Tools that read through a directory, stream or tree and create an Application Cache manifest for you.
AppCache is still a douche but luckily there are tools available to take the pain out of generating your initial manifest files:
- Grunt: grunt-manifest is currently the de facto option, but the project lead is looking for a new maintainer. In light of that grunt-appcache is an alternative in case you're looking for more active support.
- Gulp: gulp-manifest is inspired by grunt-manifest and has a similar set of options.
- Broccoli: broccoli-manifest brings manifest file compilation based on trees.
Do review what is generated. As with any automation tooling, be careful that what is being generated is what you actually intend on being cached. I generally rely on automation for giving me an initial baseline I can tweak further so caveat emptor.
Note: a number of Node modules specific to helping with manifest generation exist, but I'm not including them here as a lot have not been updated in the last year nor do they include particularly useful docs. If I've missed anything actively maintained here, let me know!