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+# Rock manifest file format
+
+The `rock_manifest` file lists the files contained in a binary rock, with the
+MD5 checksum for each file.
+
+It is a Lua file containing a single global variable definition, that defines
+the variable **rock_manifest**, assigning to it a _table of file checksums_ of
+the [archive file's root directory](Rock file format) (except for the
+`rock_manifest` file itself).
+
+A table of file checksums is defined as a table describing a directory, where
+for each entry in the directory, there is a string key with its filename (only
+the basename).
+
+If the filename is a non-directory, the value of its key is a string with the
+MD5 checksum of the file.
+
+If the filename is a directory, the value of its key is itself a table of file
+checksums of that directory.