Do Classic Era Addons Work in WoW Forever? What Loads

No: Classic Era addons don’t work in WoW Forever. Forever looks like Classic, but its interface is built on the modern game’s, so every addon needs a version made for Forever. Most of the big ones already have one; a few that depend on the combat log can’t work the old way at all.

Why a Classic Era addon doesn’t load

An addon tells the game which client it’s made for with an interface number in its .toc file. Classic Era addons carry a 1.15 number, the modern game’s carry 12.x, and Forever’s beta has its own, 16001. That’s what the Forever addons on our own beta install use, our BoF Guide included. An addon whose number doesn’t match is treated as out of date.

The number is the small part. Underneath, Forever runs the modern game’s addon code (in Blizzard’s interface files it is a game type of the main branch, not of Classic Era), so an addon written for Classic Era’s older functions needs real changes, not a new number. That’s why authors ship a separate Forever file.

How to tell if an addon works in WoW Forever

In the CurseForge app, switch World of Warcraft’s game version to Forever. Search shows only addons with a Forever file, and Install picks it.
On an addon’s page, open Files and look for one marked Forever.
In the addon’s folder, open the .toc file: ## Interface: 16001 (on the beta) means it was built for Forever.

Our own list, with each leveling addon’s Forever version, is on the best WoW Forever leveling addons. Installing them, and what to do when CurseForge doesn’t find Forever, is in how to install addons in WoW Forever.

What Forever keeps from addons

Forever brings the modern game’s addon rules, which Blizzard set out for Midnight: combat data reaches addons as secret values that they can show but not read. In Forever’s own interface files the combat log event is marked as restricted. In practice:

Damage meters read Blizzard’s built-in damage meter instead of the combat log. Details! has a Forever version that works this way.
Boss mods had to change: DBM and BigWigs both ship Forever versions.
Anything built on the combat log either changed or stopped. That’s the real question behind WeakAuras.

WeakAuras and ElvUI in WoW Forever

WeakAuras has no Forever version, and its team said in 2025 that its idea doesn’t fit where Blizzard is taking the game. Musca Auras, a port of WeakAuras for Forever, is on CurseForge (1.12.0, Oct 19), and its page lists the limits: combat log triggers “never fire”, and the classic aura trigger “freezes in combat”.

ElvUI isn’t out for Forever yet. On Oct 20 its latest release (16.00, Oct 13) lists game versions 12.1.0, 5.5.4, 1.15.9 and 2.5.6, none of them Forever, though its code on GitHub already names Forever.

Addons that already work in WoW Forever

Questie, DBM, BigWigs, Details! and Bartender4 had Forever versions when we checked on Oct 11, and so did the leveling guide addons: RestedXP, Zygor and the BoF Guide, Bind on Forever’s free WoW Forever in-game leveling guide, which walks you from level 1 to 30 in six languages. Addon support is still moving during the beta, so check the Forever file on the addon’s page before you rely on it.

Questions

Do Classic Era addons work in WoW Forever?

No. WoW Forever's interface is built on the modern game's, not on Classic Era's, so an addon needs a version made for Forever. On the beta those versions carry the interface number 16001.

How do I know if an addon works in WoW Forever?

In the CurseForge app, switch World of Warcraft to Forever: it lists only addons with a Forever file. On an addon's page, look for a file marked Forever. In the addon's .toc file, the beta's number is 16001.

Does WeakAuras work in WoW Forever?

Not the original: WeakAuras has no Forever version. Musca Auras, a port of WeakAuras for Forever, is on CurseForge, but its combat log triggers never fire, because Forever keeps the combat log from addons.

Does ElvUI work in WoW Forever?

Not yet. On Oct 20 ElvUI's latest release (16.00, Oct 13) lists game versions 12.1.0, 5.5.4, 1.15.9 and 2.5.6, and none of them is Forever.

Can addons read the combat log in WoW Forever?

No. Forever follows the modern game's addon rules: the combat log event is restricted, and combat data reaches addons as secret values they can show but not read. Damage meters on Forever read Blizzard's built-in damage meter instead.