SimpleCVarLoader
Every World of Warcraft player knows the ritual: you tweak a handful of console variables for a raid night, log out, and by the next session half of those settings have quietly reverted. SimpleCVarLoader exists to end that cycle. It is a lightweight addon that stores CVar values in named profiles and reapplies the active one automatically at every login, so the interface you configured is the interface you actually get.
What SimpleCVarLoader Does
The core idea is simple and, more importantly, reversible. Instead of editing CVars one by one and hoping they survive a relog, you group them into profiles. Each profile holds its own CVars and its own tweaks, and the profile you applied last is the one that comes back when you log in again. That single behaviour is what makes switching between playstyles practical rather than painful.
Profiles can also carry Lua snippets, called tweaks, for settings that no CVar exposes. Think of a tweak as a small piece of code that runs when the profile is applied. The addon runs each tweak under pcall, so a broken snippet reports its own error without aborting the rest of the profile. That safety net matters when you are experimenting with code you copied from a forum thread at two in the morning.
Validation and the CVar List
Typos are rejected before they are stored, not saved and silently ignored. If you mistype a CVar name, SimpleCVarLoader tells you instead of writing garbage into your profile. The cvar list command then shows each value against its game default, colour-coded whenever the current value differs. It is a fast way to audit what you have actually changed versus what Blizzard shipped.
Commands and Workflow
Everything runs through slash commands. The short form is /scvl, and either /scvl or /simplecvarloader with no arguments prints the full command list.
- /scvl profile list — lists every profile, marking the active one
- /scvl profile new <name> — creates an empty profile
- /scvl profile set <name> — applies a profile and makes it active
- /scvl profile delete <name> — deletes a profile
- /scvl cvar list — lists the active profile's CVars with their defaults
- /scvl cvar set <name> <value> — applies a CVar and stores it in the active profile
- /scvl cvar delete <name> — removes a CVar override from the active profile
- /scvl tweak list — lists the active profile's tweaks
- /scvl tweak set <name> <code> — runs a Lua snippet and stores it in the active profile
- /scvl tweak delete <name> — removes a tweak from the active profile
Both cvar and tweak commands act on the active profile, so select one with /scvl profile set before you start editing. A typical setup uses two profiles: one for the open world and one for raid nights, both declaring the same settings with different values. That overlap is deliberate. Because both profiles define the same CVars, switching is fully reversible — nothing is left dangling from the previous profile.
A Practical Example
An immersion-focused default profile might set nameplateShowAll to 0, keep chatBubbles and ambient sound on, and use a tweak that shows the error frame. A raid profile flips those: nameplates on for everything, friendly nameplates off, chat bubbles and music off, more sound channels, and a tweak that hides the error frame for a cleaner screen. Switching is one command, and whichever profile you applied last returns at the next login.
Tweaks deserve a caveat. A tweak is only Lua that runs on apply, and nothing automatically undoes it. Hiding the error frame in a raid profile is reversible only because the default profile shows it again. Plan your profiles as a pair, not as isolated one-offs.
If you would rather not juggle manual file placement, the foxygame.net launcher offers one-click installation and keeps SimpleCVarLoader updated automatically, which is handy when a patch changes how addons load.
Compatibility and How to Install
SimpleCVarLoader is built to work across the modern client and the classic progression lines, so it fits Retail, Classic, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria. Addon compatibility is generally straightforward because the addon leans on the standard CVar API rather than version-specific hooks, though you should always confirm the addon folder matches the client you are launching.
To install manually, download SimpleCVarLoader from your preferred addon source, extract the archive, and place the SimpleCVarLoader folder inside your World of Warcraft installation under Interface/AddOns. The folder name must match exactly, so avoid renaming it. Restart the client or reload your UI, and the addon will be available. From there, create your first profile, set your CVars, and let the login reapplication do the rest.
SimpleCVarLoader for World of Warcraft is not a flashy addon, and that is the point. It solves one specific annoyance — settings that refuse to stay put — with profiles that are easy to build, easy to switch, and safe to experiment with thanks to validation and pcall-protected tweaks. Set up a default and a raid profile once, and your interface stops being a daily chore.