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+# Magenta Stripe Media `packingslip` Documentation
+
+## Manifest file format
+
+Among the data which the `packingslip` tool takes as input is YAML file
+called the **manifest**. The manifest contains all of the data that is
+unique to a specific purchase: the exact items ordered, the address to which
+they will be shipped, etc.
+
+### Keys
+
+At the top level, the manifest is a single [mapping][1] which describes the
+particulars of the shipment.
+
+[1]: https://yaml.org/spec/1.2.2/#mapping
+
+The manifest MUST have the following keys:
+
+- `order_no` -- a unique number for your company's bookkeeping.
+- `order_date` -- the date on which the customer placed the order.
+- `items` -- a sequence of mappings which described the individual
+  line-items and the quantity ordered of each (described below)
+- `bill_to` -- the billing address for the order
+- `ship_to` -- the shipping address for the order
+
+Each individual item in the sequence of `items` is mapping with the
+following keys:
+
+- `catalog_no` -- the ID for the particular item
+- `qty` -- the quantity ordered for this particular item
+
+
+### Example manifest
+
+```yaml
+---
+order_no: 1
+order_date: "2023-09-29"
+
+items:
+  -
+    catalog_no: 3
+    qty: 2
+  -
+    catalog_no: 5
+    qty: 1
+
+bill_to: |
+  Perseus Floof
+  57345 Calamity Court
+  Goalla Gumpy, RI 19535
+  United States
+
+ship_to: |
+  Boris M. Q. Felicity III
+  10 Decimal Way
+  Charming, WY 79345
+  United States
+```
+
+
+## License
+
+This software is released by Magenta Stripe Media under the terms of a
+2-clause BSD-style license. Please refer to the LICENSE document.