Merge pull request #8157 from dokku/7102-buildpacks-app-json

Add support for specifying buildpacks via app.json

docs/appendices/file-formats/app-json.md

@@ -5,6 +5,25 @@
 > [!IMPORTANT]
 > While the `app.json` format used by Dokku is based on the one [supported by Heroku](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/app-json-schema), not all Heroku functionality is supported by Dokku.
 
+## Buildpacks
+
+```json
+{
+  "buildpacks": [
+    {
+      "url": "heroku/python"
+    },
+    {
+      "url": "https://github.com/heroku/heroku-buildpack-nodejs.git"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+(list, optional) A list of buildpacks to use when deploying the app. Each entry is an object with a `url` property. Buildpacks specified via the `buildpacks:add` or `buildpacks:set` commands take precedence over those specified in `app.json`. Buildpack URLs may use the shorthand format (e.g., `heroku/python`) which will be expanded to the full GitHub URL.
+
+- `url`: (string, required) The URL or shorthand reference of the buildpack.
+
 ## Cron
 
 ```json

docs/deployment/builders/buildpack-management.md

@@ -130,6 +130,24 @@ This will use the latest commit on the `master` branch of the specified buildpac
 dokku buildpacks:set node-js-app https://github.com/heroku/heroku-buildpack-nodejs#v87
 ```
 
+### Specifying buildpacks via app.json
+
+Buildpacks can also be specified in the `app.json` file at the root of your repository:
+
+```json
+{
+  "buildpacks": [
+    {
+      "url": "heroku/python"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Buildpacks configured via `buildpacks:add` or `buildpacks:set` commands take precedence over those specified in `app.json`. If no buildpacks are configured via commands and `app.json` contains a `buildpacks` entry, those buildpacks will be used.
+
+Shorthand buildpack references (e.g., `heroku/python`) are expanded to full GitHub URLs automatically.
+
 ### Displaying buildpack reports for an app
 
 You can get a report about the app's buildpacks status using the `buildpacks:report` command: