NovaModuleTools — project.json reference and configuration guide

How to read this file

Think of project.json in layers:

Top-level project settings control the build shape, source markers, resource copying, and duplicate-function validation.
Manifest controls metadata for the generated PowerShell module manifest and package metadata reuse.
Package controls package creation and optional raw HTTP upload defaults.
Pester controls the test run configuration used by Invoke-NovaTest and Test-NovaBuild.

Default behavior matters.

You only need to add settings when you want to override the default workflow. For example, if you never add a Package section, New-NovaModulePackage still works and defaults to a single .nupkg written to artifacts/packages/.

Schema coverage.

The unified JSON schema covers all documented fields including Manifest.ReleaseNotes, Manifest.LicenseUri, Manifest.IconUri, and Pester.TestResult.OutputFormat. VS Code picks up the schema automatically when the $schema field is present in project.json.

Complete example

The packaged example project is the best real-world reference because it shows the current full configuration surface in one place.

{
  "ProjectName": "NovaExampleModule",
  "Description": "A working example project that demonstrates NovaModuleTools.",
  "Version": "0.1.0",
  "CopyResourcesToModuleRoot": false,
  "BuildRecursiveFolders": true,
  "SetSourcePath": true,
  "FailOnDuplicateFunctionNames": true,
  "Preamble": [
    "Set-StrictMode -Version Latest",
    "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'"
  ],
  "Manifest": {
    "Author": "NovaModuleTools",
    "PowerShellHostVersion": "7.4",
    "GUID": "b3b4ca64-a274-4768-872d-2b3c8bc12a39",
    "Tags": ["Example", "NovaModuleTools", "PowerShell"],
    "ProjectUri": "https://www.novamoduletools.com/",
    "ReleaseNotes": "https://www.novamoduletools.com/release-notes.html",
    "LicenseUri": "https://www.novamoduletools.com/license.html"
  },
  "Package": {
    "Id": "NovaExampleModule",
    "Types": ["NuGet", "Zip"],
    "Latest": "stable",
    "OutputDirectory": {
      "Path": "artifacts/packages",
      "Clean": true
    },
    "PackageFileName": "NovaExampleModule",
    "AddVersionToFileName": true,
    "FileNamePattern": "NovaExampleModule*",
    "Authors": ["NovaModuleTools", "Example Maintainer"],
    "Description": "Example package metadata and raw upload configuration for NovaExampleModule.",
    "RepositoryUrl": "https://packages.example.test/raw/novamodule/",
    "UploadPath": "stable/latest",
    "Headers": {
      "X-Client-Id": "nova-example"
    },
    "Auth": {
      "HeaderName": "Authorization",
      "Scheme": "Bearer",
      "TokenEnvironmentVariable": "NOVA_EXAMPLE_PACKAGE_TOKEN"
    },
    "Repositories": [
      {
        "Name": "ExampleRaw",
        "Url": "https://packages.example.test/raw/novamodule/"
      }
    ]
  },
  "Pester": {
    "CodeCoverage": {
      "Enabled": false,
      "Path": [
        "src/public/*.ps1",
        "src/private/**/*.ps1",
        "src/classes/*.ps1"
      ],
      "CoveragePercentTarget": 90,
      "OutputPath": "artifacts/coverage.xml",
      "OutputFormat": "JaCoCo"
    },
    "TestResult": {
      "Enabled": true,
      "OutputFormat": "NUnitXml"
    },
    "Output": {
      "Verbosity": "Detailed"
    }
  }
}

See how to use the packaged example as a learning project

Top-level project settings

VS Code IntelliSense.

When nova init scaffolds a new project, it injects a $schema field pointing to the versioned public schema at https://www.novamoduletools.com/schema/v{major}/project.json, and also writes a .vscode/settings.json entry that maps project.json to the same URL. Together these two outputs let VS Code load the schema and provide IntelliSense, field validation, and hover descriptions without a manual trust prompt. To enable this on an existing project, add the $schema field as the first key in project.json and add the matching json.schemas entry to .vscode/settings.json.

