Fen Ecosystem

Expert guidance for working in the Mechanic/Fen WoW addon development ecosystem.

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 before pulling output.

Ecosystem Components

| Component | Purpose | Key Tools | |-----------|---------|-----------| | Mechanic | Development hub | env.status, addon.output, reload.trigger | | FenCore | Pure logic library | fencore.catalog, fencore.search, fencore.info | | FenUI | UI widget library | Layout, Panel, Tabs, Grid, Buttons | | MechanicLib | Bridge library | RegisterAddon, Print, RegisterTest |

Essential MCP Tools

| Task | MCP Tool | |------|----------| | Get Addon Output | addon.output (agent_mode=true) | | Lint Code | addon.lint | | Run Tests | addon.test | | Search APIs | api.search | | Search FenCore | fencore.search | | Env Status | env.status |

AFD Core Principles

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

1. Tool-First: All functionality must exist as an MCP tool before being added to any UI.
2. Structured Results: All tools return predictable JSON schemas with success, data, and error.
3. Agent Mode: Use agent_mode=true for distilled, AI-optimized output.

Routing Logic

| Request type | Load reference | |--------------|----------------| | Component details, architecture | references/components.md | | Daily workflows, patterns | references/workflow.md | | Quick API reference | references/quick-api.md | | MCP tool reference | ../using-mechanic/references/afd-commands.md |