Addon Writing Guide: A basic introduction by example

By GalacticGlum Updated: 2021/02/13

World of Warcraft Addon Writing Guide: A basic introduction by example Foreword1. IntroductionAll source code for this guide is available on GitHub.1.1. Prerequisites Tools

A text editor (I recommend Visual Studio Code paired with the
Lua extension)

A World of Wacraft account (for testing purposes).

A beginner knowledge of programming and/or scripting.

1.2. Backgrounddocumentation1.3. Setting Upinterface number"_retail_\Interface\Addons""HelloWorld"2. Writing our first addon2.1. The Addon Table of Contents File"\_retail_\Interface\Addons\HelloWorld""HelloWorld.toc"2.2 Enabling your addonAddOns2.3 The Lua script"main.lua"messageprintSystem.printlnmessageRemember, our TOC file is what specifies that scripts that should be executed.main.luamain.lua

Comments

Comment by GalacticGlum

Hey Guys its Clozo if you have any suggestions on a Guide I Should write just leave a comment below

Comment by Aqonomic

Nice guide! Maybe you could write some sort of 'part two' where you would explain more advance stuff like methods and conditionals etc.

8,5/10 - try formatting it, adding a ToC and subcategories.

edit: I also found some grammar mistakes, please look through those to make it look more professional :)

-Aqonomic

Comment by GalacticGlum

So I just updated the Guide to look and feel better remember if you have any suggestions on a Guide I Should write just leave a comment below

Comment by Nhome

This guide is really helpful!
Thanks!

Comment by joker102877

I was able to get the HelloWorld message to work in game, but the congrats script didn't work. First I typed it all out myself, finding it didn't work, I copied and pasted your code from the guide and it still didn't work. Then I downloaded the source code from the link you provdided above, and still no dice.

The addons are placed in the Interface>Addons directory of the game, and the TOC is built correctly and defining the necessary lua files.

Comment by Tisina

He mate, nice guide. Has a good overview and basic explanation.

I would advice to use sooner dots to close your sentences and make them shorter. To create more suggestion of rest in yr text.
If not possible to use a dot, at least try to use a comma instead of connecting the pieces of one sentence by 'and'.
Some long sentences are hard to grasp the first time, because there are no 'natural breaks or resting points' in those sentences.

Looking forward to yr part 2.

Comment by 440767

Awesome guide clozo. I have a addon idea and just wanted your thoughts. Is it possible to make a addon that when I make the appearance of my ui the smallest possible except for the map in the top right corner being a different size(possibly the largest it can be displayed).

Comment by Funda

Just a few friendly suggestions...

You are missing an opening quote on this print line:
print(Congratulations on reaching level ' ..arg1.. ', ' .. UnitName("Player").. '! You gained ' ..arg2.. ' HP and ' ..arg3.. ' MP!')
The best way to get the latest official interface number is to use the pre-existing GetBuildInfo() method in game by running the following script:
/run print((select(4, GetBuildInfo())));
Always remember this: No matter what anybody tells you, spelling and grammar count in the long run!
It is often considered good manners to cite your sources:
http://www.dev-hq.net/posts/2--create-world-of-warcraft-addon

I enjoyed the guide and it got the ball rolling for me to do my own research into writing an AddOn since I am a software developer, but new to LUA. For those who enjoy a more structured IDE, I'd suggest Eclipse (http://www.eclipse.org) with the LUA Development Tools plug-in from the Eclipse Marketplace as it will keep your project and code organized for you.

There's lots of good additional information at the following URLs:
LUA:

http://www.phailed.me/2011/02/learn-lua-the-hard-way-1/

WoW LUA:

If you know anymore, add them below!

Good work and keep them coming. +1

Comment by GalacticGlum

Hello all, It's Clozo!

So I've been scrambling to find time to write a part two to this guide. Well don't worry because a part two is currently in the works! Right now though I am a couple of days away from releasing a Newbies Guide to World of Warcraft after the guide is released I'm going to take a one week break to play Warlords of Draenor and then I'll be off to continuing with my part two.

On New Years Eve December 31st I'm going to post a comment here explaining what the topic of the part two is. So stay tuned! I hope to get the part two finished around January 8th to 10th and I hope to get it released around January 15th or sonner.

Remember to submit your feedback in the comments section because feedback helps! Also remember to rate this guide via the star rating system.

Happy Holidays from Clozo,

Sincerely,
Clozo the WoWLover123

Comment by GalacticGlum

Hello all, It's Clozo!

Once again I'm back the topic of the part two is "Creating a GUI and Addon Ideas!".

Happy New Years. Have a Great 2015,

Sincerely,
Clozo the WoWLover123

Comment by GalacticGlum

20K!

We hit 20k!

Comment by 1351017

It's not working for me :(
Did exactly as you said and it says ''Incompatible''

Comment by Tanthok

I was wanting to know what languages can be used in making a program. I would also like to know if Matlab could be used to make and addon?

Comment by jspiresinc

So when your writing the code in your interface add-on folder will note pad++ recognize wow API calls that are made

Comment by Gothy

So does this all apply to patch 8.1+ ? I'm debating learning to code better and help maintain some open source addons.

Comment by altieri43

I’d love to see an update to this. Really want to learn about coding for wow

Comment by blackjack543

I wasn't able to find an answer for my question. Is there an addon that alerts you to when you hover over an object that doesn't have an interact icon? (gear icon that appears when hovering doesn't show but the magnifying glass, the chat bubble) If not, is this possible to make?

Comment by Frostybolts

Hey, this was a big help for me just now. You should update it and flesh it out again

I also got a lot out of the API docs on wow.gamepedia (converted it into a non-link so I won't get spam filtered) wow gamepedia com World_of_Warcraft_API

Using the TinyPad addon was a huge help to test stuff out. Big warning, though, I ran into some INSANE errors when trying to use the C_AuctionHouse APIs from TinyPad. Somehow, any structures I allocated in TinyPad code would get my character blacklisted by Blizzard's server when I tried to use them to access the API, but the same exact code worked perfectly when I put it into an app.

Here's some basic game XML for a window with a button:

Comment by SpaceBarBob

Someone out there has a spare minute or two to post a super basic "when in combat, hide minimap" addon. I have cookies .....

Addon Writing Guide: A basic introduction by example

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