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Finding the WoW AddOns and WTF folders

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

World of Warcraft keeps add-ons and their settings in two folders inside the game folder, one per game version. Here is where each is, what is inside, and how to reset or back them up.

The location

For a standard install from the Battle.net app, the folders are here:

/Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns
/Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/WTF

AddOns holds the add-ons themselves. WTF holds your settings and the data add-ons save. Both sit inside a folder named after the game version, so _retail_ is the main game and the Classic versions have sibling folders of their own (see below). The Warcraft wiki gives /Applications/World of Warcraft/ as the default Mac install, and the add-on FAQ on Blizzard's forums shows the _retail_/Interface/AddOns/ layout.

To open one, choose Go > Go to Folder in Finder (or press ⇧⌘G), paste the path and press Return. From Terminal:

open "/Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns"

If you chose another install location in the Battle.net app, the folders are inside that location instead. The game's folder is the one that contains _retail_.

One folder per game version

The World of Warcraft folder has one sub-folder for each version you have installed, and each has its own Interface/AddOns and its own WTF.

Folder	Version
_retail_	The main game
_classic_	Classic progression realms
_classic_era_	Classic Era realms

Test realms and newer Classic editions get their own underscore-named folders when you install them, and the names have shifted as Blizzard has added Classic versions, so look at what your World of Warcraft folder actually contains. An add-on copied into _retail_ does nothing in Classic, and the reverse. Many add-ons ship separate downloads for retail and Classic, so check which one you have before you copy it by hand.

What is inside AddOns

Each add-on is one folder with a .toc file inside it, and the folder name matches the .toc name, as in the wiki's example AddOns/_KittenMod_/_KittenMod_.toc. The .toc file is the add-on's table of contents, and the game lists an add-on only when it finds that file in the right place.

The most common installation mistake is one folder too many. Blizzard's forum FAQ puts it plainly: with an extra folder layer, the add-on won't load. If you unzip a download and see AddOnName/AddOnName/AddOnName.toc, move the inner folder into AddOns. Sub-folders inside an add-on's own folder are normal; leave them.

Some add-ons are bundles of several folders that share a prefix. Copy all of them. Then quit and restart the game: the same FAQ says WoW does not register add-on changes until you exit the game and start it again.

What is inside WTF

According to the Warcraft wiki, saved data lives in these places:

Path under WTF/	What it holds
Account/<ACCOUNTNAME>/SavedVariables.lua	Blizzard's own saved variables
Account/<ACCOUNTNAME>/SavedVariables/AddOnName.lua	Per-account settings for each add-on
Account/<ACCOUNTNAME>/<RealmName>/<CharacterName>/SavedVariables/AddOnName.lua	Per-character settings for each add-on

Each game account has its own folder under Account, with realm and character folders below it. The files are plain Lua text, one per add-on, and there is rarely a reason to edit them by hand.

The wiki says the game writes these files when you log out, disconnect, quit, or reload the interface with /reload. Edit one while the game is running and the next save can overwrite your change, so quit first.

Resetting an add-on or the whole interface

The Warcraft wiki states that deleting or renaming the WTF folder resets the settings of all your add-ons. That is the standard fix when the interface is broken after an update. Renaming is safer than deleting:

1. Quit the game fully.
2. In Finder, rename WTF to WTF_old.
3. Start the game. It builds a fresh WTF folder.
4. If that fixed the problem, copy individual add-on files back from WTF_old one at a time, or start clean.

To reset just one add-on, quit the game and move that add-on's .lua files (named after it, in the SavedVariables folders) to the Trash.

If your add-ons and settings vanished after you ran Blizzard's repair tool, the forum FAQ explains that the repair renames Interface and WTF with the date added to the name. Renaming them back restores them.

Backing up or moving to a new Mac

Copy the Interface/AddOns and WTF folders for each version you play. That carries over your add-ons and their settings. On the new Mac, let the Battle.net app install the game, then copy the folders into the same places, ideally before the first launch.

Keep the folder structure exactly as it was. Account, realm and character folders are matched by name, so a character renamed or moved to another realm will not pick up the old per-character files. Add-on managers have their own sync features, but these two folders are the full picture of what is on disk.

Time Machine backs up /Applications along with everything else, but the game itself is large, so some people exclude it and keep copies of just these two folders.

Why a plain search is not much help

Add-on files are small, deeply nested and named after the add-on rather than after what you want, and the same file name turns up once per game version and once per character. A search may list them, but without the path you cannot tell which copy belongs to which version, account or character.

Finding a stray add-on file again

Typing part of an add-on's name, such as Details or WeakAuras, into Everywhere lists its folder in AddOns and its .lua files under WTF, each with its full path, so you can see at once whether it landed in _retail_ or _classic_; ⌘↵ reveals one in Finder. It matches file names only, not the settings inside the files. A game installed on an external drive is covered once Everywhere has Full Disk Access.

Common questions

Where is the WoW AddOns folder on a Mac?

In a standard install it is /Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns. Classic versions have their own folder, such as _classic_ or _classic_era_, in place of _retail_.

Where is the WTF folder on a Mac?

Next to Interface, at /Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/WTF for the retail game. It holds your per-account and per-character add-on settings.

Why does my add-on not show up in the game?

Usually the folder is nested one level too deep, so the .toc file is not directly inside AddOns/AddOnName/. Other causes are a retail add-on in a Classic folder, or not restarting the game after installing it.

How do I reset all my add-on settings?

Quit the game, rename the WTF folder to WTF_old and start the game again. The Warcraft wiki says deleting or renaming WTF resets the settings of every add-on.