Fen Ecosystem

The Mechanic/Fen ecosystem is a unified platform for WoW addon development.

The Reload Loop (MANDATORY)

After ANY addon code change, you MUST verify the changes in-game:

1. Ask the user to /reload in WoW (or trigger via keybinding CTRL+SHIFT+R)
2. Wait for the user to confirm the reload is complete
3. Then use the addon.output MCP tool (agent_mode=true) to get errors, tests, and console logs

CRITICAL: Do NOT call addon.output immediately after changes. The timing between reload and SavedVariables sync is unpredictable. Always wait for user confirmation.

Ecosystem Components

Component	Purpose	Key Tools
Mechanic	Development hub (CLI, MCP, Dashboard)	env.status, addon.output, addon.lint, addon.test
FenCore	Pure logic library (no UI dependencies)	fencore.catalog, fencore.search, fencore.info
FenUI	UI widget library (frames, layouts)	Layout, Panel, Tabs, Grid, Buttons
MechanicLib	Bridge library (addon ↔ Mechanic)	RegisterAddon, Print, RegisterTest

Component Relationships

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Your Addon                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Core Layer     │  Bridge Layer   │  View Layer     │
│  (Pure Logic)   │  (Events/Data)  │  (UI Frames)    │
│                 │                 │                 │
│  Uses: FenCore  │  Uses: Ace3     │  Uses: FenUI    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │                 │                 │
         └────────────┬────┴─────────────────┘
                      │
              ┌───────▼───────┐
              │  MechanicLib  │  (Registers addon with Mechanic)
              └───────┬───────┘
                      │
              ┌───────▼───────┐
              │   Mechanic    │  (Development hub)
              └───────────────┘

Essential MCP Tools

Task	MCP Tool
Get Addon Output	addon.output(agent_mode=true)
Lint Code	addon.lint(addon="MyAddon")
Run Tests	addon.test(addon="MyAddon")
Search APIs	api.search(query="*Spell*")
Search FenCore	fencore.search(query="clamp")
Env Status	env.status()

AFD Core Principles

Mechanic follows Agent-First Development (AFD) — github.com/Falkicon/afd

1. Tool-First: All functionality exists as an MCP tool before any UI
2. Structured Results: Tools return predictable JSON with success, data, error
3. Agent Mode: Use agent_mode=true for AI-optimized output

Related Knowledge

• k-mechanic - Deep dive into Mechanic tools
• k-fencore - FenCore library details
• k-fenui - FenUI widget library