Researching WoW APIs

Discover and understand WoW APIs before using them. Call MCP tools directly (using-mechanic).

Related Commands

• c-research - API research workflow

MCP Tools

Task	MCP Tool
Search APIs (offline)	api.search(query="*Spell*") (* is a wildcard, not a regex; optional namespace, category, limit)
API details	api.info(api_name="C_Spell.GetSpellInfo")
List by namespace/category	api.list(namespace="C_Spell")
Database size and coverage	api.stats()
Icon / atlas names	atlas.search(query="sword") (needs a one-time atlas.scan(source_path=<wow-ui-source>); INDEX_NOT_FOUND otherwise)
Web research (network, Gemini)	research.query(query="...") (needs GEMINI_API_KEY; flagged mutating because it calls an external service, use only when asked)
Try an API in game	api.queue / lua.queue, then the reload protocol

The offline API database is the generated Mechanic/UI/APIDefs tree (built from Blizzard's API documentation, see k-apidefs). It reflects the build it was generated from, so a missing API may simply be newer. midnightImpact / protected flags in results describe secret-argument behaviour; check them before relying on an API in combat.

Routing Logic

Request type	Load reference
Offline API lookup patterns	references/api-research.md
Blizzard UI source patterns	references/blizzard-ui.md
Ace3 library patterns	references/ace3-patterns.md
Human CLI reference	../../../docs/cli-reference.md

Best practices

• Search first: use api.search before guessing names; most modern APIs live in C_ namespaces (C_Timer, C_Spell).
• Read Blizzard: grep the local wow-ui-source (Live or Beta checkout) for how Blizzard calls an API; Blizzard_Deprecated explains renames.
• Check secret behaviour for anything used in combat (api-patterns).
• Prove it in game when an API's behaviour matters: queue a snippet and read the result after a confirmed reload.