distributions have structures which change based upon each release, but find cannot be used because multiple directories or files contain the same name. Directories separators will have been normalised to forward-slashes first, and the trailing slash for each directory removed before the regular expression is run. Use sparingly and with caution, it's very easy to match the wrong thing with a regular expression.

In addition a destination directive must be provided:

install_to: The target location where the matched file or directory should be installed.
- Valid values for this entry for KSP1 mods are GameData, Missions(v1.25), Ships, Ships/SPH(v1.12), Ships/VAB(v1.12), Ships/@thumbs/VAB(v1.16), Ships/@thumbs/SPH(v1.16), Ships/Script(v1.29), Tutorial, Scenarios (v1.14), and GameRoot (which should be used sparingly, if at all).
- Valid values for this entry for KSP2 mods are GameRoot, BepInEx/plugins (v1.32), and GameData/Mods (v1.33)
- A path to a given subfolder location can be specified only under GameData (v1.2); for example: GameData/MyMod/Plugins. The client must check this path and abort the install if any attempts to traverse up directories are found (eg: GameData/../Example).
- Subfolder paths under a matched directory will be preserved, but directories will only be created when installing to GameData, Tutorial, or Scenarios.

In addition, any number of optional directives may be provided:

as : (v1.18) The name to give the matching directory or file when installed. Allows renaming directories or files.
filter : A string, or list of strings, of file parts that should not be installed. These are treated as literal things which must match a file name or directory. Examples of filters may be Thumbs.db, or Source. Filters are considered case-insensitive.
filter_regexp : (v1.10) A string, or list of strings, which are treated as case-sensitive C# regular expressions which are matched against the full paths from the installing zip-file. If a file matches the regular expression, it is not installed.
include_only : (v1.24) A string, or list of strings, of file parts that should be installed. These are treated as literal things which must match a file name or directory. Examples of this may be Settings.cfg, or Plugin. These are considered case-insensitive.
include_only_regexp : (v1.24) A string, or list of strings, which are treated as case-sensitive C# regular expressions which are matched against the full paths from the installing zip-file. If a file matches the regular expression, it is installed.
find_matches_files : (v1.16) If set to true then both find and find_regexp will match files in addition to directories.

If no install sections are provided, a CKAN client must find the top-most directory in the archive that matches the module identifier, and install that with a target of GameData. In other words, the default install section is:

    "install": [
        {
            "find": "<identifier>",
            "install_to": "GameData"
        }
    ]

comment

A comment field, if included, is ignored. It is not displayed to users, nor used by programs. Its primary use is to convey information to humans examining the CKAN file manually

description

A free form, long text description of the mod, suitable for displaying detailed information about the mod.

release_status

The release status of the mod, one of stable, testing or development, in order of decreasing stability. If not specified, a value of stable is assumed.

ksp_version

The version of KSP this mod is targeting. This may be the string "any", a number (eg: 0.23.5) or may only contain the first two parts of the version string (eg: 0.25). In the latter case, any release starting with the ksp_version is considered acceptable.

If no KSP target version is included, a default of "any" is assumed.

ksp_version_min

The minimum version of KSP the mod requires to operate correctly. Same format as ksp_version. It is an error to include both this and the ksp_version field.

ksp_version_max

The maximum version of KSP the mod requires to operate correctly. Same format as ksp_version. It is an error to include both this and the ksp_version field.

ksp_version_strict

(v1.16)

If true, the mod will only be installed if the user's KSP version is exactly targeted by the mod.

If false, the mod will be installed if the KSP version it targets is "generally recognised" as being compatible with the KSP version the user has installed. It is up to the CKAN client to determine what is "generally recognised" as working.

As an example, a mod with a ksp_version of 1.0.3 will also install in KSP 1.0.4 (but not any other version) when ksp_version_strict is false.

This field defaults to false, including for spec_versions less than v1.16, however CKAN clients prior to v1.16 would only perform strict checking.

localizations

(v1.27)

A list of strings indicating the locales for which this module includes localizations, in KSP's naming convention.

