How a mod is built

A mod is a folder. The folder name is the mod's id.

Wax\mods\
    MyMod\
        init.lua      the code that runs
        mod.lua       optional: name, version, dependencies
        helpers.lua   optional: more code, loaded with require

init.luaCopy Anchor Link

Wax runs init.lua from top to bottom when the mod loads. It runs it again, from the top, each time the mod reloads.

print("My mod is loading.")

local window = ui.Window({ title = "My mod" })
window:Label("Hello.")

mod.luaCopy Anchor Link

mod.lua describes your mod. It is called the manifest. The file is optional, and so is every field in it.

return {
    name = "My mod",
    version = "1.2.0",
    main = "init.lua",
    dependencies = { "Greeter" },
}

mod.lua may only hold plain values like the ones above. It cannot call functions.

What every mod can useCopy Anchor Link

These names are ready in every file of your mod. You don't load them.

Lua's own tools (string, table, math, pairs, ipairs, tostring and the rest) work as usual.

The mod tableCopy Anchor Link

print(mod.id)       -- the folder name, for example "MyMod"
print(mod.name)     -- the name from mod.lua
print(mod.version)  -- the version from mod.lua
print(mod.dir)      -- the path of the mod's folder

Each mod has its own globalsCopy Anchor Link

A global variable you set in one mod is not seen by other mods. Two mods can both use the name settings without clashing.

More than one fileCopy Anchor Link

Put shared code in its own file. Load it with require.

local helpers = {}

function helpers.shout(text)
    return text:upper() .. "!"
end

return helpers

local helpers = require("helpers")

print(helpers.shout("hello"))   -- HELLO!

• require("helpers") loads helpers.lua.
• require("tools.math") loads tools\math.lua. If that file is not there, it loads tools\math\init.lua.
• A file runs once. A second require of the same name gives back the same value.
• What the file returns is what require gives you.

Saving any .lua file of the mod reloads the whole mod.

Using another modCopy Anchor Link

One mod can offer functions to others. What its init.lua returns is what other mods get.

local greeter = {}

function greeter.hello(name)
    return "Hello, " .. name .. "!"
end

return greeter

A mod that uses it does two things. It lists the id under dependencies:

return {
    name = "My mod",
    dependencies = { "Greeter" },
}

And it loads the other mod with @ in front of the id:

local greeter = require("@Greeter")

ui.Notify(greeter.hello("explorer"))

Good to know:

• Dependencies load first.
• When Greeter reloads, every mod that depends on it reloads too.
• If Greeter is missing or switched off, your mod does not load. The Mods page says which mod it needs.
• require("@Greeter") without listing Greeter under dependencies is an error. The message tells you what to add.

Wax cleans up after youCopy Anchor Link

Everything a mod sets up belongs to that mod: its windows, overlays, hotkeys, tasks and signal connections. When the mod reloads or is switched off, Wax removes all of it. You don't write clean-up code.

Functions that are blockedCopy Anchor Link

A few UE4SS functions are switched off inside Wax mods, because they break the game's Lua state. Calling one raises an error that says why.

The originals are still reachable through raw, for example raw.LoopAsync. They can crash the game.

The full list with reasons is in the reference.