diff --git a/MANIFEST.md b/MANIFEST.md
index 195a9d1..08d88fd 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.md
+++ b/MANIFEST.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ A basic `manifest.json` with just the required fields looks like this:
 
 ```json
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json", // JSON Schema URL for validation
+  "manifest_version": "0.1", // Manifest spec version this manifest conforms to
   "name": "my-extension", // Machine-readable name (used for CLI, APIs)
   "version": "1.0.0", // Semantic version of your extension
   "description": "A simple MCP extension", // Brief description of what the extension does
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ A basic `manifest.json` with just the required fields looks like this:
 
 ```json
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "name": "my-extension",
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "description": "A simple MCP extension",
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ A full `manifest.json` with most of the optional fields looks like this:
 
 ```json
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "name": "My MCP Extension",
   "display_name": "My Awesome MCP Extension",
   "version": "1.0.0",
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ A full `manifest.json` with most of the optional fields looks like this:
 
 ### Required Fields
 
-- **$schema**: JSON Schema URL for validation (defaults to https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json)
+- **manifest_version**: Specification version this extension conforms to
 - **name**: Machine-readable name (used for CLI, APIs)
 - **version**: Semantic version (semver)
 - **description**: Brief description
diff --git a/examples/chrome-applescript/manifest.json b/examples/chrome-applescript/manifest.json
index eb54ca4..cb9261e 100644
--- a/examples/chrome-applescript/manifest.json
+++ b/examples/chrome-applescript/manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "$schema": "../../dist/mcpb-manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "name": "chrome-applescript",
   "display_name": "Control Chrome with AppleScript",
   "version": "0.1.0",
diff --git a/examples/file-manager-python/manifest.json b/examples/file-manager-python/manifest.json
index 8a8f4d6..89546f3 100644
--- a/examples/file-manager-python/manifest.json
+++ b/examples/file-manager-python/manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "$schema": "../../dist/mcpb-manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "name": "file-manager-python",
   "display_name": "Python File Manager MCP",
   "version": "0.1.0",
diff --git a/examples/file-system-node/manifest.json b/examples/file-system-node/manifest.json
index 0076dc5..890ecdb 100644
--- a/examples/file-system-node/manifest.json
+++ b/examples/file-system-node/manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "id": "anthropic.demo.filesystem",
   "name": "Filesystem",
   "display_name": "Filesystem",
diff --git a/examples/hello-world-node/manifest.json b/examples/hello-world-node/manifest.json
index ccfa440..30837eb 100644
--- a/examples/hello-world-node/manifest.json
+++ b/examples/hello-world-node/manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "$schema": "../../dist/mcpb-manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "0.1",
   "name": "hello-world-node",
   "display_name": "Hello World MCP Server (Reference Extension)",
   "version": "0.1.0",
diff --git a/src/cli/init.ts b/src/cli/init.ts
index 91b97d8..4f104be 100644
--- a/src/cli/init.ts
+++ b/src/cli/init.ts
@@ -773,7 +773,7 @@ export function buildManifest(
   const { keywords, license, repository } = optionalFields;
 
   return {
-    $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+    manifest_version: "0.1",
     name,
     ...(displayName && displayName !== name
       ? { display_name: displayName }
diff --git a/src/schemas-loose.ts b/src/schemas-loose.ts
index 37d2c3a..882b1a5 100644
--- a/src/schemas-loose.ts
+++ b/src/schemas-loose.ts
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ export const McpbUserConfigValuesSchema = z.record(
 export const McpbManifestSchema = z
   .object({
     $schema: z.string().optional(),
-    dxt_version: z.string().optional().describe("@deprecated - Use $schema instead"),
+    dxt_version: z.string().optional().describe("@deprecated Use manifest_version instead"),
+    manifest_version: z.string().optional(),
   name: z.string(),
   display_name: z.string().optional(),
   version: z.string(),
@@ -105,9 +106,9 @@ export const McpbManifestSchema = z
     .optional(),
   })
   .refine(
-    (data) => !!(data.$schema || data.dxt_version),
+    (data) => !!(data.dxt_version || data.manifest_version),
     {
-      message: "Either '$schema' or 'dxt_version' (deprecated) must be provided",
+      message: "Either 'dxt_version' (deprecated) or 'manifest_version' must be provided",
     }
   );
 
diff --git a/src/schemas.ts b/src/schemas.ts
index 7998d8e..2b59709 100644
--- a/src/schemas.ts
+++ b/src/schemas.ts
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ export const McpbUserConfigValuesSchema = z.record(
 export const McpbManifestSchema = z
   .strictObject({
     $schema: z.string().optional(),
-    dxt_version: z.string().optional().describe("@deprecated - Use $schema instead"),
+    dxt_version: z.string().optional().describe("@deprecated Use manifest_version instead"),
+    manifest_version: z.string().optional(),
     name: z.string(),
     display_name: z.string().optional(),
     version: z.string(),
@@ -105,9 +106,9 @@ export const McpbManifestSchema = z
       .optional(),
   })
   .refine(
-    (data) => !!(data.$schema || data.dxt_version),
+    (data) => !!(data.dxt_version || data.manifest_version),
     {
-      message: "Either '$schema' or 'dxt_version' (deprecated) must be provided",
+      message: "Either 'dxt_version' (deprecated) or 'manifest_version' must be provided",
     }
   );
 
diff --git a/test/cli.test.ts b/test/cli.test.ts
index c11bdfc..d250b5c 100644
--- a/test/cli.test.ts
+++ b/test/cli.test.ts
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ describe("DXT CLI", () => {