    "localizations": [
        "en-us",
        "es-es",
        "fr-fr",
        "zh-cn",
        "ru"
    ]

download_size

If supplied, download_size is the number of bytes to expect when downloading from the download URL. It is recommended that this field is only generated by automated tools (where it is encouraged), and not filled in by hand.

download_hash

If supplied, download_hash is an object of hash digests of the downloaded file. Clients up to v1.34 require both sha1 and sha256 to be populated, but later clients allow either or both to be omitted. It is recommended that this field is only generated by automated tools (where it is encouraged), and not filled in by hand.

    "download_hash": {
        "sha256": "E3B0C44298FC1C149AFBF4C8996FB92427AE41E4649B934CA495991B7852B855"
    }

download_content_type

If supplied, download_content_type is the content type of the file downloaded from the download URL. It is recommended that this field is only generated by automated tools (where it is encouraged), and not filled in by hand.

    "download_content_type": "application/zip"

install_size

If supplied, install_size is the number of bytes consumed by the module when it is installed. It is recommended that this field is only generated by automated tools (where it is encouraged), and not filled in by hand.

release_date

If supplied, release_date is the timestamp when the described version of the mod was released. The format is ISO 8601.

    "release_date": "2019-11-30T14:54:45.995Z",

Relationships

Relationships are optional fields which describe this mod's relationship to other mods. They can be used to ensure that a mod is installed with one of its graphics packs, or two mods with conflicting functionality are not installed at the same time.

At its most basic, this is an array of objects, each being a name and identifier:

    "depends" : [
        { "name" : "ModuleManager" },
        { "name" : "RealFuels" },
        { "name" : "RealSolarSystem" }
    ]

Each relationship is an array of entries, each entry must have a name.

The optional fields min_version, max_version, and version, may more precisely describe which versions are needed:

    "depends" : [
        { "name" : "ModuleManager",   "min_version" : "2.1.5" },
        { "name" : "RealSolarSystem", "min_version" : "7.3"   },
        { "name" : "RealFuels" }
    ]

It is an error to mix version (which specifies an exact version) with either min_version or max_version in the same object.

(v1.0) Clients implementing versions of the spec older than v1.8 must allow for the optional version fields to be present, but may choose to treat them as if they were absent. (v1.8) Clients implementing the v1.8 spec and above must respect the optional version fields if present.

(v1.26) Clients implementing version v1.26 or later of the spec must support an alternate form of relationship consisting of an any_of key with a value containing an array of relationships. This relationship is considered satisfied if any of the specified modules are installed. It is intended for situations in which a module supports multiple ways of providing functionality, which are not in themselves mutually compatible enough to use the "provides" property.

    "depends": [
        {
            "any_of": [
                { "name": "TextureReplacer"          },
                { "name": "TextureReplacerReplaced"  },
                { "name": "SigmaReplacements-Skybox" },
                { "name": "DiRT"                     }
            ]
        }
    ]

(v1.31) Clients implementing version v1.31 or later of the spec must support the choice_help_text property in a relationship. This string is presented to the user if they must be prompted to choose between two or more mods to satisfy the relationship.

depends:
  - name: VirtualIdentifier1
    choice_help_text: Choose the HR option for high resolution
  - any_of:
    - name: ModA
    - name: ModB
    choice_help_text: Pick ModA if you prefer polka dots, ModB otherwise

(v1.34) Clients implementing version v1.34 or later of the spec must support the suppress_recommendations property in a relationship. If this property is true, then recommendations or suggestions will not be shown for the module satisfying this relationship or its (sole) dependencies.

depends:
  - name: OtherMod
    suppress_recommendations: true

In the interest of the end-user experience, the relationship metadata should only be used when a game-related relationship exists between the mods. They do not have to directly interact, but the rationale should be apparent. It should not be used purely for promotional purposes. This is consistent with the Debian spec, which states:

tells the ... user that the listed packages are related to this one and can perhaps enhance its usefulness

depends

A list of mods which are required for the current mod to operate. These mods must be installed along with the current mod being installed.

recommends

A list of mods which are recommended, but not required, for a typical user. This is a strong recommendation, and recommended mods will be installed unless the user requests otherwise.

