> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.discloud.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.discloud.com/en/faq/general-questions/what-is-the-root-of-the-project.md).
# What is the root of the project?
## 🧾 Overview
The project root ("root directory") is the **top-level folder of your application,** the place you compress and upload to Discloud. It contains the configuration file ([`discloud.config`](https://github.com/discloud/docs/blob/english/configurations/discloud.config)), dependency manifest (e.g. [`package.json`](/en/development-environment/supported-languages/javascript/package-json.md), [`requirements.txt`](/en/development-environment/supported-languages/python/requirements.txt.md), [`Cargo.toml`](/en/development-environment/supported-languages/rust/cargo.toml.md), [`Gemfile`](/en/development-environment/supported-languages/ruby/gemfile.md)), optional [`.env`](/en/faq/general-questions/.env-file.md), and the folders with your source code (e.g. `src/`).
If the structure is wrong (for example, you zip a folder that contains another single folder that actually holds the files), Discloud may fail to detect the main file or dependencies.
***
## 🖼️ Visual Example
The green zone represents the **root** you should compress. Yellow shows a nested folder containing code files. Everything inside green is included once you zip that directory.
***
### 🚫 Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Result | Fix |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Zipping parent of actual root | Missing config / main file | Zip the folder containing [`discloud.config`](https://github.com/discloud/docs/blob/english/configurations/discloud.config) directly |
| Including `node_modules` | Large upload, possible size issues | Remove; let Discloud install |
| Hardcoding tokens in code | Security exposure | Use [`.env`](/en/faq/general-questions/.env-file.md) and environment variables |
| Multiple entry files ambiguous | Startup failure | Define `MAIN` in [`discloud.config`](https://github.com/discloud/docs/blob/english/configurations/discloud.config) explicitly |
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