Hi all. The live game is a new install, so nothing you set up in the beta comes with you on its own. The good news is that almost all of it is saved as plain files on your computer, and you can copy it over. I went through my own beta folder file by file and tested the main ones in the beta (details at the end), so you know what is checked and what is not.
Do this before the beta ends
Make a backup now, while you still have it:
- Close the game.
- Open your beta folder. By default it is here:
- Windows (the usual default):
C:\Program Files (x86)\World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\ - Mac (the usual default):
/Applications/World of Warcraft/_classic_beta_/ - Installed on another drive? Use that drive letter instead, for example
D:\WoW\World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\. If you are not sure where it is, open the Battle net app, pick the beta, click the gear next to Play, and choose Show in Explorer.
- Windows (the usual default):
- Copy the whole WTF folder, and the Screenshots folder if you want your pictures, somewhere safe, like your Documents folder.
That backup is everything below. Even if you do nothing else until launch, do this.
Two things you can copy in game (the easiest way)
- Edit Mode layout: press Escape, Edit Mode, pick your layout, open the layout list again, choose Share, then Copy to Clipboard. Paste it somewhere outside the game (a text file or a Discord message to yourself). On live: Edit Mode, layout list, Import, paste, and save.
- Macros: open your macros file (below) in Notepad. Each macro is its name and icon line, then its text, then END. Copy the text into a new macro on live. This is the safest way, and it is the only way if the files do not take.
Where everything lives in the beta folder
Your account folder is WTF\Account\<a number>\. Inside it, each character has a folder: <realm>\<First-Last>\. In the beta the realm folder is a number (mine is 70).
For your whole account (in WTF\Account\<number>\):
| File | What it holds |
|---|---|
| macros-cache.txt | Your account-wide macros (General Macros) |
| bindings-cache.wtf | Your keybinds |
| config-cache.wtf | Your interface options: camera, nameplates, and other settings |
| edit-mode-cache-account.txt | Your Edit Mode layouts |
| SavedVariables folder | Settings for your addons, shared by every character |
For each character (in WTF\Account\<number>\<realm>\<First-Last>\):
| File | What it holds |
|---|---|
| macros-cache.txt | That character’s own macros (only there if you made some) |
| bindings-cache.wtf | That character’s keybinds (only if you set them per character) |
| config-cache.wtf | That character’s interface options |
| chat-cache.txt | Chat windows, tabs, channels, and colors |
| click-bindings-cache.txt | Click casting |
| edit-mode-cache-character.txt | Which Edit Mode layout that character uses |
| AddOns.txt | Which addons are turned on for that character |
| SavedVariables folder | That character’s own addon settings |
Do not copy these
- Config.wtf (the one directly in the WTF folder). It holds your graphics and sound, but also which servers the game connects to. A beta copy can point the live game at the wrong place. Set graphics and sound again by hand; it takes two minutes.
- Cache folder, cache.md5, and any .old or .bak files. The game rebuilds them.
- The Interface folder. Install your addons fresh for the live game from CurseForge or wherever you got them, so you get the live versions. Then copy only their settings (the SavedVariables files).
Putting it on live
- Install the live game and log in once on each character, then exit. This makes the live folders, with the live account, realm, and character names.
- Close the game completely.
- Find the live game’s folder: in the Battle net app, pick the live game, click the gear next to Play, and choose Show in Explorer. Open its
WTF\Account\<number>\. - Copy the account files from your backup into the live account folder.
- Copy each character’s files into the matching live character folder. If a character has a new name or realm on live, copy into that folder instead; the folder name is what matters, not the files.
- Start the game and check your macros, keybinds, and layout.
If something does not stick
The files ending in “cache” are copies of settings the game also keeps on Blizzard’s side. In my test the game kept my edited files, but live is a new game, so it could behave differently. If your copied settings do not show up, close the game and copy the files in again, or use the in game ways above: Share and Import for Edit Mode, and copy the macro text by hand.
Things to watch for
- Spell names: a macro or keybind that names a spell that changed for live will stop working without an error. Test your important ones on a training dummy.
- Addon settings: most addons are fine, but some keep data about your beta guild or characters. If an addon acts strangely, delete its file in SavedVariables and set it up again.
- One step at a time: if you copy everything at once and something breaks, it is hard to tell what. Account files first, then one character, then the rest.
What I tested, and what I could not
Tested in the beta: I closed the game, changed an account macro’s name, a character macro’s name, and a keybind in these files, then logged in. All three showed my changes, so the game reads these files back in. Edit Mode’s Share, Copy to Clipboard, and Import are there, and so is Show in Explorer in the Battle net app. Config.wtf in the beta really does name the test servers.
Not tested, because live is not out yet: the live folder names, copying into a character folder with a different name, and addon settings on live. The Mac paths are the usual defaults; I do not have a Mac to check.
If anything here is different on your computer, or you find a file I missed, say so below and I will add it.