suggests

A list of mods which are suggested for installation alongside this mod. This is a weak recommendation, and by default these mods will not be installed unless the user requests otherwise.

supports

(v1.2) A list of mods which are supported by this mod. This is the reverse of suggests - when a supported mod is installed, this mod may also be offered for installation. This is equivalent to the enhances specifier from Debian.

conflicts

A list of mods which conflict with this mod. The current mod will not be installed if any of these mods are already on the system.

replaced_by

(v1.26) This is a way to mark a specific mod identifier as being obsoleted and tell the client what it has been replaced by. It contains a single mod that should be selected for installation if a replace command is performed on this mod, while this mod is uninstalled. If this mod identifier is brought back to life, an epoch change should be applied. A replaced_by relationship should be added to the final release of the mod being replaced. The listed mod should include a "provides" relationship either to this mod, or one of this mod's listed "provides".

replaced_by differs from other relationships in two ways:

It is not an array. Only a single mod can be defined as the replacement.
Only "version" and "min_version" are permitted as options.

Resources

The resources field describes additional information that a user or program may wish to know about the mod, but which are not required for its installation or indexing. Presently the following fields are described. Unless specified otherwise, these are URLs:

homepage : The preferred landing page for the mod.
bugtracker : The mod's bugtracker if it exists.
discussions : The mod's discussions page if it exists.
license : The mod's license.
repository : The repository where the module source can be found.
ci : (v1.6) Continuous Integration (e.g. Jenkins) Server where the module is being built. x_ci is an alias used in netkan.
spacedock : The mod on SpaceDock.
curse : (v1.20) The mod on Curse.
manual : The mod's manual, if it exists.
metanetkan : (v1.27) URL of the module's remote hosted netkan
remote-avc : URL of remote version file. If set in the netkan file, will be used to find the online copy of the version file. Otherwise the URL property from the internal version file will be assigned to this field and used instead.
remote-swinfo : URL of remote swinfo.json file. The version_check property from the internal swinfo.json file will be assigned to this field.
store: (v1.28) URL where you can purchase a DLC
steamstore: (v1.28) URL where you can purchase a DLC on Steam

Example resources:

    "resources" : {
        "homepage"     : "https://tinyurl.com/DogeCoinFlag",
        "bugtracker"   : "https://github.com/pjf/DogeCoinFlag/issues",
        "repository"   : "https://github.com/pjf/DogeCoinFlag",
        "ci"           : "https://ksp.sarbian.com/jenkins/DogecoinFlag",
        "spacedock"    : "https://spacedock.info/mod/269/Dogecoin%20Flag",
        "curse"        : "https://kerbal.curseforge.com/projects/220221"
    }

While all currently defined resources are URLs, future revisions of the spec may provide for more complex types.

It is permissible to have fields prefixed with an x_. These are considered custom use fields, and will be ignored. For example:

    "x_twitter" : "https://twitter.com/pjf"

Special use fields

These fields are optional, and should only be used with good reason. Typical mods should not include these special use fields.

kind

Specifies the type of package the .ckan file represents. Allowed values:

package or empty - the default, a normal installable module
metapackage - a distributable .ckan file that has relationships to other mods while having no download of its own. v1.6
dlc - A paid expansion from SQUAD, which CKAN can detect but not install. Also has no download. v1.28

provides

A list of identifiers, that this module provides. This field is intended for use in modules which require one of a selection of texture downloads, or one of a selection of mods which provide equivalent functionality. For example:

    "provides"  : [ "RealSolarSystemTextures" ]

It is recommended that this field be used sparingly, as all mods with the same provides string are essentially declaring they can be used interchangeably.

It is considered acceptable to use this field if a mod is renamed, and the old name of the mod is listed in the provides field. This allows for mods to be renamed without updating all other mods which depend upon it.

A module may both provide functionality, and conflict with the same functionality. This allows relationships that ensure only one set of assets are installed. (Eg: CustomBiomesRSS and CustomBiomesKerbal both provide and conflict with CustomBiomesData, ensuring that both cannot be installed at the same time.)

Extensions

Any field starting with x_ (an x, followed by an underscore) is considered an extension field. The CKAN tool-chain will ignore any such fields. These fields may be used to include additional machine or human-readable data in the files.

