diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/BUILD b/pkg/experimental/manifest/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9636247d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Copyright 2020 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+load("@rules_python//python:defs.bzl", "py_test")
+
+exports_files(glob(["*.bzl"]))
+
+py_test(
+    name = "manifest_test",
+    srcs = ["manifest_test.py"],
+    data = ["manifest.bzl"],
+    python_version = "PY3",
+    srcs_version = "PY3",
+)
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/BUILD b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f3c0cb10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# Copyright 2020 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+load("//experimental/manifest:manifest.bzl", "pkg_list_manifest")
+load("//experimental:rpm.bzl", "pkg_rpm")
+load(":dest-first.bzl", "manifest_info")
+
+# This is an example to demonstrate usage.  It currently does not function.  All
+# rules are tagged as manual to prevent CI from becoming angry.
+
+manifest = pkg_list_manifest(
+    name = "manifest",
+    default_attrs = manifest_info["default_attrs"],
+    manifest = manifest_info["manifest"],
+    tags = ["manual"],
+)
+
+pkg_rpm(
+    name = "nonbuilding-rpm",
+    data = manifest + [
+        # Other pkg_filegroups and friendes here
+    ],
+    tags = ["manual"],
+    license = "N/A",
+    summary = "don't build me!",
+    # ...
+)
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/README.md b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..34a8f494
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# Why the examples?
+
+We are not sure how to consturct the manifests at this time to a few reasons.
+What comes to mind is:
+
+- `buildifier` -- There is currently no way to tell it [to not
+  reformat](https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools/issues/890) some regions of
+  code, a la `//clang format off/on`.  The main result of this is that all
+  whitespace within each of the manifest rows (tuples) is collapsed when
+  buildifier is used in any "fixing" mode.
+
+- Readability: column formatting, file formats?  Starlark is a great starting
+  point here.
+
+- Maintainability: implementations that don't take direct advantage of
+  BUILD-loadable Starlark files appear to require much more code than otherwise.
+
+There may be something we are not aware of, or alternative ideas that we
+overlooked. Feedback is greatly appreciated.
+
+# Options explored
+
+1. `dest-first.bzl` where the manifest is a list of
+   `(destination, action, attributes, source)` tuples.  This is what is currently implemented.
+
+2. `action-first.bzl` where the manifest is a list of
+   `(action, destination, attributes, source)` tuples.
+
+   This is the same as the above, except first two columns are swapped.
+
+3. `action-first-string.bzl` where the manifest is defined as a space-delimited
+    string, ordered like in `action-first.bzl`.
+
+Notes on these:
+
+- 1) and 2) require no custom parsing other than the `attributes` column, which
+  is a simple delimited string.
+
+- 1) and 2) are subject to `buildifier`, 3) is not.
+
+- 1), however is implemented in the code, because it is highly important that
+  the destinations are aligned regardless of overall formatting.
+
+- 3) gives us the most control, but requires writing out a parser.  Depending on
+  the complexity of the file format, this could be impractical to maintain.
+
+Overall, if we could teach `buildifier` not to reformat a region, our preferred
+option is 2), since it has simple code and is easy to read.
+
+# Options not explored
+
+- Moving the transformation from manifest to `pkg_filegroup` list to a
+  repository rule.
+  
+  Not explored due to perceived inconvenience and scalability concerns in large
+  monorepos.
+  
+- Moving the transformation to some other external utility.
+  
+  Not explored due to potential implementation costs.  Also prevents direct
+  reuse of the `pkg_filegroup` rule.
+  
+  The main concern with this one is that Bazel is not aware of the contents of
+  the manifest, and will have to be provided additional information that need
+  not be provided when the manifest is available in Starlark.