Setting	Purpose	Default	Workflow effect
`$schema`	Optional URI pointing to the versioned JSON schema for this file.	Injected automatically by `nova init`	Enables VS Code IntelliSense, field validation, and hover descriptions while editing `project.json`.
`ProjectName`	Name of the module and the output folder under `dist/`.	Required	Determines manifest name, module name, and many generated paths.
`Description`	Human-readable project description.	Required	Feeds manifest and package metadata when you do not override them later.
`Version`	Current semantic version stored for the project.	Required	Used in package names, manifest metadata, `% nova version`, and release flows.
`CopyResourcesToModuleRoot`	Controls where resources are copied in the built module.	`false`	When `false`, resources stay in a `resources/` folder. When `true`, they are copied into the module root.
`BuildRecursiveFolders`	Controls recursive discovery for classes, private helpers, and tests.	`true`	Affects how nested source files and nested tests are discovered.
`SetSourcePath`	Controls `# Source:` markers in the generated `.psm1`.	`true`	Makes parser and runtime errors easier to map back to source files.
`FailOnDuplicateFunctionNames`	Fails the build when duplicate top-level function names are emitted.	`true`	Protects the generated module from ambiguous exports and hidden overwrites.
`Preamble`	Optional lines written at the top of the generated `.psm1`.	Empty array	Useful for `Set-StrictMode`, `$ErrorActionPreference`, or other module-wide setup lines.

Examples

{
  "CopyResourcesToModuleRoot": true,
  "BuildRecursiveFolders": false,
  "SetSourcePath": true,
  "FailOnDuplicateFunctionNames": true,
  "Preamble": [
    "Set-StrictMode -Version Latest",
    "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'"
  ]
}

Use this pattern when you want strict runtime defaults, top-level-only test discovery, and resources copied directly to the module root.

`Manifest` settings

These settings feed the generated PowerShell module manifest and, in several cases, package metadata.

Setting	Required	What it does	Notes
`Author`	Yes	Sets the manifest author and the default package author when `Package.Authors` is omitted.	Use a single author string; package logic can later expand into arrays.
`PowerShellHostVersion`	Yes	Defines the minimum PowerShell version expected by the generated module.	Users see this in the manifest and module compatibility expectations.
`GUID`	Yes	Sets the manifest GUID.	Generate a new GUID for each distinct module.
`Tags`	No	Adds manifest tags and is reused by package metadata when present.	Optional in practice and safe to omit.
`ProjectUri`	No	Publishes a project URL in the manifest and package metadata.	Explicitly described in the current build schema.
`ReleaseNotes`	No	Publishes a release notes link for packaging and user-facing metadata.	Used by the current product and examples even though the build schema does not enumerate it separately yet.
`LicenseUri`	No	Publishes a license URL for packaging and manifest metadata.	Used in practice and shown in the packaged example.
`IconUri`	No	Publishes an icon URL in the manifest.	Used by the repository project itself and worth keeping stable when you publish publicly.

If Tags, ProjectUri, ReleaseNotes, or LicenseUri are omitted, packaging still succeeds. The corresponding package metadata fields are simply left out.

`Package` settings

The Package section controls two related but different concerns:

package creation via New-NovaModulePackage / % nova package
raw HTTP artifact upload via Deploy-NovaPackage / % nova deploy

Keep these concepts separate.

Package.Types, Package.Latest, and OutputDirectory decide what gets created. RepositoryUrl, Headers, Auth, and Repositories decide how existing artifacts are uploaded later.