For example, one may have an x_maintained_by field, to indicate the maintainer of a CKAN file, or an x_generated_by field to indicate it's the result of a custom build process.

Extension fields are unrestricted, and may contain any sort of data, including lists and objects.

NetKAN Fields

NetKAN is the name the tool which is used to automatically generate CKAN files from a variety of sources. NetKAN consumes .netkan files to produce .ckan files. .netkan files are a strict superset of .ckan files. Every .ckan file is a valid .netkan file but not vice versa. NetKAN uses the following fields to produce .ckan files.

If a mod is hosted on multiple servers, a .netkan file may contain multiple metadata documents (separated by --- in YAML or separate top-level {} object blocks in JSON), one per server. These will all be checked for new releases and the results merged based on the value of their version properties, resulting in a download property containing an array of multiple download URLs.

A JSON Schema is provided for validation purposes. Any .netkan file must conform to this schema to be considered valid.

YAML Option

A .netkan file may be in either JSON or YAML format. All examples shown below assume YAML, but the JSON equivalents will work the same way.

Note that # is the comment character in YAML, so even if you choose YAML syntax, you still can't omit the quotes around a value that includes #, such as typical values of $kref and $vref:

$kref: "#/ckan/spacedock/1234"
$vref: "#/ckan/ksp-avc"

Internal `.ckan` files

If a module's download contains a file with a .ckan extension, this file will be parsed and its contents added to the module's metadata. This can be a convenient way to handle metadata values that can change from one version to the next, such as dependencies.

An internal .ckan file may be in either JSON or YAML format.

`$kref`

The $kref field indicates that data should be filled in from an external service provider. The following $kref values are understood. Only one $kref field may be present in a .netkan file.

`#/ckan/spacedock/:sdid`

Indicates that data should be fetched from SpaceDock, using the :sdid provided. For example: #/ckan/spacedock/269.

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
license
abstract
author
version
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
resources.homepage
resources.spacedock
resources.repository
resources.bugtracker
resources.x_screenshot
ksp_version
release_date

`#/ckan/curse/:cid`

The Curse API that we used to use was sunsetted, so Curse is no longer supported.

Expand to see the old info

Indicates that data should be fetched from Curse, using the :cid provided. The :cid may be a number for modules indexed prior to March 2018, or the name from the Curse URL otherwise. For example: #/ckan/curse/220221 or #/ckan/curse/photonsail.

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
license
author
version
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
resources.curse
ksp_version

`#/ckan/github/:user/:repo[(/asset_match/:filter_regexp)|(/version_from_asset/:version_regexp)]`

Indicates that data should be fetched from GitHub, using the :user and :repo provided. For example: #/ckan/github/pjf/DogeCoinFlag.

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
license (v1.26)
abstract
author
version
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
resources.repository
resources.bugtracker
release_date

Optionally, one of asset_match with :filter_regexp or version_from_asset with :version_regexp may be provided:

asset_match with filter_regexp: A string which is treated as case-sensitive C# regular expressions which are matched against the name of the released artifact.
version_from_asset with :version_regexp: A string which is treated as case-sensitive C# regular expressions which are matched against the names of all release artifacts. Every matching artifact will result in a separate metadata output. The :version_regexp must have a named capturing group version, which is used as the version of each asset's module.

An example .netkan excerpt:

$kref: '#/ckan/github/pjf/DogeCoinFlag/version_from_asset/^DogeCoinFlag-(?<version>.+).zip$'

An x_netkan_github field may be provided to customize how the metadata is fetched from GitHub. It is an object with the following fields:

use_source_archive (type: boolean) (default: false)
Specifies that the source ZIP of the repository itself will be used instead of any assets in the release.

`#/ckan/gitlab/:user/:repo`

Indicates that data should be fetched from GitLab, using the :user and :repo provided. For example: #/ckan/gitlab/Ailex-/starilex-mk1-iva.

