---
title: Creating Your Own Snippet Library
description: "This guide is for developers who want to publish a snippet library that can be imported by any GOCSM user. ## Repository structure Recommended layout: ``` my-snippet-library/ ├── snippets.json ├── redirect-login.php ├── disable-admin-bar.php └── custom-js-helper.js ``` One file per snippet.…"
url: "https://brightleafdigital.io/docs/creating-your-own-snippet-library/"
updated: "2026-10-20"
category: GravityOps Code Snippet Manager / Github Collections
---

# Creating Your Own Snippet Library

This guide is for developers who want to publish a snippet library that can be imported by any GOCSM user.

## Repository structure

Recommended layout:

```
my-snippet-library/
├── snippets.json
├── redirect-login.php
├── disable-admin-bar.php
└── custom-js-helper.js
```

One file per snippet. Any directory structure works as long as file paths in `snippets.json` are correct.

## The snippets.json manifest

```
{
  "manifest_version": "1.0",
  "collection": {
    "name": "My Snippet Library",
    "slug": "my-snippet-library",
    "version": "1.2.0",
    "description": "A curated set of useful snippets."
  },
  "snippets": [
    {
      "id": "redirect-login",
      "name": "Redirect after login",
      "description": "Redirects subscribers to the homepage after login.",
      "type": "php",
      "file": "redirect-login.php",
      "hash": "sha256:<64-hex-character-hash>",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "tags": ["login", "users"],
      "scope": {
        "context": "everywhere",
        "hook": "init",
        "priority": 10
      },
      "requires": {
        "php": "8.0",
        "wordpress": "6.0",
        "plugins": []
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

### Required manifest fields

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `manifest_version` | Must be `1`, `"1"`, or `"1.0"`. |
| `collection.name` | Display name shown in GOCSM. |
| `collection.slug` | Lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens only. Validated and stored as metadata; GOCSM's own collection slug and filenames come from the display name or `user/repo`. |
| `collection.version` | Version string shown in the collection table. Increment when any snippet changes. |
| `snippets[].id` | Stable unique ID. Lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens only, and unique within the manifest. Never change this after publishing. |
| `snippets[].name` | Display name. |
| `snippets[].type` | `"php"`, `"js"`, `"css"`, or `"html"`. |
| `snippets[].file` | Path to the file, relative to `snippets.json`. Must not start with `/`, contain `.` or `..` segments or empty segments, or be a URL. |
| `snippets[].version` | Version string for this snippet. |
| `snippets[].hash` | Hash of the file contents in `sha256:<64 hex chars>` format. |

### Optional manifest fields

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `collection.description` and other collection keys | Stored as collection metadata. |
| `snippets[].description` | Description shown on the snippet. |
| `snippets[].tags` | Array of tag names to assign to the snippet. |
| `snippets[].scope` | Default scope settings, applied when the snippet is first imported. Keys match the Scope card: `context`, `hook`, `priority`, `run_once` (PHP); `targeting`, `urls`, `pattern`, `post_types`, `templates`, `dependencies`, `version` (JS and CSS); `location`, `strategy` (JS); `media` (CSS); `location`, `priority`, and the targeting keys (HTML). |
| `snippets[].requires` | Environment requirements checked at activation. Supports `php`, `wordpress`, and `plugins` — an array of plugin basenames such as `gravityforms/gravityforms.php`. |
| `snippets[].changelog_url` | Link shown in the update reconciliation modal. |

### Generating hashes

```
# Linux
sha256sum redirect-login.php
# Manifest value: sha256:<hash-from-output>

# macOS
shasum -a 256 redirect-login.php
# Manifest value: sha256:<hash-from-output>
```

## Writing config blocks

If your snippet has site-specific values (form IDs, URLs, messages), declare them in a config block so users can customize without editing the code. See [Config Block Syntax — PHP](../04-config-blocks/02-config-block-syntax-php.md).

## Versioning strategy

- Increment `snippets[].version` whenever a snippet file changes.
- Increment `collection.version` whenever any snippet changes. GOCSM stores this for display and collection metadata; per-snippet `version` and `hash` determine whether a snippet changed.
- Keep `snippets[].id` stable across file renames — GOCSM matches snippets by ID, not by filename.