Basic steps for creating a WoW addon:
- Think about what you wish to make.
- Implement your ideas into a lua script. Available lua, WoW user interface, etc functions/procedures can be found at WoWWiki, and thus is a very decent place to start learning the API.
- Create a name for your project. Example: MyFirstAddon
- Open up your World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons folder, and create a new folder named after your project. Example: C:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons\MyFirstAddOn
- Write your lua script. Name this script after your project and place it in your project folder. Example: C:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons\MyFirstAddOn\MyFirstAddOn.lua
- If you wish to implement a UI, write your xml file, name it after your project, and place it in your project folder. Example: C:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons\MyFirstAddOn\MyFirstAddOn.xml
- Create the toc (table of contents) file for your project. This file will inform WoW detailed information about your addon, such as which files your project should include in your addon. Name this file after your project and place it in your project folder. Example: C:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons\MyFirstAddOn\MyFirstAddOn.toc
- You should now be able to test your addon in WoW. To do so: Run WoW. Log in. Click the "AddOns" button located in the bottom-left corner of the character selection screen. Make sure your addon is enabled. Enter the game world.
Hope this helps.
- Creamo