5. Project Structure - atopile

A well-organised folder structure makes it easy to navigate, build and publish atopile projects. This page walks through the recommended structure for both everyday projects and reusable packages.

1. High–level layout

<project_name>/
 ├─ .ato/               # Cached dependencies
 ├─ build/              # Build outputs
 ├─ ato.yaml          # Project manifest (paths, builds, dependencies)
 ├─ elec/               # Electrical files and layouts
 ├── layouts/           # Board layout files
 ├── src/               # Core ato code and parts
 ├─── <project_name>.ato  # Main project file
 ├─── parts/            # Part info (pinout, footprint, 3d model)

ato.yaml–the central manifest read by the compiler and package manager.
src/–pure ato source; keep one module per file where possible.
layout/–KiCad footprints, STEP models or manual board tweaks.

2. The `ato.yaml` manifest

The manifest glues everything together. A minimal example:

requires-atopile: "^0.10.8"

paths:
  src: ./src
  layout: ./layout

builds:
  default:            # The target you usually build
    entry: main.ato:App
    hide_designators: true
    exclude_checks: ["PCB.requires_drc_check"]

dependencies:         # Added automatically by `ato add`
  - type: registry
    identifier: atopile/ti-ads1115
    release: 0.1.6

paths–lets you move src/ or layout/ somewhere else if needed.
builds–define one or more build targets (for example: default, panelized, test-jig).
dependencies–registry, git or local packages installed with ato add.