Master Relay

Hidden comms and Forever settings backup for the Master suite — and for any other addon that opts in.

Author: Sarcazmo
Clients: Retail (Midnight) and World of Warcraft: Forever
Version: 1.1.15

Master Relay has no window and no minimap button. It does not print to chat unless debug is on.

What it does

• Learns other players who run Master addons from target, mouseover, nameplates, and group
• Talks to them with silent addon whispers (no custom chat channel)
• Only remembers players who actually answer
• Lets addons send and receive data through one bus
• Captures Lua errors from Master addons locally (error text is never broadcast)
• Can notify once per login if a peer is on a newer Master addon version
• On Forever only, backs up registered addon settings in account macros (Mz*) because SavedVariables can fail
• On Retail, settings stay in SavedVariables. Relay does not create macros there

Requirements

Any addon that uses Relay should list:

## RequiredDeps: MasterRelay

Slash commands

For other addon authors (Forever restore)

Forever can drop SavedVariables. Relay can keep a copy of your settings in account macros and push them back on login. You do not need a Relay patch. Call the persist API from your addon.

1. Depend on Relay

In your .toc:

## RequiredDeps: MasterRelay

2. Pick a short key

The key is letters and numbers only. Relay uses the first 6 characters for macro names (Prices → MzPrices1). Use a unique 6-character key so you do not collide with another addon.

Good: "MyMod", "AHBuy", "HealUI"
Bad: two addons both using "Config"

3. Register a snapshot

Call this once after your SavedVariables exist (ADDON_LOADED for your addon):

MasterRelay:Persist("MyMod", function()
  return {
    enabled = MyModDB.enabled,
    scale = MyModDB.scale,
  }
end, function(data)
  if type(data) ~= "table" then
    return
  end
  MyModDB.enabled = data.enabled
  MyModDB.scale = data.scale
end)

getter must return a table. Keep it small (options, lists). Do not dump the whole auction house.

4. Load and save

-- after Persist(), when the player is in the world
MasterRelay:PersistLoad("MyMod")

-- whenever your settings change
MasterRelay:PersistNow("MyMod")

PersistLoad prefers the Forever macro copy if it is newer/heavier than the in-memory copy. PersistNow writes the getter snapshot. Writes are skipped in combat and run later.

5. Optional

MasterRelay:PersistWipe("MyMod")   -- delete this key's backup macros
MasterRelay:IsForeverClient()      -- true on Forever, false on Retail

On Retail, persist still runs but does not write macros. Your own SavedVariables remain the source of truth.

Limits

• Account macro slots are shared. A huge table can fill them; Relay prints one warning and stops that write.
• Nested tables, strings, numbers, and booleans pack. Functions and frames do not.
• Players must have Master Relay installed and enabled.

Comms API

MasterRelay:Register("YourAddon", "MSGTYPE", handler)
MasterRelay:Unregister("YourAddon", "MSGTYPE", handler)
MasterRelay:Broadcast("YourAddon", "MSGTYPE", data)
MasterRelay:Whisper("YourAddon", "MSGTYPE", data, "Name-Realm")
MasterRelay:Announce("YourAddon", "version")
MasterRelay:IsReady()
MasterRelay:InLockdown()
MasterRelay:GetRoster()
MasterRelay:Persist("Key", getter, setter)
MasterRelay:PersistNow("Key")
MasterRelay:PersistLoad("Key")
MasterRelay:PersistWipe("Key")
MasterRelay:IsForeverClient()

handler is called as handler(sender, data, msgType, addonName).

Install

Copy the MasterRelay folder into:

• Retail: World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns/
• Forever: World of Warcraft/_classic_era_/Interface/AddOns/ (or your Forever AddOns folder)

Enable it in the addon list.