Command Reference

Command Reference

Run every command as uv run wowlab … from the checkout. wowlab --help and wowlab <group> <command> --help are always the authoritative source; this page is the map. CLI Reference has every command's full help, arguments and options, generated from the code.

Options most commands share

Option	Meaning
--root PATH	The install folder (the one holding .build.info). Default: $WOWLAB_WOW_ROOT, then the usual install locations.
--flavor NAME	The flavor folder to use, as wowlab install show lists it. Implied when the install has only one.
--account NAME	Account folder under WTF/Account/. Implied when there is only one.
--character NAME	A character folder: <Character>, or <Realm folder>/<Character> when the name alone is ambiguous. On Forever the folder is <digits>/<First>-<Second>.
--json	Print JSON instead of text.
--dry-run	Print the plan and change nothing (commands that write).
-y, --yes	Do not ask before changing files.

Exit codes: 0 ok · 1 error · 2 usage · 3 refused by the write gate.

The "Changes your install?" column. No means the command only reads. Own data means it writes only into wowlab's own user-data folder. Via gate means it changes your install through the write gate: game closed, snapshot first, journaled, undoable.

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Inspect

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab doctor [--offline] [--yes] [--flavor F] [--redact] [--redact-name N …]	Install, flavors, versions, whether the client is running, server-sync settings, snapshot-store health. --offline skips asking wago.tools whether each version is listed. On a first run it also offers a first snapshot (--yes takes it, --flavor picks the flavor). --redact prints a report safe to paste into an issue, and skips the first run.	No; on a first run, own data
wowlab install show	The install root, its flavors and its .build.info rows.	No
wowlab tree [PATH] [--explain]	Inventory of a flavor folder: WTF files, SavedVariables, addons, overrides, and area folders (counted, not listed). --explain adds each path's file-map entry.	No
wowlab explain PATH	What a path in the install is, who writes it, when, and whether wowlab may edit it.	No

Read your settings

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab sv list	Every SavedVariables file, account-wide and per character.	No
wowlab sv dump FILE [--path P]	A SavedVariables file as data: one path = value line per value, in file order. Parsed, never run. --path selects one value.	No
wowlab cvar list [--scope global|account|character]	Every SET line of one config file.	No
wowlab cvar get NAME [--scope …]	One CVar's value (name compared without case).	No
wowlab binds list [--character C]	Key bindings of the account, or of one character.	No
wowlab macros list [--character C]	Account macros, or one character's.	No
wowlab addons list	Every folder under Interface/AddOns/ with its TOC files.	No

See SavedVariables and Merging.

Snapshots and undo

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab snap create [-m LABEL] [--screenshots]	Snapshot a flavor's WTF/, Interface/ and Fonts/ into the store. --screenshots also captures Screenshots/.	Own data
wowlab snap list	Every snapshot, oldest first.	No
wowlab snap show ID	One snapshot and every path in it. ID may be a unique prefix.	No
wowlab snap diff A B	Files added, removed and changed from A to B; for SavedVariables that parse, which values changed.	No
wowlab snap verify	Re-hash every stored object and check every manifest. Exits 1 on any problem.	No
wowlab snap gc [--dry-run]	Remove stored objects nothing keeps (no snapshot refers to them, and no write left them in a character's WowLab.lua) once they are older than an hour.	Own data
wowlab snap restore ID [--paths P …] [--dry-run]	Put back files from a snapshot.	Via gate
wowlab undo	Undo the most recent change made through the gate (a restore, or an earlier undo).	Via gate

See Snapshots and Undo.

Profiles

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab profile save NAME [--preset P …] [--subtree S …]	Save a named set of UI files as a labelled snapshot. Presets: ui, bindings, macros, addons.	Own data
wowlab profile list	Every profile, oldest first.	No
wowlab profile show NAME	One profile and every file in it.	No
wowlab profile delete NAME	Delete a profile. The snapshot stays in the store, relabelled.	Own data
wowlab profile apply NAME [--dry-run]	Return the profile's files to their saved bytes. Also deletes files created in those places since the save.	Via gate

See Profiles.

SavedVariables merge

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab sv merge FILE --into CHAR [--from SRC] [--base SNAP] [--key PATH …] [--take ours|theirs]	Merge one SavedVariables file into a character's copy, by key path. Two-way or three-way.	Via gate

See SavedVariables and Merging.

The lab-addon and your characters

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab addon install lab [--dry-run]	Copy wowlab's in-game addon into Interface/AddOns/WowLab/, with the right ## Interface: number filled in. The files come from the checkout you run, or else from the copy bundled in the installed wowlab package.	Via gate
wowlab addon remove lab [--dry-run]	Delete the addon's files. Its saved data (WowLab.lua) is never touched.	Via gate
wowlab char show [--character C]	What the addon recorded for one character, from its WowLab.lua. Defaults to the character whose file was written last.	No
wowlab char list [--account A]	Every character folder with a WowLab.lua: when it was last written, schema, client and spec, or why it could not be read.	No

See Lab-Addon and Characters.

Customization looks

Data only: nothing here writes into an install or reaches the game.

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab looks races	Races the build's tables flag as playable, with their body types.	No
wowlab looks options RACE [--sex S] [--class C]	A race's options and choices per body type, with what the tables say about each (refusals, "needs unlock").	No
wowlab looks save NAME --race R --sex S [--choice OPT=CHOICE …]	Check a look against the build's tables and save it.	Own data
wowlab looks show [NAME]	One saved look, or every saved look, with its verdict.	No
wowlab looks compare A B	Two saved looks side by side.	No
wowlab looks import-char NAME [--character C]	Save a character's recorded barber-shop choices as a look.	Own data
wowlab looks page [--out FILE]	Write one self-contained HTML page to browse all options and view your saved looks.	Own data

See Customization Looks.

Game data and the combat log

Command	What it does	Changes your install?
wowlab db2 builds [--product P]	Products and their versions as wago.tools lists them.	No
wowlab db2 fetch TABLE [--build V]	Download one table for one version into the cache (never replaced once there).	Own data
wowlab db2 head TABLE [-n ROWS] [--build V]	The first rows of a table (fetched first if needed), as CSV.	Own data
wowlab log tail [-n LINES] [--follow]	The last lines of the newest combat log, tokenized; --follow keeps printing as the client writes.	No

See Game Data and Combat Log.