Contents

The Open Vanilla Manual

Everything Open Vanilla can do, how to use it, and how to make it your own: play, connect an AI, edit your game, and publish to the Workshop.

Search the manual with the box in the sidebar (press / to jump to it). Every heading has a link: hover it and click # to copy a link straight to that section.

1. Getting startedWhat Open Vanilla is, the three ways to play, what you need, and your account.What Open Vanilla is · Three ways to play · Quick start: browser · Quick start: launcher · Your account · What you need: Vanilla Client v1.3 · Where to go next
2. Playing in the browserPlay the full game in a browser tab: requirements, first load, textures, phones and tablets, guest play, and the page's tools.What you need · The first load and caching · Textures: auto, lite, full · The dock and page tools · Phones and tablets · Guest play · If something goes wrong
3. The launcherThe Windows launcher page by page: Home and PLAY, client setup, the Workshop, realms, account, settings, updates, and where your files live.Install · Home and the PLAY button · Set up Vanilla Client v1.3 · The Workshop page · Realms · Account · Settings · Updates · Where your files live · Help and support
4. Realms and friendsFind a realm, add a server by address, join friends with invite links, and how relays, direct connections and nodes work.The realm browser · Add a server by address · Invite links · Relay or direct? · The node network · How the player network works · Why there isn't one giant world · Hosting for friends
5. Play SoloYour own Vanilla realm on your PC, offline, with bots that group, quest and roam.What it is · Set it up · Play · Bots · Change your solo realm
6. In-game features: the Vanilla Remastered addonsEvery addon that comes with Open Vanilla, how to open it, what its settings do, and how to switch any of it off for pure Vanilla.Switching addons on and off · Quests, map and the waypoint arrow · Bags, bank and gear sets · Loot · Social: friends, guild, group, who · Guilds: the finder and the Guild Hub · Dungeons: the group board · Chat · Mail · Talents and two specs · Achievements · Meters, threat, casting and prices · Nameplates · Essentials: the small helpers · Raid tools · Vendor helper · Persona: roleplay profiles · Assistant, Herald and Node · Reporting from the game · Command cheat sheet
7. The Vanilla Remastered realmWhat's different on the Vanilla Remastered realm (race and class pairs, auto-learned spells, faster levels, AoE loot) and how Star Pouches work.Races and classes · Levelling · Loot and mail · Star Pouches · Achievements on the realm · Playerbots
8. Warfront: the PvP realmThe level-60 PvP realm: pick a kit, gear up by tier, queue arenas and duel ladders, and collect bounties.Your first login: pick a kit · Gear tiers and the shop · Arenas and the duel ladder · Kill streaks and bounties
9. Community, Discord and HeraldThe Discord server and its gate, Herald the bot, world chat between Discord and the game, tickets, reports, and how tips work.The Discord server · The gate: Outsider, Recruit, Adventurer · Herald · World chat between Discord and the game · Get help: tickets · Report a bug · Report a player · Tips: supporting the realm
10. The website, Armory and streamsWhat each page on openvanilla.app is for: the Armory, guilds, the realm list, streamers and creators, the node network, and your privacy.The site at a glance · The Armory · Guilds · The realm list · Streamers and creators · Share what you're listening to · The node network · Your privacy
11. Host your own realmRun a realm for friends with Open Vanilla Server: what you need, the first ten minutes, GM accounts, letting friends in, and Server Studio. The Host Guidebook has every detail.What you need · Your first realm · Accounts, GMs and rules · Letting friends in · How many players can you host? · Growing your realm · Server Studio · Backups and moving to Linux · List your realm
12. Edit your own gameMake addons and UI changes for the Vanilla client, test them with the Lua sim, change your realm's rules, port models and mounts, and rebuild the patch, without ever touching Blizzard's files.What you can change, and where · Addon basics for Vanilla · Your first addon · Change a Vanilla Remastered addon · Test without starting the game: the Lua sim · The devkit · Realm rules on your own server · Models and mounts: the Model Porter · Art · The client patch (patch-Z) · Share what you made
13. Connect an AI to your gameUse Claude, or another AI coding agent you already have, to make addons, fix errors and change your own realm, safely, with the kit that ships with Open Vanilla.How it works, in one picture · Which AI agents work · Set it up in the launcher · Do it by hand (no launcher) · The starter prompts · In the game: the Assistant · Rules the kit gives the agent · Good things to ask · Herald Autopilot is not an AI · For realm staff: AI in moderation
14. Publish to the WorkshopInstall from the Workshop, then share your own: an addon, a Vanilla Remastered port, a collection, a fork of Open Vanilla, or a whole repo or project.What goes where · Install from the Workshop · Before you publish · Upload an addon · The review gate · Send a catalogue entry · Get found automatically · Port an open addon into Vanilla Remastered · Collections · Ratings and reviews · List a fork, repo or project · Fork Open Vanilla
15. Contribute to Open VanillaReport bugs, fix the manual, and send changes to the project: the branches, the tests to run, and how releases ship.Ways to help · Fix the manual · How the code is organised · Branches · Tests to run · How releases ship · Rules for contributions
16. TroubleshootingThe common messages and fixes, for the launcher, the browser, the game and hosting, and where the logs are.Find your logs · Launcher messages · Browser messages · In the game · Hosting · Still stuck?
17. Questions and wordsShort answers to common questions, and the words you'll meet in Open Vanilla.Common questions · Words you'll see