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first-string.bzl b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first-string.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..571974ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first-string.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+_default_attrs = "user=root;group=root"
+_manifest = """
+#action     dest                                            attributes...                       source
+"copy",    "/etc/syslog.conf.d/mycomponent.conf",          "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:conf",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/lib/",                        "unix=0755",                         ":libs_collected",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0600;section=confignoreplace", ":secret_properties",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:foo.properties",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:bar.properties",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:foobar.properties",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:idkmybffjill.properties",
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc/some/subpackage:subpackage.properties"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_us",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/en_us"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_gb",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/en_gb"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_es",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/es_es"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_mx",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/es_mx"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service.bin", "unix=0755",                         "//mycomponent/src:service.bin"
+"copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-runner",      "unix=0755",                         "//mycomponent/src:runner"
+"symlink", "/usr/bin/mycomponentd",                        "",                                  "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service-runner"
+"mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent",                             "unix=0755",                         "",
+"mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/lib",                         "unix=0755",                         "",
+"mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/resources",                   "unix=0755",                         "",
+"mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/state",                       "unix=0755",                         "",
+"mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n",              "unix=0755",                         "",
+"""
+
+
+manifest_info = {
+    "default_attrs": _default_attrs,
+    "manifest": _manifest,
+}
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first.bzl b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2c37148
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/action-first.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+_default_attrs = "user=root;group=root"
+_manifest = [
+    #action     dest                                            attributes...                       source
+    ("copy",    "/etc/syslog.conf.d/mycomponent.conf",          "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:conf"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/lib/",                        "unix=0755",                         ":libs_collected"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0600;section=confignoreplace", ":secret_properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:foo.properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:bar.properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:foobar.properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc:idkmybffjill.properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "unix=0644;section=confignoreplace", "//mycomponent/etc/some/subpackage:subpackage.properties"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_us",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/en_us"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_gb",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/en_gb"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_es",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/es_es"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_mx",        "unix=0644",                         "@i18n//mycomponent/es_mx"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service.bin", "unix=0755",                         "//mycomponent/src:service.bin"),
+    ("copy",    "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-runner",      "unix=0755",                         "//mycomponent/src:runner"),
+    ("symlink", "/usr/bin/mycomponentd",                        "",                                  "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service-runner"),
+
+    ("mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent",                             "unix=0755",                         ""),
+    ("mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/lib",                         "unix=0755",                         ""),
+    ("mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/resources",                   "unix=0755",                         ""),
+    ("mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/state",                       "unix=0755",                         ""),
+    ("mkdir",   "/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n",              "unix=0755",                         ""),
+]
+
+
+manifest_info = {
+    "default_attrs": _default_attrs,
+    "manifest": _manifest,
+}
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/dest-first.bzl b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/dest-first.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03e6f7a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/examples/dest-first.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+_default_attrs = "user=root;group=root"
+_manifest = [
+    #dest                                            action     attributes...                          source
+    ("/etc/syslog.conf.d/mycomponent.conf",          "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace)", "//mycomponent/etc:conf"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/lib/",                        "copy",    "unix=0755",                           ":libs_collected"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0600;section=config(noreplace)", ":secret_properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace)", "//mycomponent/etc:foo.properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace)", "//mycomponent/etc:bar.properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace)", "//mycomponent/etc:foobar.properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace)", "//mycomponent/etc:idkmybffjill.properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/etc/",                        "copy",    "unix=0644;section=config(noreplace),", "//mycomponent/etc/some/subpackage:subpackage.properties"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_us",        "copy",    "unix=0644",                           "@i18n//mycomponent/en_us"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/en_gb",        "copy",    "unix=0644",                           "@i18n//mycomponent/en_gb"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_es",        "copy",    "unix=0644",                           "@i18n//mycomponent/es_es"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n/es_mx",        "copy",    "unix=0644",                           "@i18n//mycomponent/es_mx"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service.bin", "copy",    "unix=0755",                           "//mycomponent/src:service.bin"),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-runner",      "copy",    "unix=0755",                           "//mycomponent/src:runner"),
+    # FIXME: attributes should be allowed to be empty
+    ("/usr/bin/mycomponentd",                        "symlink", "unix=0777",                                    "/opt/mycomponent/bin/mycomponent-service-runner"),
+
+    ("/opt/mycomponent",                             "mkdir",   "unix=0755",                           ""),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/lib",                         "mkdir",   "unix=0755",                           ""),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources",                   "mkdir",   "unix=0755",                           ""),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/state",                       "mkdir",   "unix=0755",                           ""),
+    ("/opt/mycomponent/resources/i18n",              "mkdir",   "unix=0755",                           ""),
+
+]
+
+manifest_info = {
+    "default_attrs": _default_attrs,
+    "manifest": _manifest,
+}
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest.bzl b/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..06e9574d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,266 @@
+# Copyright 2020 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""This module provides an alternate way to specify package contents using a
+simple csv-like description specification.
