Node SDK
The Node SDK is the current reference implementation of the canonical manifest model. It is the most complete consumer of the YAML contract, but it is still a consumer rather than the conceptual source of truth.
Standard layers
| Layer | Package | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
loader | @ikary/cell-loader | Parse YAML or JSON and return validated manifest data |
contract | @ikary/cell-contract | Node-facing schema, types, and validation bindings |
engine | @ikary/cell-engine | Compile canonical expressions into runtime-ready application structures |
Additional runtime packages such as presentation, primitives, renderer, and data consume the compiled manifest to render application behavior.
What the Node SDK exposes today
1. Schema
- Zod schemas for the Node runtime
- generated bundled JSON Schema for tooling that needs a single JSON artifact
2. Language-native types
- TypeScript types inferred from the contract layer
- shared manifest types for application and entity expressions
3. Validation
- structural validation through the contract layer
- semantic validation for business rules that go beyond raw structure
These three outputs are what let the Node SDK serve both runtime code and LLM-oriented workflows.
Important clarification
The Node contract package is the Node SDK binding layer. It is not the ultimate conceptual authority for the project.
Use this authority ladder:
- canonical YAML schemas and examples under
manifests/ - Node contract bindings in
@ikary/cell-contract - Node engine compilation in
@ikary/cell-engine - Node runtime packages that render or execute the compiled result