Getting started

From a clone to an addon running in the game, in about ten minutes.

What you need

• Node.js 24 or newer: the build scripts are TypeScript that Node runs directly.
• pnpm: npm install -g pnpm. The version is pinned in the packageManager field of package.json.
• LuaJIT (or another Lua 5.1) on your PATH, only to run the tests.
• World of Warcraft: Forever (1.60.x), only to see an addon run.

Get the code and build it

git clone https://github.com/vattiss/wowkit.git
cd wowkit
pnpm install
pnpm build

pnpm build compiles every addon with TypeScriptToLua. Each addon becomes one folder in its own dist/:

addons/glowing-bars/dist/GlowingBars/
    GlowingBars.toc     the addon's description for the game
    GlowingBars.lua     all of the addon (and the packages it uses) in one Lua file
    images/logo.tga      the icon, made from assets/logo.png

Run it in the game

Tell the deploy script where the game's AddOns folder is, then deploy one addon:

bash

export WOW_ADDONS_DIR="C:/Program Files (x86)/World of Warcraft/_classic_beta_/Interface/AddOns"
pnpm --filter glowing-bars deploy:game

PowerShell

$env:WOW_ADDONS_DIR = "C:\Program Files (x86)\World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns"
pnpm --filter glowing-bars deploy:game

Type /reload in the game to load the new build. The Forever beta installs into _classic_beta_; the folder you need is the one that holds your other addons.

Check your work

pnpm check       # the rule checks, ESLint and Prettier
pnpm test        # the checks, the build, and the specs of every addon and package
pnpm format      # let Prettier lay the code out

pnpm check is not only style. It enforces the shape of the code: who may call the game, who may import whom, that every service is wired in addon.ts, that function names start with a verb, and that the spell and item IDs in the code are the ones the client knows. The reasons are in Architecture.

Find your way around

You want to	Go to
Understand how the code is split	Packages and addons and Architecture
Know what a word means (buff, aura, buff category...)	Glossary
Know why the code is so careful with the game	The game's quirks
Look up a class or a function of the toolkit	API reference
Write an addon of your own	Learning guide
Release an addon	Releasing

The addon of this repository is Glowing Bars. The smallest real addon the repository had, a notice and a Settings page in a few hundred lines, is Rank Reminder, at its last tag: the template for a new one.