WoW Forever Addon Developer Guide: Writing Addons with AI

The golden rules

Ten rules for every AI draft that targets WoW Forever. Rules 3, 6, 7 and 8 are the ones Midnight guides leave out, because they are specific to the Forever beta.

1. Interface: 16001.
   A Forever-only addon declares ## Interface: 16001, the Forever Beta value in the Warcraft Wiki TOC table. Classic Era uses 11509 and Midnight uses 120100. To ship one package to several clients, use a comma-separated interface line, a _Camelot.toc file (the wiki's Forever suffix), or a _Mainline.toc that Midnight and Forever share. Retest when the number moves at launch.
2. Lua 5.1.
   WoW runs a modified Lua 5.1. No goto, no //, no bitwise operators and no _ENV. Bitwise work uses the bit library (bit.band, bit.bor, bit.lshift). The wiki notes that the operating system and file I/O libraries are not present, and require, dofile and loadfile are not in its function list. The .toc file is your module loader.
3. Mainline family, not Classic.
   Blizzard told the WoW UI Discord that Forever shares Mainline's UI architecture, "including the vast majority of APIs available in 12.1.5", and that Midnight's addon disarmament, secrets included, is active (quoted by Wowhead). The Forever game type was called Camelot, to be renamed before launch. On the September 17 Q&A stream the developers said "we did opt for the modern API approach." Port a Midnight addon; do not port a Classic combat addon and hope.
4. C_ namespaces.
   On build 69913, GetSpellInfo, GetItemInfo, GetSpellBookItemName, GetNumTalentTabs, GetTalentInfo and GetNumSkillLines were missing. C_Spell.GetSpellInfo returns one table; C_Item.GetItemInfo returns the same list of values the old global did. Both return nil until the record is cached. Check for nil, request the load (C_Spell.RequestLoadSpellData, C_Item.RequestLoadItemDataByID) and listen for the result event.
5. Namespace everything.
   Every file begins with local addonName, ns = .... Shared state hangs on ns. The only globals you should declare are SavedVariables, slash command entries and the Addon Compartment callbacks named in the TOC. A frame named MainFrame becomes a global; name it after your addon or pass nil.
6. Events, not the combat log.
   Use one frame, one OnEvent script and a table of handlers. Use RegisterUnitEvent when you only watch the player. On Midnight, registering COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED throws an error, and Warcraft Forever reports the combat log reader unavailable on Forever. Blizzard said on stream that Forever includes a damage meter and a cooldown manager, and that a swing timer is "perhaps coming soon".
7. Secrets are drawn, not solved.
   Testers saw player UnitHealth come back as a secret number: type() says number, and adding to it fails. Warcraft Forever reports unit names as possible secret strings and UnitCanAttack and UnitExists as possible secret booleans. Guard values with issecretvalue before you compare, branch or print them. Pass health straight into a StatusBar with SetMinMaxValues and SetValue. A blocked protected call can fail without a Lua error, and pcall will not clear it.
8. Do not trust WOW_PROJECT_ID alone.
   Build 69913 reports 1, the Mainline value. A library that reads 1 as Midnight only, or anything else as Classic, takes the wrong branch. The Warcraft Wiki suggests pairing it with LE_EXPANSION_LEVEL_CURRENT, or a TOC variable for the game type. Add a capability probe, and expect the test to change before launch.
9. No secure-snippet dependency.
   On build 69913, secure snippets failed to compile because the client had no loadstring_untainted. Click-casting and action-bar paging that use snippets failed with them. WoW Forever Builds calls it probably a bug. Do not ship healer frames that need it until a build fixes it. Your own buttons are the safe click path. Do not write secure attributes onto Blizzard unit frames.
10. Whole files, correct load order.
    Always emit the .toc and every .lua file in full. Beta addons live in World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns\. SavedVariables load after your files run and are ready when ADDON_LOADED fires for your addon. A September 21 forum report showed saved data written to disk but missing on the next login; a follow-up on September 25 says build 70009 loads it again.

Quick start

The smallest useful WoW Forever addon is two files. The folder name must match the TOC file name. Put them in World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns\FirstLight\ and start the client. The character name is guarded because names can be secret.

## Interface: 16001
## Title: First Light
## Notes: Smallest correct WoW Forever addon.
## Author: YourName
## Version: 0.1.0
## SavedVariables: FirstLightDB

FirstLight.lua

local addonName, ns = ...

local function SafeName()
    local name = UnitName("player")
    if type(issecretvalue) == "function" and issecretvalue(name) then
        return "adventurer"
    end
    return name or "adventurer"
end

local frame = CreateFrame("Frame")

function frame:ADDON_LOADED(loaded)
    if loaded ~= addonName then return end
    FirstLightDB = FirstLightDB or { seen = 0 }
    ns.db = FirstLightDB
    self:UnregisterEvent("ADDON_LOADED")
end

function frame:PLAYER_LOGIN()
    ns.db.seen = ns.db.seen + 1
    print("|cffd4a85a[" .. addonName .. "]|r online, " .. SafeName() .. ". Session " .. ns.db.seen .. ".")
end

frame:SetScript("OnEvent", function(self, event, ...)
    if self[event] then
        self[event](self, ...)
    end
end)

frame:RegisterEvent("ADDON_LOADED")
frame:RegisterEvent("PLAYER_LOGIN")

What is confirmed versus what was only observed

Beta access runs September 17 to October 21, 2026. Blizzard's launch date is November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST, level cap 60. Any build between now and then can change the API. See the beta reference and systems overview for the game rules around it.

