InkLab - World of Warcraft Database Browser

A comprehensive desktop application for browsing and exploring World of Warcraft (Octo WoW) game data, built with Wails, Go, and React.

Features

Database Browser

• Items: search by name, class, subclass, and inventory slot; WoW-style tooltips; icons served from the local client set
• Sets: item sets by class, with set bonuses
• NPCs: browse by creature type or beast family; spawn pins on zone maps; loot, quests, abilities, trainer and vendor listings; locally-rendered 3D models
• Quests: browse by zone or category; objectives, rewards, and quest givers
• Objects: browse by type; loot tables and spawn locations
• Zones: every zone with its map and the loot obtainable there
• Spells: browse by class or skill; descriptions resolved locally from client DBC data
• Factions: reputation rewards, reputation quests, quest givers, and faction members
• Races: racial traits and starting attributes
• Icons: every icon in the local client set, cross-referenced to the items and spells that use it (hover any icon for a copyable name)

AtlasLoot Integration

• 7 categories: Instances, Sets, Factions, PvP, World Bosses, World Events, Crafting
• Hierarchical navigation (Category → Module → Table → Items)
• Drop chance information where available

More

• Talents: talent tree browser and calculator with shareable build codes
• Maps: flight-path network browser per continent and zone
• Favorites: bookmark entities for quick access
• Global Search: find items, NPCs, quests, spells, and objects from anywhere

Architecture

Technology Stack

• Backend: Go 1.24 + Wails v2.11
• Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript + Vite
• Database: SQLite 3
• Styling: Tailwind CSS with custom WoW theme

Data Pipeline

The application supports two modes of data operation:

1. End User Mode (Default):

   • Uses the embedded SQLite database (data/inklab.db)
   • Syncs missing or updated data directly from octowow.st via the built-in Sync Service
   • No external database dependencies required

2. Developer Mode (Optional):

   • Can connect to a local MySQL instance for custom data export
   • Python export scripts available in scripts/ (Optional usage)
   • Useful for initial database population or large schema updates

Sync Service (backend/services/):

• Scrapes and parses data from octowow.st/db
• Supports Items, NPCs, Quests, and Objects (spell text is resolved locally from client DBC data)
• Multi-threaded worker pools for fast synchronization
• "AtlasLoot Missing" mode to find gaps in local data

Installation

1. Download the latest release for your platform from the Releases page.

2. Extract the archive anywhere and run the executable (InkLab.exe on Windows). The database ships embedded in the binary and is unpacked into a data/ folder next to it on first launch — no external database or other setup required.

3. Run the Client Data import. Icons, zone maps, and other client-derived reference data are built locally from your WoW client. In the app, open Tools → Import → Client Data (icons, maps, DBC), set the base path to your client folder (the one containing Data\*.MPQ), and run it once.

Upgrading is the same: newer releases refresh the embedded database automatically on launch, and your locally-built icons and maps are kept.

Development

Building from Source

Prerequisites: Go 1.24+, Node.js 18+, Wails v2.11+

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/brues-code/inklab.git
cd inklab

# Install dependencies
go mod download
cd frontend && npm install && cd ..

# Run in development mode
wails dev

# Or produce a production binary in build/bin
wails build

Database Schema

The application uses a SQLite database with 30+ tables:

Core Tables:

• item_template: Items (1:1 MySQL mapping)
• creature_template: Creatures
• quest_template: Quests
• spell_template: Spells
• gameobject_template: Objects

AtlasLoot Tables:

• atlasloot_categories: Categories
• atlasloot_modules: Modules
• atlasloot_tables: Loot tables
• atlasloot_items: Loot entries

Loot Tables:

• creature_loot_template
• item_loot_template
• gameobject_loot_template
• reference_loot_template
• disenchant_loot_template

Data Update Workflow

1. Sync Service (Recommended):

   • Use the in-app Sync page to sync data from octowow.st.
   • This approach is incremental and does not require external tools.

2. Developer Export (Legacy/Full Rebuild):

   • If you have a local Turtle WoW MySQL database, you can use scripts/export_all_data.py to dump JSONs.
   • Using wails dev with no existing DB will trigger an import from data/*.json.

Icon Management

Icon images are never downloaded from the network. The Client Data import decodes them straight from your WoW client's MPQ archives into data/icons/, and the UI serves them from there. The icon-fix tooling only discovers missing icon names (e.g. inv_sword_01) from octowow.st/db so the locally-extracted images can resolve; anything still unresolved falls back to a question-mark placeholder.

Data Sources

• Turtle-WoW Emulation Server Source Code: https://github.com/brian8544/turtle-wow

Key Technologies

• Wails: Go-powered desktop apps with web UI
• SQLite: Embedded database (no server needed)
• Code Generation: Python scripts auto-generate Go code
• React Hooks: Modern state management
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first styling

Future Enhancements

• Equipment set manager
• Stat calculator and comparison
• DPS simulator
• Enchant and gem browser
• Character planner
• Export/import functionality

Contributing

This project is for educational purposes and community use. Contributions welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Built with ❤️ for the Turtle WoW Community