       fs.writeFileSync(
         join(tempDir, "manifest.json"),
         JSON.stringify({
-          $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+          manifest_version: "1.0",
           name: "Test Extension",
           version: "1.0.0",
           description: "A test extension",
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ describe("DXT CLI", () => {
         fs.writeFileSync(
           join(tempExecDir, "manifest.json"),
           JSON.stringify({
-            $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+            manifest_version: "1.0",
             name: "Test Executable Extension",
             version: "1.0.0",
             description: "A test extension with executable files",
diff --git a/test/config.test.ts b/test/config.test.ts
index 0b1c382..6461c5a 100644
--- a/test/config.test.ts
+++ b/test/config.test.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ describe("getMcpConfigForManifest", () => {
   };
 
   const baseManifest: McpbManifest = {
-    $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+    manifest_version: "1.0.0",
     name: "test-extension",
     version: "1.0.0",
     description: "Test extension",
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ describe("getMcpConfigForManifest", () => {
 
 describe("hasRequiredConfigMissing", () => {
   const baseManifest: McpbManifest = {
-    $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+    manifest_version: "1.0.0",
     name: "test-extension",
     version: "1.0.0",
     description: "Test extension",
diff --git a/test/init.test.ts b/test/init.test.ts
index 5685580..68730ce 100644
--- a/test/init.test.ts
+++ b/test/init.test.ts
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ describe("init functions", () => {
       );
 
       expect(manifest).toEqual({
-        $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+        manifest_version: "0.1",
         name: "test-extension",
         version: "1.0.0",
         description: "Test description",
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ describe("init functions", () => {
       );
 
       expect(manifest).toEqual({
-        $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+        manifest_version: "0.1",
         name: "test-extension",
         display_name: "Test Extension",
         version: "1.0.0",
diff --git a/test/invalid-manifest.json b/test/invalid-manifest.json
index 729746d..ccfcd3a 100644
--- a/test/invalid-manifest.json
+++ b/test/invalid-manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "1.0",
   "name": "test-extension",
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "description": "A test DXT extension",
diff --git a/test/schemas.test.ts b/test/schemas.test.ts
index 3b8f237..a9297d8 100644
--- a/test/schemas.test.ts
+++ b/test/schemas.test.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ describe("McpbManifestSchema", () => {
 
   it("should validate manifest with all optional fields", () => {
     const fullManifest = {
-      $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+      manifest_version: "1.0",
       name: "full-extension",
       display_name: "Full Featured Extension",
       version: "2.0.0",
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ describe("McpbManifestSchema", () => {
 
     serverTypes.forEach((type) => {
       const manifest = {
-        $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+        manifest_version: "1.0",
         name: "test",
         version: "1.0.0",
         description: "Test",
@@ -136,73 +136,4 @@ describe("McpbManifestSchema", () => {
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);
     });
   });
-
-  describe("backward compatibility", () => {
-    it("should accept manifest with dxt_version instead of $schema", () => {
-      const legacyManifest = {
-        dxt_version: "0.1",
-        name: "legacy-extension",
-        version: "1.0.0",
-        description: "Legacy extension",
-        author: { name: "Test Author" },
-        server: {
-          type: "node",
-          entry_point: "server.js",
-          mcp_config: {
-            command: "node",
-            args: ["server.js"],
-          },
-        },
-      };
-
-      const result = McpbManifestSchema.safeParse(legacyManifest);
-      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
-    });
-
-    it("should accept manifest with $schema", () => {
-      const modernManifest = {
-        $schema: "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
-        name: "modern-extension",
-        version: "1.0.0",
-        description: "Modern extension",
-        author: { name: "Test Author" },
-        server: {
-          type: "node",
-          entry_point: "server.js",
-          mcp_config: {
-            command: "node",
-            args: ["server.js"],
-          },
-        },
-      };
-
-      const result = McpbManifestSchema.safeParse(modernManifest);
-      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
-    });
-
-    it("should reject manifest without $schema or dxt_version", () => {
-      const invalidManifest = {
-        name: "invalid-extension",
-        version: "1.0.0",
-        description: "Invalid extension",
-        author: { name: "Test Author" },
-        server: {
-          type: "node",
-          entry_point: "server.js",
-          mcp_config: {
-            command: "node",
-            args: ["server.js"],
-          },
-        },
-      };
-
-      const result = McpbManifestSchema.safeParse(invalidManifest);
-      expect(result.success).toBe(false);
-      if (!result.success) {
-        expect(result.error.issues[0].message).toContain(
-          "Either '$schema' or 'dxt_version' (deprecated) must be provided"
-        );
-      }
-    });
-  });
 });
diff --git a/test/valid-manifest.json b/test/valid-manifest.json
index 40a1d92..a91e78f 100644
--- a/test/valid-manifest.json
+++ b/test/valid-manifest.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-08-26/mcpb.manifest.schema.json",
+  "manifest_version": "1.0",
   "name": "test-extension",
   "display_name": "Test Extension",
   "version": "1.0.0",