Package creation settings

Setting	Default	What it controls	Gotchas
`Id`	`ProjectName`	The package identifier and default naming base.	Override this only when the package identity should differ from the module name.
`Types`	`["NuGet"]`	Which package formats to create.	Supported values are `NuGet`, `Zip`, `.nupkg`, and `.zip`, and matching is case-insensitive.
`Latest`	`"never"`	Controls whether Nova creates companion `latest` artifacts for each selected type.	Use `"stable"` to update `latest` only for stable versions, `"always"` for both stable and preview versions, or `"never"` to disable the floating alias.
`OutputDirectory.Path`	`artifacts/packages`	Where packages are written.	This is also the default discovery location for `Deploy-NovaPackage`.
`OutputDirectory.Clean`	`true`	Whether to clear the output directory before packaging.	Set it to `false` only when you intentionally want to retain older files.
`PackageFileName`	`<Id>.<Version>.nupkg`	Base file name used for package generation.	Nova normalizes the extension per package type. When you combine a custom base name with `AddVersionToFileName`, Nova appends the project version before the extension and can still swap that suffix for `latest` when needed.
`AddVersionToFileName`	`false`	Appends `.<Version>` from the top-level project version to the configured `PackageFileName`.	Useful when `PackageFileName` is a stable base name such as `AgentInstaller`. With `Latest` enabled, Nova substitutes the appended version suffix with `.latest` for the companion artifact.
`FileNamePattern`	`<Id>*` in practice	Pattern used to discover matching package files for upload.	When you omit it, Nova falls back to `<Id>` and adds the active package type extension during discovery. When you set it, your pattern overrides that default. If `PackageFileName` uses a different base name than `Id`, update `FileNamePattern` too so deploy discovery still matches the generated files. A pattern that already ends with `.zip` or `.nupkg` is treated as authoritative, so `MyModule..zip` matches `MyModule.1.2.3.zip` and `MyModule.latest.zip` without discovering `.nupkg` files.
`Authors`	Derived from `Manifest.Author`	Package author metadata.	Can be a single string or an array of strings.
`Description`	Derived from top-level `Description`	Package description metadata.	Use this when the package description should differ from the module description.

Raw upload settings

Setting	What it does	Notes
`RepositoryUrl`	Canonical package-level raw upload base URL.	Use this when you only need one default upload target.
`RawRepositoryUrl`	Legacy compatibility alias.	If present, it still maps into `RepositoryUrl` when the canonical setting is missing.
`UploadPath`	Optional extra path segment appended before the file name during upload.	Useful for folder-style raw repositories such as `stable/latest` or `preview`.
`Headers`	Generic additional HTTP headers.	Merged with repository-specific headers and dynamic parameter headers when you invoke upload.
`Auth.HeaderName`	Name of the authentication header to emit.	Examples: `Authorization`, `X-Api-Key`.
`Auth.Scheme`	Optional scheme prefix for the auth header value.	Examples: `Bearer`, `Basic`.
`Auth.Token`	Literal token value.	Good for local testing only. Prefer environment variables for real secrets.
`Auth.TokenEnvironmentVariable`	Name of the environment variable that stores the token value.	This should be the variable name, not the secret itself.
`Repositories`	Named upload targets with optional overrides.	Each repository needs `Name` and `Url`, then can add `UploadPath`, `Headers`, and `Auth`.

Nova resolves raw-upload settings in a fixed order so CI/CD overrides stay predictable. Command arguments such as -Url / --url and -UploadPath / --upload-path win first, then the selected Package.Repositories[] entry, then package-level defaults such as Package.RepositoryUrl, Package.RawRepositoryUrl, and Package.UploadPath.

Secrets follow a matching precedence model. An explicit token value wins first, then an explicit token-environment-variable name, then the merged repository/package Auth.TokenEnvironmentVariable, and finally the merged literal Auth.Token. Prefer environment-variable indirection for real credentials.

Authentication examples

{
  "Package": {
    "RepositoryUrl": "https://packages.example/raw/",
    "Auth": {
      "HeaderName": "Authorization",
      "Scheme": "Bearer",
      "TokenEnvironmentVariable": "NOVA_PACKAGE_TOKEN"
    }
  }
}

Use this for bearer-token-style endpoints.

{
  "Package": {
    "Repositories": [
      {
        "Name": "RawRepo",
        "Url": "https://packages.example/raw/",
        "Auth": {
          "HeaderName": "X-Api-Key",
          "TokenEnvironmentVariable": "NOVA_PACKAGE_API_KEY"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Use this for custom API-key headers.

{
  "Package": {
    "Repositories": [
      {
        "Name": "LocalNexus",
        "Url": "http://localhost:8081/repository/raw/modules/",
        "Auth": {
          "HeaderName": "Authorization",
          "Scheme": "Basic",
          "TokenEnvironmentVariable": "NOVA_NEXUS_BASIC_AUTH"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Use this generic model for Basic auth when the endpoint expects a pre-encoded token value. In that case, the environment variable should hold the Base64 value for username:password, not the raw username or password.

