bower.json specification

bower.json - The package manifest

name (required) [string]

The name of the package as stored in the registry.

Should be slug style for simplicity, consistency and compatibility.
Must be unique.
Lowercase, a-z, can contain dash or dot but not start/end with them.
Consecutive dashes or dots not allowed.
50 characters or fewer.

version [string]

The package's semantic version number.

Must be a semantic version - http://semver.org/ - i.e, parseable by node-semver.
If publishing a folder, the version must be higher than the version stored in the registry, when republishing.
Version should only be required if you are not using Git tags.

location [string]

The endpoint where Bower can find your package. This is used during registration.

description [string]

Help users identify and search for your package with a brief description. Describe what your package does, rather than what it's made of. Will be displayed in search/lookup results on the CLI and the website that can be used to search for packages. Recommended.

Any character. Max 140.

keywords [array of strings]

Used for search by keyword. Helps make your package easier to discover without people needing to know its name. Recommended.

Same format requirements as name.

main [string | array of strings]

The primary acting files necessary to use your package. While Bower does not directly use these files, they are listed with the commands bower list --json and bower list --paths, so they can be used by build tools.

CoffeeScript should be compiled.
Do not include minified files.
Files names should not be versioned (Bad: package.1.1.0.js; Good: package.js).

dependencies [hash]

Dependencies are specified with a simple hash of package name to a semver compatible identifier or URL.

Key must be a name that matches the validation pattern for the name property.
Value must be a semver compatible identifier, a Git URL, or a URL (inc. tarball and zipball).
Value can be an owner/package shorthand, i.e. owner/package. By default, the shorthand resolves to GitHub -> https://github.com/owner/package. This may be changed in .bowerrc shorthand_resolver.
Local paths may be used as values for local development. But they will be disallowed when registering.

devDependencies [hash]

Dependencies that are only needed for development of the package, e.g., test framework or building documentation.

ignore [array of strings]

A list of files for Bower to ignore when installing your package. Note: README (all variants of case, .md, .text) will never be ignored.

The ignore rules follow the same rules specified in the gitignore pattern spec.

license [string | array of strings]

SPDX license identifier or path/url to license.

authors [array of strings|array of hashes]

Either

"authors": [
  "John Doe", "John Doe <john@doe.com>",
  "John Doe <john@doe.com> (http://johndoe.com)"
]

or:

"authors": [
  { "name": "John Doe" },
  { "name": "John Doe", “email": “john@doe.com" },
  { "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@doe.com"," homepage": "http://johndoe.com" }
]

homepage [string]

URL to learn more about the package. Falls back to GitHub project if not specified and it’s a GitHub endpoint.

repository [object]

The repository in which the source code can be found.

"repository": {
  "type": "git", "url": "git://github.com/foo/bar.git"
}

private [string boolean]

If you set "private": true in your bower.json, it will refuse to publish it. This is a way to prevent accidental publication of private repositories.

cobbweb/bower.json-spec