+
+This allows for a highly succinct descriptions of package contents in many
+common cases.
+
+The following cases are known NOT to be supported by this scheme:
+
+- Exclusion of any files from a source target with multiple files.
+- Renaming of any files from a source target with multiple files.
+- Any sort of prefix stripping or path manipulation.
+
+Normal pkg_filegroup's should be used in the above cases.
+
+"""
+
+load("//experimental:pkg_filegroup.bzl", "pkg_filegroup", "pkg_mkdirs", "pkg_mklinks")
+
+# Example manifest:
+#
+#[
+#    #dest                             action     attributes... source
+#    ("/some/destination/directory/",  "copy",    "unix=0755", ":target-or-label"),
+#    ("/some/destination/binary-name", "copy",    "unix=0755", ":target-or-label"),
+#    ("/dir",                          "mkdir",   "unix=0755", "IGNORED"),
+#    ("/dir/child",                    "mkdir",   "unix=0755", "IGNORED"),
+#    ("/dir/child/other-child",        "mkdir",   "unix=0755", "IGNORED"),
+#    ("target",                        "symlink", "unix=0777", "source"),
+#]
+
+_MANIFEST_ROW_SIZE = 4
+
+def _manifest_process_copy(name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs):
+    allowed_attrs = ["section", "unix", "user", "group"]
+
+    section = None
+    unix_perms = "-"
+    user = "-"
+    group = "-"
+    for decl in attrs.split(";"):
+        (attr, _, value) = decl.partition("=")
+        if attr not in allowed_attrs:
+            fail("{}: unknown attribute {}".format(name, attr))
+        if attr == "section":
+            section = value
+        elif attr == "unix":
+            unix_perms = value
+        elif attr == "user":
+            user = value
+        elif attr == "group":
+            group = value
+
+    if destination.endswith("/"):
+        prefix = destination
+        renames = None
+    else:
+        prefix = None
+        renames = {source: destination}
+
+    pkg_filegroup(
+        name = name,
+        srcs = [source],
+        attrs = {"unix": [unix_perms, user, group]},
+        section = section,
+        renames = renames,
+        prefix = prefix,
+        **kwargs
+    )
+
+def _manifest_process_mkdir(name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs):
+    allowed_attrs = ["section", "unix", "user", "group"]
+
+    section = None
+    unix_perms = "-"
+    user = "-"
+    group = "-"
+    for decl in attrs.split(";"):
+        (attr, _, value) = decl.partition("=")
+        if attr not in allowed_attrs:
+            fail("{}: unknown attribute {}".format(name, attr))
+        if attr == "section":
+            section = value
+        elif attr == "unix":
+            unix_perms = value
+        elif attr == "user":
+            user = value
+        elif attr == "group":
+            group = value
+
+    pkg_mkdirs(
+        name = name,
+        dirs = [destination],
+        attrs = {"unix": [unix_perms, user, group]},
+        section = section,
+        **kwargs
+    )
+
+def _manifest_process_symlink(name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs):
+    allowed_attrs = ["section", "unix", "user", "group"]
+
+    section = None
+    unix_perms = "0777"
+    user = "-"
+    group = "-"
+
+    if attrs != "-":
+        for decl in attrs.split(";"):
+            (attr, _, value) = decl.partition("=")
+            if attr not in allowed_attrs:
+                fail("{}: unknown attribute {}".format(name, attr))
+            if attr == "section":
+                section = value
+            elif attr == "unix":
+                unix_perms = value
+            elif attr == "user":
+                user = value
+            elif attr == "group":
+                group = value
+
+    pkg_mklinks(
+        name = name,
+        links = {destination: source},
+        attrs = {"unix": [unix_perms, user, group]},
+        section = section,
+        **kwargs
+    )
+
+def pkg_list_manifest(name, manifest, default_attrs = "", **kwargs):
+    """
+    Process a "manifest" of package specifications into packaging rules.
