The AndroidManifest.xml file

All Android applications need to have a manifest file. This file has to be named as AndroidManifest.xml and has to be placed in the application's root directory. This manifest file is the application's policy file. It declares the application components, their visibility, access rules, libraries, features, and the minimum Android version that the application runs against.

The Android system uses the manifest file for component resolution. Thus, the AndroidManfiest.xml file is by far the most important file in the entire application, and special care is required when defining it to tighten up the application's security.

The manifest file is not extensible, so applications cannot add their own attributes or tags. The complete list of tags with how these tags can be nested is as follows:

<uses-sdk><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<manifest>
    <uses-permission />
    <permission />
    <permission-tree />
    <permission...