A CLI for managing World of Warcraft add-ons.
Project description
instawow is a package manager for World of Warcraft, written in Python. It can be used to install, remove and update add-ons from WoWInterface, CurseForge and Tukui.
Installation
It is recommended to install instawow in an isolated environment. One option is pipx:
pipx install instawow
Installing with pip is also supported:
pip3 install instawow
Usage
You can install add-ons by their Curse project ID or slug, or their WoWInterface ID, or even by their URL. All of the following will install Molinari:
instawow install curse:20338 instawow install curse:molinari instawow install https://www.curseforge.com/wow/addons/molinari instawow install wowi:13188 instawow install https://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info13188-Molinari.html
By default, instawow will install the latest file that was released. You can choose to install the latest file that has been uploaded (be it stable, or beta or alpha quality) by passing --strategy=latest. This option only works with CurseForge packages.
You can uninstall add-ons with:
instawow remove <add-on>
You can update all of your add-ons in one go with:
instawow update
… or any individual add-on the same way you’d install or remove it:
instawow update <add-on>
You can list installed add-ons with instawow list and add-ons that predate the venerable instawow with instawow list-folders -e. list-folders will attempt to extract Curse and WoWI IDs from TOC files to put you on a path towards instalightment.
Non-destructive operations can be invoked with partial package slugs, e.g. instawow info moli will attempt to retrieve curse:molinari.
World of Warcraft Classic
instawow supports Classic – it will correctly install Classic versions of add-ons from CurseForge and Tukui depending on the value of the game_flavour configuration setting. If you are already using instawow for retail, you will need to create a separate profile for Classic. On Linux, this might be:
env INSTAWOW_CONFIG_DIR=~/.config/instawow-classic instawow
For ease of use, you might want to set up an alias. In your Bash profile, add:
alias instawow-classic='INSTAWOW_CONFIG_DIR=~/.config/instawow-classic instawow'
You would then be able to invoke instawow using instawow-classic.
Additional functionality
WeakAuras aura updater
instawow contains a WeakAuras updater modelled after WeakAuras Companion. To use the updater and provided that you have WeakAuras installed:
instawow extras weakauras build-companion -a <your account name> instawow install instawow:weakauras-companion
Parsing the WeakAuras saved variables file can take quite a bit of time which is why the operation is not baked into the normal workflow; you will have to rebuild the companion add-on prior to instawow update to receive aura updates.
WebSocket server
Of interest only to developers: a WebSocket client can be used to operate instawow in lieu of the command line through a JSON-RPC API. To start the WebSocket server, run instawow web-serve.
Caveats
Detecting existing add-ons
The Twitch and Minion clients each use their own, proprietary fingerprinting algorithm to reconcile add-ons you have installed with add-ons they keep on their servers. Though the details of their implementation elude me, instawow could accomplish something similar by combining a variety of cues (e.g. folders, TOC entries). However, instawow tries very hard to be source-agnostic and will not default to installing an add-on from one host over another. The alternative would require some degree of interactivity which I feel is better suited to a desktop client.
Searching for add-ons
instawow tries to make installing, updating and removing add-ons quick and painless for those of us who are (ever so slightly) proficient with the command line and do not revel in using bloatware which infringe on our privacy or inhabiting walled gardens. It does not try to circumvent add-on portals entirely.
Metadata sourcing
Originally, instawow relied on the official feeds provided by Curse. Curse retired the feeds in June 2018 and – for a period – instawow would scrape the CurseForge website. The alternative would have been to use the old XML-like API. Because the API was not built for third-party use, it had not been isolated from user accounts (cf. GitHub integrations). If users were to log into the API, instawow would acquire full access to their account. Authentication was also complicated by the ongoing Curse account migration to Twitch and is (or should be) unnecessary for the simple use case of installing and updating add-ons. Thankfully, Twitch migrated to an unauthenticated API interally in Q2 2019, which we have adopted for our own use. This is similar to what Minion, the WoWInterface-branded add-on manager, has been doing for years. The good people at Tukui provide an API for public use. instawow might break whenever one of our sources introduces a change to their website or API (though only temporarily).
Contributing
Bug reports and fixes are welcome. Do open an issue before committing to making any significant changes.
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