+
+    The "manifest" format is a list of tuples that looks like this:
+
+    ```
+    (destination, action, attributes, source)
+    ```
+
+    Each element is a string.
+
+    Where:
+    - `destination` refers to the destination path within the package, although
+      can have special meaning depending on the action
+
+    - `action` is one of:
+      - "copy", for a simple install-to-destination action, corresponding to `pkg_filegroup`
+      - "mkdir", for a directory creation action, corresponding to `pkg_mkdirs`
+      - "symlink", for a symlink creation action, corresponding to `pkg_mklinks`
+
+    - `attributes` refers to various properties and permissions on the
+       destination targets.  They are formatted as a semicolon-separated list of
+       key=value pairs, e.g. `foo=bar;baz=qux`.
+
+      Common attributes include:
+
+      - "unix": UNIX-style filesystem permissions as four-digit octal (e.g. "0644")
+
+      - "user": Filesystem owning user, as known to your target platform
+
+      - "group: Filesystem owning group, as known to your target platform
+
+      - "section": Package installation property, see each individual action for
+                   details.
+    
+    - `source` depends on the action
+
+    For `copy` actions:
+
+    - `destination`: the location within the package where files are installed.
+      If `destination` ends in "/", the `source` is installed to this path as
+      the prefix, otherwise, it is renamed to the destination.
+
+      If `destination` refers to a target with more than one output, only the
+      "/" option is allowed.
+
+    - `attributes`: see "Common attributes", above.  "section" corresponds to the
+      "section" attribute of `pkg_filegroup`.
+
+    - `source`: to a label that specifies the value to be installed.
+
+    For "mkdir" actions:
+
+    - `destination` refers to the path within the package where the directory is created.
+
+    - `attributes: see "Common attributes", above.  "section" corresponds to the
+      "section" attribute of `pkg_mkdirs`.
+
+    - `source` is ignored.
+
+    For "symlink" actions:
+
+    - `destination`: the name of the symbolic link in the target package
+
+    - `attributes: see "Common attributes", above.  "section" corresponds to the
+      "section" attribute of `pkg_mklinks`.
+
+    - `source` refers to the "target" of the symbolic link in question.  It may
+      exist outside of the defined package.
+
+    Args:
+        name: string value used to influence the output rule names
+
+        manifest: list of tuples, with the format described in the introduction of this rule
+
+        default_attrs: A string representing the default attributes for all
+          actions in this manifest.  Attributes must be specified as though they
+          were in a manifest.
+
+        **kwargs: Any arguments that should be passed to generated rules.
+
+    Returns:
+        A list of rules that can be passed to a `pkg_filegroup`-compatible packaging rule.
+
+        The output rules are each named after the rule "name" and the index in
+        the manifest, which can be useful for finding where precisely errors can
+        occur.
+    """
+
+    rules = []
+
+    for idx, desc in enumerate(manifest):
+        if len(desc) != _MANIFEST_ROW_SIZE:
+            fail("Package description index {} malformed (size {}, must be {})".format(
+                idx,
+                len(desc),
+                _MANIFEST_ROW_SIZE,
+            ))
+
+        (destination, action, attrs, source) = desc
+
+        if default_attrs != "":
+            attrs = default_attrs + ";" + attrs
+
+        rule_name = "{}_manifest_elem_{}".format(name, idx)
+        if action == "copy":
+            _manifest_process_copy(rule_name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs)
+        elif action == "mkdir":
+            _manifest_process_mkdir(rule_name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs)
+        elif action == "symlink":
+            _manifest_process_symlink(rule_name, destination, attrs, source, **kwargs)
+        else:
+            fail("Package description index {} malformed (unknown action {})".format(
+                idx,
+                action,
+            ))
+
+        rules.append(":{}".format(rule_name))
+
+    # TODO: making this return something like a pkg_filegroup requires some sort
+    # of "aggregator" rule.  The original pkg_filegroup framework was not
+    # designed this way, and it needs to be rethought to better facilitate this
+    # purpose.