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
abstract
author
version
resources.repository
resources.bugtracker
resources.manual
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
release_date

An example .netkan excerpt:

$kref: '#/ckan/gitlab/Ailex-/starilex-mk1-iva'

An x_netkan_gitlab field must be provided to customize how the metadata is fetched from GitLab. It is an object with the following fields:

use_source_archive (type: boolean) (default: false)
Specifies that the source ZIP of the release will be used instead of any discrete assets.
Note that this must be true! GitLab only offers source ZIP assets, so we can only index mods that use them. If at some point in the future GitLab adds support for non-source assets, we will be able to add support for setting this property to false or omitting it.

`#/ckan/sourceforge/:repo`

Indicates that data should be fetched from SourceForge using the :repo provided. For example: '#/ckan/sourceforge/ksre

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
resources.homepage
resources.repository
resources.bugtracker
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
release_date

An example .netkan excerpt:

$kref: '#/ckan/sourceforge/ksre'

`#/ckan/jenkins/:joburl`

Indicates that data should be fetched from a Jenkins CI server using the :joburl provided. For example: #/ckan/jenkins/https://jenkins.kspmods.example/job/AwesomeMod/.

The following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

version
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
resources.ci
release_date

An x_netkan_jenkins field may be provided to customize how the metadata is fetched from the Jenkins server. It is an object with the following fields:

build (type: string, enumerated) (default: "stable")
Specifies the type of build to use. Possible values are "any", "completed", "failed", "stable", "successful", "unstable", or "unsuccessful". Many of these values do not make sense to use in practice but are provided for completeness.
asset_match (type: string, regex) (default: \.zip$)
Specifies a regex which selects which artifact to use by filename (case-insensitively). Not having exactly one matching asset is an error.
use_filename_version (type: boolean, default: false)
Specifies if the filename of the matched artifact should be used as the value of the version property. Combined with the x_netkan_version_edit property this allows the version to be extracted from the filename itself. Otherwise the expectation is that the archive will have an AVC .version file which will be used to generate the version value.

If any options are not present their default values are used.

An example .netkan excerpt:

$kref: '#/ckan/jenkins/https://jenkins.kspmods.example/job/AwesomeMod/'
x_netkan_jenkins:
  build: stable
  asset_match: \.zip$
  use_filename_version: false

`#/ckan/http/:url`

Indicates that data should be fetched from an HTTP server, using the :url provided. For example:

$kref: '#/ckan/http/https://mysite.com/download_my_mod'

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type

This method depends on the existence of an AVC .version file in the download file to determine:

version

`#/ckan/ksp-avc/:url`

Indicates that data should be fetched from a KSP-AVC .version file at the :url provided. The file should be in the KSP-AVC JSON file format, see the KSP-AVC spec. The DOWNLOAD property of the file is used to find the download. For example: #/ckan/ksp-avc/http://taniwha.org/~bill/EL.version

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

name
download
download_size
download_hash
download_content_type
resources.repository
version
ksp_version
ksp_version_min
ksp_version_max

`#/ckan/netkan/:url`

Indicates that data should be fetched from another .netkan file hosted remotely. For example: #/ckan/netkan/https://www.kspmods.example/AwesomeMod.netkan.

The remote .netkan file is downloaded and used as if it were the original. .netkan files which contain such a reference are known as recursive netkans or metanetkans. They are primarily used so that mod authors can provide authoritative metadata.

A metanetkan may be in either JSON or YAML format.

The following conditions apply:

A metanekan may not reference another metanetkan, otherwise an error is produced.
Any fields specified in the metanetkan will override any fields in the target netkan file.

When used, the following fields will be auto-filled if not already present:

resources.metanetkan

An example .netkan including all required fields for a valid metanetkan:

spec_version: 1,
identifier: AwesomeMod
$kref: '#/ckan/netkan/https://www.kspmods.example/AwesomeMod.netkan'

`$vref`

The $vref field indicates that version data should be filled in from an external service provider. Only one $vref field may be present in a document.