`Pester` settings

NovaModuleTools passes your Pester settings into the managed test run configuration used by Invoke-NovaTest and Test-NovaBuild.

Setting	Current usage	Default/Example	Where you see it
`Pester.TestResult.Enabled`	Controls whether test results are configured for output.	`true` in the project template and packaged example	Influences the generated test result artifact behavior.
`Pester.TestResult.OutputFormat`	Passed through by the current project template and examples.	`NUnitXml`	Determines the result format written to the managed NUnit result artifacts.
`Pester.CodeCoverage.Enabled`	Turns the standard Nova coverage pass on or off.	`false` in the project template and packaged example	When enabled, the test workflow also writes the configured coverage report and enforces the configured target.
`Pester.CodeCoverage.Path`	Declares which source files the coverage run analyzes.	`src/public/.ps1` `src/private/.ps1` `src/private//.ps1` `src/private///.ps1` `src/classes/.ps1`	These defaults ship in new starter projects so coverage can be enabled without hand-authoring the file list, including nested helper folders such as `src/private/build/manifest/` and `src/private/quality/duplicates/`.
`Pester.CodeCoverage.CoveragePercentTarget`	Sets the minimum coverage percentage the test workflow must meet.	`90` in the project template and packaged example	Shown in Pester's coverage summary and enforced by Nova when coverage is enabled.
`Pester.CodeCoverage.OutputPath`	Sets where the coverage report is written.	`artifacts/coverage.xml`	The JaCoCo report file emitted when coverage is enabled.
`Pester.CodeCoverage.OutputFormat`	Controls the coverage report format.	`JaCoCo`	Keeps the coverage artifact ready for tools that expect JaCoCo XML.
`Pester.Output.Verbosity`	Controls Pester console verbosity.	`Detailed` in the current project template	Affects what you see during `Invoke-NovaTest`, `Test-NovaBuild`, and `% nova test`.

Starter projects now include the full Pester.CodeCoverage block with the explicit default source globs shown above. The minimal scaffold keeps Enabled=false, while the packaged example scaffold sets Enabled=true so coverage works against src/**/*.ps1 immediately. At runtime, Invoke-NovaTest and Test-NovaBuild both let you override verbosity and render mode temporarily with -OutputVerbosity and -OutputRenderMode.

When you enable coverage, Nova writes JaCoCo output to artifacts/coverage.xml and fails the test workflow if the measured percentage is lower than Pester.CodeCoverage.CoveragePercentTarget.

Common recipes

Minimal module project

{
  "ProjectName": "MyModule",
  "Description": "My module",
  "Version": "0.1.0",
  "Manifest": {
    "Author": "You",
    "PowerShellHostVersion": "7.4",
    "GUID": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
  }
}

Use this when you want the smallest hand-authored Nova project. Scaffolded projects start with additional Pester defaults; the minimal scaffold keeps CodeCoverage disabled until you opt in, while the packaged example scaffold enables it by default. Nova can still resolve its normal defaults when those sections are omitted.

Create both NuGet and Zip artifacts, plus latest aliases

{
  "Package": {
    "Types": ["NuGet", "Zip"],
    "Latest": "stable",
    "OutputDirectory": {
      "Path": "artifacts/packages",
      "Clean": true
    }
  }
}

This creates four files for stable versions when both package types are selected: versioned and latest variants for each format.

Use named raw repositories with shared defaults

{
  "Package": {
    "RepositoryUrl": "https://packages.example/raw/default/",
    "Headers": {
      "X-Client": "my-module"
    },
    "Auth": {
      "HeaderName": "Authorization",
      "Scheme": "Bearer",
      "TokenEnvironmentVariable": "NOVA_PACKAGE_TOKEN"
    },
    "Repositories": [
      {
        "Name": "Stable",
        "Url": "https://packages.example/raw/stable/"
      },
      {
        "Name": "Preview",
        "Url": "https://packages.example/raw/preview/",
        "UploadPath": "nightly"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Use package-level values for the shared default behavior, then override only the repository-specific parts that need to change. Repository-specific Headers, Auth, and UploadPath override package defaults only for the selected named target.