+    return rules
diff --git a/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest_test.py b/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..131c9c49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/experimental/manifest/manifest_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+
+# Copyright 2020 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import itertools
+import os
+import sys
+import unittest
+
+# Global state used in the below test
+files = []
+mkdirs = []
+links = []
+
+# Rule stubs
+def pkg_filegroup(**kwargs):
+    global files
+    files.append(kwargs)
+
+def pkg_mkdirs(**kwargs):
+    global mkdirs
+    mkdirs.append(kwargs)
+
+def pkg_mklinks(**kwargs):
+    global links
+    links.append(kwargs)
+
+# Failure stub
+class StarlarkException(Exception):
+    pass
+def fail(msg, **kwargs):
+    raise StarlarkException(msg)
+
+# "load" stub
+def load(name, *args):
+    pass
+
+# Evaluate the manifest generating code with the above functions known
+#
+# This tosses a bunch of stuff into the global namespace, which isn't exactly clean.
+#
+# It also means that this test must be run sequentially.  Given how fast this
+# will run, I'm not too concerned.
+with open("experimental/manifest/manifest.bzl", "r") as fh:
+    s = fh.read()
+    exec(s)
+
+
+# Here's an alternate way to do this "modularly".
+#
+# You'll also need to add all of the pkg_* functions above into the manifest_bzl
+# module.  To be truly self-contained, this may need to be done inside the test case
+
+#import importlib
+#import builtins
+#builtins.load = load
+#spec = importlib.util.spec_from_loader("manifest_bzl",
+#                                       importlib.machinery.SourceFileLoader("manifest_bzl", "experimental/manifest/manifest.bzl"))
+#manifest_bzl = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+#spec.loader.exec_module(manifest_bzl)
+
+class PkgManifestTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        pass
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        global files, mkdirs, links
+        files.clear()
+        mkdirs.clear()
+        links.clear()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _manifest_fmt(name, idx):
+        return "{}_manifest_elem_{}".format(name, idx)
+
+    def test_copy_action(self):
+        global files
+
+        manifest = [
+            ("/foo/baz/", "copy", "unix=0755;user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+        ]
+
+        pkg_list_manifest(
+            name = "manifest_copy",
+            manifest = manifest,
+            visibility = ["//visibility:public"]
+        )
+
+        # Only one item in the manifest
+        self.assertEqual(len(files), 1)
+
+        manifest_file = files[0]
+
+        # Named properly
+        self.assertEqual(manifest_file['name'], self._manifest_fmt("manifest_copy", 0))
+
+        # Only one source (which is ["foo:bar"])
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_file['srcs'], ["foo:bar"])
+
+        # Renaming operation -- which does not use a prefix
+        self.assertEqual(manifest_file['prefix'], '/foo/baz/')
+        self.assertIsNone(manifest_file['renames'])
+
+        # Assert permissions propagated properly
+        self.assertDictEqual(manifest_file['attrs'], {"unix": ["0755", "user", "group"]})
+
+        # Assert kwargs propagated
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_file['visibility'], ['//visibility:public'])
+
+    def test_copy_action_rename(self):
+        global files
+
+        manifest = [
+            # Renaming
+            ("/foo/baz", "copy", "unix=0755;user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+        ]
+
+        pkg_list_manifest(
+            name = "manifest_rename",
+            manifest = manifest,
+            visibility = ["//visibility:public"]
+        )
+
+        # Only one item in the manifest
+        self.assertEqual(len(files), 1)
+
+        manifest_file = files[0]
+
+        # Named properly
+        self.assertEqual(manifest_file['name'], self._manifest_fmt("manifest_rename", 0))
+
+        # Only one source (which is ["foo:bar"])
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_file['srcs'], ["foo:bar"])
+
+        # Renaming operation -- which does not use a prefix
+        self.assertIsNone(manifest_file['prefix'])
+        self.assertDictEqual(manifest_file['renames'], {"foo:bar": "/foo/baz"})
+
+        # Assert permissions propagated properly
+        self.assertDictEqual(manifest_file['attrs'], {"unix": ["0755", "user", "group"]})
+
+        # Assert kwargs propagated
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_file['visibility'], ['//visibility:public'])
+
+    def test_mkdir_action(self):
+        global mkdirs
+        manifest = [
+            ("/foo/bar/qux", "mkdir", "unix=0777;user=user;group=group", "IGNORED"),