System prompt for AI models

Paste this block into your AI session before you ask for addon code. The task prompts, porting prompts and review prompt are on the AI prompt library.

You write World of Warcraft: Forever addons. The client is not Classic Era and it is not a private server.

Facts you must obey. Checked September 28, 2026 against Blizzard's statements, the Warcraft Wiki, and community tests on beta build 1.60.1.69913 (the beta has since moved to 1.60.1.70009). Launch is November 4, 2026. Retest every claim on the build in front of you before you tell the user it is final.

- The Forever beta TOC interface is 16001. A Forever-only addon uses exactly: ## Interface: 16001
- Lua is 5.1. No goto, no //, no bitwise operators, no _ENV. Bitwise work uses the bit library (bit.band, bit.bor, bit.lshift).
- There is no require, dofile, loadfile, io library or os library. Load order is the .toc file. Shared state lives on the addon namespace.
- Blizzard said Forever shares Mainline's UI architecture, including the vast majority of APIs available in 12.1.5, and that Midnight's addon disarmament (including secret values) is active. Forever and modern WoW are two game types in the Mainline family. The Forever type was called Camelot and was expected to be renamed before launch. Do not target Classic Era interface numbers (11500s).
- WOW_PROJECT_ID has been observed returning 1, the same value as Mainline. Never choose a Classic code path from that number alone. Probe select(4, GetBuildInfo()), LE_EXPANSION_LEVEL_CURRENT, and the presence of the API you need.
- These globals were absent on build 69913: GetSpellInfo, GetItemInfo, GetSpellBookItemName, GetNumTalentTabs, GetTalentInfo, GetNumSkillLines. Use C_Spell and C_Item. C_Spell.GetSpellInfo returns a table. C_Item.GetItemInfo returns multiple values, like the old global. Both return nil until the data is cached. Request the load and listen for SPELL_DATA_LOAD_RESULT or ITEM_DATA_LOAD_RESULT.
- On Midnight, registering COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED throws an error, and testers report CombatLogGetCurrentEventInfo unavailable on Forever. Do not build a damage meter, healing meter, or combat-log boss mod. Blizzard ships a damage meter and a cooldown manager. A swing timer was described as perhaps coming soon, not as a promise.
- Player UnitHealth has been observed as a secret number: type() reports "number", and arithmetic or comparison throws. Unit names can be secret strings. UnitCanAttack and UnitExists can be secret booleans. Before any comparison, branch, or print, guard with issecretvalue when that function exists. Pass health and max health straight into StatusBar:SetMinMaxValues and StatusBar:SetValue.
- pcall does not make a protected call safe. Testers report that the client records "Interface action failed because of an AddOn" without a Lua error, and that the counter clears on a full client restart, not on /reload. Do not call ChatFrame_OpenChat, ChatEdit_ActivateChat, or C_SuperTrack.SetSuperTrackedUserWaypoint. Do not write secure attributes onto Blizzard unit frames. Shift-click links go through HandleModifiedItemClick. Map pins go through C_Map.SetUserWaypoint with a UiMapPoint.
- Secure snippet compilation failed on build 69913, which breaks click-casting and action-bar paging that depend on it. Treat that as a beta defect to retest, not as a design you should depend on. Use your own buttons.
- SavedVariables load after the addon's files run. Read and create them inside ADDON_LOADED for this addon, never at file scope. The beta was reported losing saved data between sessions until build 70009; if persistence fails, tell the user it may be the client.
- Every Lua file starts with: local addonName, ns = ...
- Handle events with one frame and a handler table keyed by event name. Do not grow an if/elseif chain. Do not poll with OnUpdate when an event exists.
- Check InCombatLockdown() before you show, hide, or move a protected frame. Queue the closure and run it on PLAYER_REGEN_ENABLED.
- Skin and inform. Do not automate combat decisions, and do not replace Blizzard unit frames, the damage meter, or the cooldown manager.
- When asked for an addon, emit a complete .toc and every .lua file. No fragments. State the beta install path: World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns\<Name>\ and tell the user to restart the client if a new addon folder does not appear.
- If you are not sure an API exists on Forever, say so and show a capability probe. Do not invent C_ functions.

Verification checklist

Run this checklist across every file an AI model produces before you test it in game:

The rest of the guide

Each page covers one job:

• Page 2Forever patternsHow Forever differs from Classic Era and Midnight, secret values, and what is safe to build.
• Page 3API cheat sheetReplacements for missing globals, async data loading, secret-safe unit queries and events.
• Page 4PitfallsTwelve mistakes AI models make, with the code to write instead.
• Page 5Code templatesHello World, SavedVariables, a guarded status bar, the addon compartment and a combat queue.
• Page 6AI promptsThe system prompt, porting prompts, error diagnosis and a review prompt.
• Page 7Forever BeaconAn inspectable sample addon with .toc, .lua and .zip downloads.

Questions addon authors ask FAQ

What interface version do WoW Forever addons use?

The Warcraft Wiki lists 16001 for the Forever beta. Confirm it on your client with /dump select(4, GetBuildInfo()) in the chat box.

Can an AI write a WoW Forever addon?

Only if you give it explicit constraints first. Without them, models tend to emit old globals like GetSpellInfo, a retail interface number such as 110207, and COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED. The system prompt and the checklist above catch most of these before you test in game.

What is Camelot in the beta client?

Camelot is the internal name of the Forever game type in the Mainline code family, per Blizzard's WoW UI Discord statement. Blizzard said it would be renamed before launch. The Warcraft Wiki already lists _Camelot.toc as the Forever TOC suffix, so check that suffix again after launch.