TweakIdentifier - Who changed my frame?!

A tool that identifies which addon created or alters a frame. Dependency-free (no libraries, no XML). Observe-only via taint-safe hooks.
Overview

Overview

Description

TweakIdentifier

"Which addon keeps moving my minimap?" β€” point at the frame, and TweakIdentifier tells you.

Ever had a button drift, a panel go invisible, a bar get the wrong font, or a mystery frame show up β€” and no idea which of your 40 addons did it? TweakIdentifier watches a frame and names the culprit. It's a diagnostic tool: it only looks, it never changes your UI.

  • πŸ”Ž Names the addon that created a frame, and every addon that's messing with it.
  • πŸ–±οΈ Point-and-click picker β€” hover any frame on screen, even ones you can't click.
  • 🧾 Builds a case file per frame β€” what was changed, by whom, how many times β€” and remembers it across reloads and sessions.
  • πŸͺΆ Featherweight & safe β€” no libraries, nothing to configure, never touches the addons it's inspecting.

Quick start

  1. Open it: type /twid to open the window (or /ti for short).
  2. Aim: click Pick (or type /twid pick), then move your mouse over the frame you're curious about. A cyan outline shows what's highlighted and a tooltip tells you what it is.
    • The thing you want is often behind something else. Tap Up / Down to step through the stack of frames under your cursor until the right one is outlined.
  3. Select: press Enter to start watching it (or Esc to cancel).
  4. Read the answer: the Evidence panel fills in with the frame's creator and a list of every addon touching it, grouped by what they did (moved it, hid it, recolored it…). The Live log shows changes as they happen β€” click any line to see the full detail.
  5. Just curious who made it? Use Identify (/twid identify) instead of Pick β€” it tells you about whatever you hover, without starting a watch.

πŸ’‘ Want frame creators named? Turn on Deep investigation (/twid deep). It asks to reload once, then it can tell you the exact addon that built a frame β€” not just who's changing it. See below.


What it can tell you

Question Answer
Who created this frame? The addon that built it (with Deep investigation on).
Who is changing it right now? Every addon caught moving, hiding, restyling… it.
What's under my cursor? The full stack of frames at that spot β€” even click-through ones.
What's happened to it over time? A running tally that survives reloads and logouts.
Do several addons fight over it? Yes β€” all of them are listed, not just the first.

It recognizes changes in these areas: position, size, show/hide, transparency, layering, re-parenting, drag/resize, mouse & keyboard input, scripts, textures & colors, text, and fonts β€” plus brand-new frames appearing on screen. Each shows up with a colored tag so you can tell at a glance what kind of change it was.


Slash commands

/twid β€” also /tweakid or /ti.

Command What it does
/twid Open / close the window
/twid pick Aim at a frame and start watching it
/twid identify Just tell me who made the frame I'm hovering
/twid name <Frame> Watch a frame by name, e.g. /twid name PlayerFrame
/twid start / stop Start / stop watching
/twid timed [sec] Watch for a set number of seconds, then stop (default 30)
/twid deep [on/off] Turn Deep investigation on or off (asks to reload)
/twid deep persist [on/off] Keep Deep on across reloads
/twid clear / copy / saved Clear the log / copy a report / browse saved cases
/twid simple / detail Less or more detail in the hover tooltip
/twid show / hide Force the window open or closed

In Pick mode: Up / Down change which frame is highlighted, Enter selects, Esc cancels.


Deep investigation

Naming the addon that created a frame needs a bit of extra engine help that has a small performance cost, so it's off by default and opt-in.

  • Type /twid deep (or click Deep). It explains the one-time reload, then reloads.
  • After that, frame creators get named, and certain "hidden" changes β€” ones some addons route through Blizzard's system where the real culprit is normally invisible β€” get traced back to the addon responsible.
  • It's tidy about it: if you already had the setting on, it leaves it on; if TweakIdentifier turned it on, it switches itself back off the next time you log in so nothing lingers. Use /twid deep persist if you'd rather keep it on.

If you don't turn Deep on, everything else still works β€” you just get a best-guess for creators instead of an exact name. The window will nudge you to enable Deep if it spots a change it can only fully explain with it.


Works on

Every flavor of WoW: Midnight / Retail (12.0+), Cataclysm Classic, MoP Classic, Classic Era, and TBC / Anniversary.

The only difference: pinpointing the addon that created a frame relies on a Retail (12.0+) feature. On the Classic flavors that line simply reads "creator unknown" β€” everything else (the picker, the live watching, the evidence, and Deep's hidden-change tracing) works the same everywhere.


Good to know

  • It's a diagnostic tool, not a UI editor. It reports who changes your frames; it never changes them itself.
  • Picking is paused in combat (a WoW restriction on the picker), and resumes when combat ends. Watching keeps running through combat.
  • The watch lasts until you reload. Switching to a new frame just changes what's reported; a /reload clears everything cleanly.
  • Made a bug report? Hit Copy for a ready-to-paste summary of what TweakIdentifier found β€” handy for telling an addon author exactly what their addon is doing.

The TweakIdentifier - Who changed my frame?! Team

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