+        ]
+
+        pkg_list_manifest(
+            name = "manifest_mkdir_single",
+            manifest = manifest,
+            visibility = ["//visibility:public"]
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(len(mkdirs), 1)
+
+        manifest_dir = mkdirs[0]
+
+        self.assertEqual(manifest_dir['name'], self._manifest_fmt("manifest_mkdir_single", 0))
+
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_dir['dirs'], ['/foo/bar/qux'])
+
+        # Assert permissions propagated properly
+        self.assertDictEqual(manifest_dir['attrs'], {"unix": ["0777", "user", "group"]})
+
+        # Assert kwargs propagated
+        self.assertListEqual(manifest_dir['visibility'], ['//visibility:public'])
+
+
+    # TODO: the below skipped test
+    def test_symlink_action(self):
+        # Make a symlink, confirm whether or not its properties propagate properly
+        self.skipTest("Not implemented")
+
+    def test_multi_manifest(self):
+        global files, mkdirs, links
+
+        # Make a "full" manifest, see if everything is sufficiently consistent
+        manifest = [
+            ("/foo/baz/",     "copy",    "unix=0755;user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+            ("/foo/baz",      "copy",    "unix=0755;user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+            ("/foo/bar/qux",  "mkdir",   "unix=0777;user=user;group=group", "IGNORED"),
+            ("/symlink-dest", "symlink", "user=user;group=group",           "/symlink-src")
+        ]
+
+        pkg_list_manifest(
+            name = "manifest_multi",
+            manifest = manifest,
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(len(files), 2)
+        self.assertEqual(len(mkdirs), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(len(links), 1)
+        # print(files)
+        # print(mkdirs)
+        # print(links)
+
+        for i, f in enumerate(files):
+            expected_name = self._manifest_fmt("manifest_multi", i)
+            self.assertEqual(f['name'], expected_name)
+            # See if this field looks like a pkg_filegroup
+            self.assertIn('prefix', f,
+                          "copy action '{}' may not be correct (expected 'prefix' attribute)".format(expected_name))
+            self.assertIn('renames', f,
+                          "copy action '{}' may not be correct (expected 'renames' attribute)".format(expected_name))
+
+        for i, d in enumerate(mkdirs, start=2):
+            expected_name = self._manifest_fmt("manifest_multi", i)
+            self.assertEqual(d['name'], expected_name)
+            # See if this field looks like a pkg_mkdirs
+            self.assertIn('dirs', d,
+                          "directory action '{}' may not be correct (expected 'dirs' attribute)".format(expected_name))
+
+        for i, l in enumerate(links, start=3):
+            expected_name = self._manifest_fmt("manifest_multi", i)
+            self.assertEqual(l['name'], expected_name)
+            # See if this field looks like a pkg_mkdirs
+            self.assertIn('links', l,
+                          "symlink action '{}' may not be correct (expected 'links' attribute)".format(expected_name))
+
+    def test_multi_manifest_with_defaults(self):
+        # Like the above test, except try layering in some defaults
+        global files, mkdirs, links
+
+        # Make a "full" manifest, see if everything is sufficiently consistent
+        manifest = [
+            ("/foo/baz/",     "copy",    "user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+            ("/foo/baz",      "copy",    "user=user;group=group", "foo:bar"),
+            ("/foo/bar/qux",  "mkdir",   "user=user;group=group", "IGNORED"),
+            ("/symlink-dest", "symlink", "user=user;group=group", "/symlink-src")
+        ]
+
+        pkg_list_manifest(
+            name = "manifest_multi",
+            manifest = manifest,
+            default_attrs = "unix=0755;user=root;group=root",
+        )
+
+        for idx, entry in enumerate(itertools.chain(files, mkdirs, links)):
+            # user/group are overridden in each entry, but the permissions
+            # aren't
+            self.assertDictEqual(entry['attrs'], {"unix": ["0755", "user", "group"]},
+                                 "Attrs for manifest entry {} are incorrect".format(idx))
+
+    # TODO: the below skipped tests:
+    def test_invalid_manifest(self):
+        # Try passing in a manifest of improper size.  See if it's rejected
+        # Pass in a manifest with an invalid action
+        self.skipTest("Not implemented")
+
+    def test_invalid_attributes(self):
+        # Like attribute "fake_attribute"
+        self.skipTest("Not implemented")
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()