`#/ckan/ksp-avc[[/path]/avcfilename.version]`

If present, a $vref symbol of #/ckan/ksp-avc states that version information should be retrieved from an embedded KSP-AVC .version file in the file downloaded by the download field. The following conditions apply:

Only .version files that would be installed for this mod are considered. (In theory. Transformer ordering may cause files outside the installed folders being considered)
It is an error if more than one .version file would be considered.
It is an error if the .version file does not validate according to the KSP-AVC spec.
The KSP_VERSION field for the .version file will be ignored if the KSP_VERSION_MIN and KSP_VERSION_MAX fields are set.
Netkan will first attempt to use anything after ksp-avc as a literal path within the zip file, and if that fails, will use the string as a regexp to search for a matching file to use.

When used, the following fields are auto-generated:

ksp_version
ksp_version_min
ksp_version_max
resources.remote-avc (if the URL property is present in the version file)

Version information is generated in such a way as to ensure maximum compatibility. For example if the .version file specifies that the mod is compatible with KSP version 1.0.2 but the existing version specifies 1.0.5 then the version information generated will give a ksp_version_min of 1.0.2 and a ksp_version_max of 1.0.5.

If (and only if) no mod version number has been identified (eg a #/ckan/http/:url), then the following field will also be auto-generated:

version

`#/ckan/space-warp[[/path]/swinfo.json]`

If present, a $vref symbol of #/ckan/space-warp states that version information should be retrieved from an embedded SpaceWarp swinfo.json file in the file downloaded by the download field.

When used, the following fields are auto-generated:

ksp_version
ksp_version_min
ksp_version_max
name
author
abstract
version
resources.remote-swinfo (if the version_check property is present in the swinfo.json file)

`x_netkan_epoch`

The x_netkan_epoch field is used to specify a minimum epoch number manually in the version field. Its value should be an unsigned 32-bit integer.

Note that an epoch can be added without this property or incremented automatically, if the auto-indexer detects an out-of-order release.

An example .netkan excerpt:

x_netkan_epoch: 1

`x_netkan_allow_out_of_order`

If true, then this module allows a freshly released version to have a version number smaller than previously existing releases.

This should be used for modules that intentionally release "backport" versions, to disable automatic incrementing of epochs for out of order releases. Typical mods should not use this property, to allow their version epochs to be automatically incremented if they release an out of order version.

An example .netkan excerpt:

x_netkan_allow_out_of_order: true

`x_netkan_force_v`

The x_netkan_force_v field is used to specify that a v should be prepended to the version field. It is a boolean field.

A combination of x_netkan_epoch and x_netkan_version_edit should be used instead to ensure that the version field only contains the actual version string.

An example .netkan excerpt:

x_netkan_force_v: true

`x_netkan_version_edit`

The x_netkan_version_edit field is used to edit the final value of the version field. x_netkan_version_edit is an object with the following fields:

find (type: string, regex) (default: none)
A regex to match against the existing version field.
replace (type: string, regex substitution) (default: "${version}")
Specifies a regex substitution string which will be used as the value of the new version field. The following special variables are supported and will be filled in by various metadata aggregated during inflation:
- ${tag} ($kref #/ckan/github only): Replaced with the release tag from GitHub.
strict (type: boolean, default: true)
Specifies if NetKAN should produce an error if find fails to produce a match against the version field.

x_netkan_version_edit can also be a string in which case its value is treated as the value the find field and the default values for the replace and strict fields are used.

An example .netkan excerpt:

$kref: '#/ckan/jenkins/https://jenkins.kspmods.example/job/AwesomeMod/'
x_netkan_version_edit:
  find: ^[vV]?(?<version>.+)$
  replace: ${version}
  strict: true

`x_netkan_override`

The x_netkan_override field is used to override field values based on the value of the version field. x_netkan_override is an array of objects. Each object may have the following fields:

version (type: array of string, version comparison)
An array of version comparison strings that are used to match against version. Version comparison strings are of the form "[operator]<version>" where operator is one of =, <, >, <=, or >=. If no operator is given it is equivalent to specifying =. In order for the override to match all the comparisons must be true. Therefore a range may be specified as such: [ ">=1.0", "<2.0" ]. A string may also be specified instead of an array in which case it is treated as an array with a single element equal to the value of the string.
before (type: string, transformation name)
The name of a transformation this override to happen directly before.
after (type: string, transformation name)
The name of a transformation this override to happen directly after.
override (type: object)
An object whose fields will override the fields already present if a match occurs. No merging of values occurs, the values of the fields are entirely replaced.
delete (type: array of string)
An array of strings which are the names of fields to remove if a match occurs.

