Warcraft eXtension Layer

Mod the 3.3.5a
client, cleanly.

Loads into the running World of Warcraft client and gives mods a typed way to talk to the engine - the same idea as SKSE or RED4ext.

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Free, and always will be. Open source under GPLv3.

MyModule.cpp C++ 
class MyModule final : public wxl::events::EventScript {
public:
    MyModule() {
        on<&MyModule::OnEndScene>(wxl::events::Event::OnEndScene);
    }
    void OnEndScene(const wxl::events::EndSceneArgs& a) {
        // draw, read the world, edit it...
    }
};

// file-scope instance self-registers at load
MyModule g_myModule;

A small core,
plus your modules

WarcraftXL.dll boots inside the client, brings up the hook engine, and raises events. A module subscribes to those events and uses the core's typed bindings to read and drive the game.

Needed everywhere and always the same? It belongs in the core. A feature - a decision, an effect, an editor - is a module. Small reusable core, free modules.

Four pillars

So a module never touches a raw address itself.

internal

Offsets

Curated client addresses and struct layouts. Internal - modules never touch these directly.

typed

Bindings

Typed, zero-overhead calls into engine functions, with an enumerable catalog of signatures.

event bus

Events

A lightweight event bus. Subclass EventScript and bind methods to engine events.

formats

Assets

In-memory contracts for the client's file formats - structured data, not byte soup.

Bind, then react

Subscribe to engine events in the constructor, react in the handlers. A file-scope instance self-registers when the DLL loads.

Drop it in, rebuild, and it is live - no separate injector, no patched data files.

MyModule.cpp C++ 
class MyModule final : public wxl::events::EventScript {
public:
    MyModule() {
        on<&MyModule::OnEndScene>(wxl::events::Event::OnEndScene);
    }
    void OnEndScene(const wxl::events::EndSceneArgs& a) {
        // draw, read the world, edit it...
    }
};

// file-scope instance self-registers at load
MyModule g_myModule;

Example modules

Proof and starting points both. If an in-client map editor is the "hello world", imagine the rest.

See the full catalog

Build something into the client

The wiki walks you from a fresh checkout to a running build.

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