WoW Forever Addons on Linux: Easy Setup with CurseForge and WowUp

An addon changes or adds something to your game interface. An addon manager downloads the files and helps keep them updated.

This guide shows you how to open CurseForge or WowUp on Linux, connect it to Blizzard’s WoW Forever, and install ClassicUI Forever as an example.

Need to install the game first? Follow our WoW Forever on Linux guide, then come back here.

Start here: pick one app

CurseForge: choose this for browsing and installing addons from the CurseForge website. Download CurseForge for Linux.

WowUp: another addon manager, available in editions with different addon sources. Download WowUp for Linux.

You only need one manager for the addons you want to install. Start with one app and keep using it for updates.

1. Find the folder where Forever is installed

1. Open Battle.net the same way you normally do when playing.
2. Select WoW: Forever in the game-version menu.
3. Click the cogwheel beside the Play button.
4. Choose Show in Explorer, or check the installation location in Battle.net’s settings.
5. Keep this folder open. You will use it when connecting your addon manager.

For the beta, the client folder is named _classic_beta_. Inside it, you will find Interface and WTF.

Interface → AddOns holds the addon files. WTF holds your addon settings. The folder name may change for another release; always use the folder for the Forever version you launch.

If the folder opens inside Wine

Battle.net may open a Windows-style file browser. You can browse those same files with your regular Linux file manager.

Open the folder you chose when installing Battle.net through Lutris, then open drive_c. This is the Windows C: drive for that installation. Look for Program Files (x86) → World of Warcraft, or the installation location you chose.

You do not need to reinstall the game or create another Battle.net launcher.

2. Download and open CurseForge

1. Visit the official CurseForge download page.
2. Choose Linux.
3. Download the Linux file. On Ubuntu or Kubuntu, you can choose the .deb package. The AppImage is the other Linux download option.
4. Open your Downloads folder and follow the steps for the file you chose below.

CurseForge’s official Linux support page covers Ubuntu and its derivatives and documents both download formats.

If you downloaded a .deb file

1. Double-click the downloaded file.
2. Your software installer should open. Click Install.
3. Enter your password if asked and wait for installation to finish.
4. Open your application menu, search for CurseForge, and launch it.

If you downloaded an AppImage

An AppImage is a Linux app that runs from its downloaded file.

1. Right-click the AppImage and choose Properties.
2. In Permissions, enable Allow executing file as a program. Your desktop may call this Is executable.
3. Close Properties and double-click the AppImage to open CurseForge.

Want pictures, help opening the file, or an application-menu shortcut? Follow our AppImage and Gear Lever beginner’s guide.

Run the Linux app on your desktop. You do not need to open it through Lutris.

Tell CurseForge where the game is

1. Open World of Warcraft in CurseForge.
2. Select your Forever installation.
3. If it is missing, use the app’s game-location controls to add the Forever client folder you found earlier.
4. Check the displayed folder before installing an addon.

CurseForge asks for the folder, not the game’s .exe file. If the app does not offer your Forever installation, use WowUp with Forever support or the manual method below.

3. Prefer WowUp? Open it and add the game

1. Visit the WowUp download page.
2. Choose a Linux AppImage from the edition you want.
3. Open it using the AppImage steps above, or follow our AppImage guide.
4. In WowUp, open Options → WoW Clients and click Re-Scan.
5. If Forever is missing, click Add New and select the game’s .exe file inside the Forever folder.
6. Select that installation in WowUp’s game selector before adding addons.

Which WowUp edition? The standard WowUp 2.24.0 release includes Forever support. To browse CurseForge addons inside WowUp, choose WowUp with CurseForge and a release with Forever support. Its 2.24 beta downloads are marked Pre-release on GitHub.

For GitHub downloads, open the release’s Assets list and choose the Linux .AppImage file.

4. Install your first addon: ClassicUI Forever

ClassicUI Forever by justawower is listed for Blizzard’s Forever client. It lets you give parts of the interface a classic appearance.

1. Select Forever in your addon manager.
2. Open the app’s addon search. In WowUp, this is Get Addons.
3. Search for ClassicUI Forever.
4. Check that it is the project by justawower and that the file is for Forever.
5. Click Install and wait for it to finish.
6. Start WoW as usual. At character selection, click AddOns and enable ClassicUI Forever.

If WowUp does not list it among your edition’s sources, use the manual download instructions below.

Change the addon’s settings

Enter the game, open chat, type this, and press Enter:

/fcui

The addon’s options open. Turn on the interface features you want. Start with one or two so you can see what changed.

To reload the interface, type:

/reload

The author’s instructions explain the other available settings.

5. Install manually if you need to

You can install an addon without a manager.

1. Close WoW.
2. Open ClassicUI Forever’s Files page.
3. Choose a file marked for Forever and click Download.
4. Open Downloads, right-click the ZIP, and choose Extract.
5. Find the ClassicUIForever folder inside the extracted files.
6. Copy that folder into Forever client folder → Interface → AddOns. Create AddOns if it does not exist.
7. Start WoW and enable the addon from AddOns at character selection.

When you open AddOns → ClassicUIForever, you should see the file ClassicUIForever.toc. Copy the addon folder itself—not an extra outer folder containing it. Keep the spelling and capitalization as downloaded.

6. Updating and keeping your settings

Close WoW, open your chosen manager, select Forever, and check for addon updates. Use the app’s Update or Update All button for that installation.

Before making big UI changes, copy Interface/AddOns and WTF somewhere outside the game folder. Give the backup a date in its name. This saves both the addon files and your settings.

Quick fixes

The app cannot find WoW: return to the folder you found through Battle.net. CurseForge needs the client folder; WowUp’s Add New needs the game executable.

The addon is not in the game’s AddOns list: check that it went into Forever’s AddOns folder, then fully close and reopen WoW.

The file is for Retail or Classic Era: choose the Forever download. The game’s “Load out-of-date addons” option does not change which client an addon was built for.

The AppImage will not open: use the permissions and FUSE help in our AppImage guide.

The website’s Install button does not open CurseForge: search for the addon inside the app and click Install there. CurseForge’s Linux troubleshooting page explains browser-link integration separately.

Optional: terminal commands

You can use these instead of the graphical steps. Open a terminal in the folder containing the download and replace the example filename with yours.

For a CurseForge .deb on Debian or Ubuntu-based systems:

sudo apt install ./CurseForge.deb

For its AppImage:

chmod +x ./CurseForge.AppImage
./CurseForge.AppImage

Related guides

• Install WoW Forever on Linux
• Run AppImages and add them to your app menu with Gear Lever