The possible values of before and after are:

$none
$all
avc
download_attributes
epoch
forced_v
generated_by
github
http
internal_ckan
jenkins
metanetkan
optimus_prime
property_sort
spacedock
curse
strip_netkan_metadata
version_edit
versioned_override

If no before or after is specified then the override occurs at a "reasonable" point in the transformation process. Most overrides should not specify a before or after unless there is a specific need to.

When any metadata changes occur which are version specific, for example a new dependency is added, overrides are the recommended means of specifying them. Overrides may also be used to stage metadata changes, for example when new dependencies are anticipated to be added in yet unreleased versions of a mod. This allows mod metadata to be up-to-date as soon as possible without requiring excessive coordination.

`x_netkan_staging` and `x_netkan_staging_reason`

These properties alter the way the NetKAN-bot pushes updated metadata for a module. Normally, a new or changed .ckan file will be committed and pushed to CKAN-meta's master branch, which makes it immediately available to users. If there is a chance that such an update will contain incorrect metadata, for example if the game compatibility is hard-coded in the netkan and changes upstream, then a manual review step may be advisable.

If x_netkan_staging is set to true, changed metadata files for this module will be committed to a separate module-specific branch and a pull request will be created to merge this branch to master. This allows CKAN team members to check manually that the changes are correct before they are released to users.

To make the review process easier, set x_netkan_staging_reason to a string explaining why staging is enabled. This will be inserted into the body of the pull request as a reminder of the manual checks that should be performed before merging. For example, you may advise reviewers to check a module's game compatibility metadata against its forum thread.

Files

Spec.md

Latest commit

History

Spec.md

File metadata and controls

The Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN)

Introduction

Design

Validation

The CKAN file

Example CKAN file

Metadata description

Mandatory fields

spec_version

identifier

name

abstract

author

download

license

version

epoch

mod_version

Version ordering

Optional fields

install

comment

description

release_status

ksp_version

ksp_version_min

ksp_version_max

ksp_version_strict

tags

localizations

download_size

download_hash

download_content_type

install_size

release_date

Relationships

depends

recommends

suggests

supports

conflicts

replaced_by

Resources

Special use fields

kind

provides

Extensions

NetKAN Fields

YAML Option

Internal .ckan files

$kref

#/ckan/spacedock/:sdid

#/ckan/curse/:cid

#/ckan/github/:user/:repo[(/asset_match/:filter_regexp)|(/version_from_asset/:version_regexp)]

#/ckan/gitlab/:user/:repo

#/ckan/sourceforge/:repo

#/ckan/jenkins/:joburl

#/ckan/http/:url

#/ckan/ksp-avc/:url

#/ckan/netkan/:url

$vref

#/ckan/ksp-avc[[/path]/avcfilename.version]

#/ckan/space-warp[[/path]/swinfo.json]

x_netkan_epoch

x_netkan_allow_out_of_order

x_netkan_force_v

x_netkan_version_edit

x_netkan_override

x_netkan_staging and x_netkan_staging_reason

Internal `.ckan` files

`$kref`

`#/ckan/spacedock/:sdid`

`#/ckan/curse/:cid`

`#/ckan/github/:user/:repo[(/asset_match/:filter_regexp)|(/version_from_asset/:version_regexp)]`

`#/ckan/gitlab/:user/:repo`

`#/ckan/sourceforge/:repo`

`#/ckan/jenkins/:joburl`

`#/ckan/http/:url`

`#/ckan/ksp-avc/:url`

`#/ckan/netkan/:url`

`$vref`

`#/ckan/ksp-avc[[/path]/avcfilename.version]`

`#/ckan/space-warp[[/path]/swinfo.json]`

`x_netkan_epoch`

`x_netkan_allow_out_of_order`

`x_netkan_force_v`

`x_netkan_version_edit`

`x_netkan_override`

`x_netkan_staging` and `x_netkan_staging_reason`