Filter Restore
Every World of Warcraft player knows the ritual: you open the auction house, type a material name, set a price range, pick a category, run your search, close the window, and come back later only to find everything wiped clean. The default filters are back, and you start all over again. Filter Restore exists to end that small but constant annoyance. It is a lightweight addon with a single, sharply defined purpose: it remembers the filter you were using and puts it back the moment you return to the main auction house tab. No configuration maze, no feature bloat, just your settings staying exactly where you left them.
What Filter Restore Actually Does
The concept is refreshingly simple. Whenever you land on the main auction house tab, the addon restores the filter set you had applied previously. In practice, this makes your filter feel permanent. You set it once, and it survives closing the auction house, switching tabs, or logging out entirely. If you genuinely want a fresh start, you can still reset it manually, so nothing is locked in against your will.
Version 1.4 expanded the addon beyond the auction house. It now applies the same behavior to the crafting orders screen, which is why the name shifted slightly to reflect the broader scope. That was a smarter choice than splitting the functionality into two separate addons, and it means crafters get the same quality-of-life improvement as auction house traders.
Why This Small Addon Saves Real Time
Individually, re-entering a filter takes a few seconds. Multiplied across a full play session, especially for players who buy and sell materials in bulk, the wasted time adds up fast. Consider what you normally redo every single time:
- Category and subcategory selections for trade goods, reagents, or gear.
- Price range minimums and maximums for flipping or sniping.
- Item level and quality thresholds on equipment searches.
- Exact material names typed out again and again.
- Usable-item and current-expansion toggles.
Filter Restore handles all of it silently in the background. You will notice it most during long crafting sessions or when you are camping the auction house for deals, because the interface simply behaves the way you always wished it would.
Version Compatibility Across WoW Editions
Retail and Modern Clients
On Retail, the addon works with the current auction house and crafting orders systems, including the commodity and equipment split. If you play the modern game and use the crafting order system regularly, this is where the v1.4 addition really earns its place.
Classic, TBC, WotLK, Cataclysm, and MoP
Players on the classic progression paths are not left out. Filter Restore for World of Warcraft supports Classic, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria, adapting to whichever auction house interface that client uses. The crafting orders portion is only relevant where that system exists, but the core auction house filter restoration applies across the board. This broad compatibility is one reason the addon stays popular despite doing so little on paper.
How to Install Filter Restore
Installation follows the standard addon routine, and if you have ever added anything to WoW before, you already know the steps:
- Download Filter Restore from your preferred addon source and extract the archive.
- Place the extracted folder into your World of Warcraft installation under Interface > AddOns.
- Confirm the folder name matches the .toc file inside, then restart the game client.
- Enable the addon on the character selection screen and log in.
There is no setup screen and no slash command to memorize. The addon starts working the first time you open the auction house. If you prefer a hands-off approach, the foxygame.net launcher can handle the entire process for you, installing Filter Restore with a single click and keeping it current whenever a new patch lands. For players juggling multiple WoW versions, that kind of automated version matching removes a genuine headache, since the launcher detects your client and delivers the correct build of Filter Restore without any manual folder shuffling.
Who Should Use It
If you spend any meaningful time in the auction house, this addon pays for itself immediately. Goblin-minded traders, crafters filling orders, leveling players buying materials in bulk, and anyone who has ever muttered at their screen after a filter reset will all benefit. The addon does not touch combat, does not add frames you have to manage, and does not interfere with other auction house addons in any meaningful way.
Final Thoughts
Filter Restore is a perfect example of a mod that solves one problem completely instead of solving ten problems poorly. It restores your auction house filter automatically, extends the same courtesy to crafting orders, and supports Retail along with Classic, TBC, WotLK, Cataclysm, and MoP. If you are tired of rebuilding the same search every time you visit the auction house, download Filter Restore, drop it into your AddOns folder, and let it quietly do its job. Small addons like this are often the ones you miss most once you have used them.