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docs(link): clilocs come over the bridge now, and UOFiddler's first job is gone

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Phase 2 of the Asset Bridge is built, so the documentation stops telling an
operator to install a GUI tool.

`v8.md` gains §9.1 and §9.2 — what the port cost, what it measured, and where the
base table comes from now. The measurement worth keeping: **67,496 rows in
290 ms**, which is exactly what UOFiddler's own `Ultima.dll` produced from this
same client through the converter this phase deletes. An independent
implementation agreeing to the row is the strongest check available that a format
decoder is correct, and it is not something a subtly-wrong one produces.

§17 records the four shapes the org lead settled before any of it was written.
Two departed from the recommendation: **the bridge always wins** (no source
setting — there is no version of that question an operator benefits from
answering) and **import is admin-triggered** (boot does not call the shard at
all).

`CLILOCS.md` is rewritten around that: where the table comes from, what arrives
and in how many pieces, the refusals — including the two the file pipeline had no
equivalent of (a client patched mid-import, and the base's exemption from the
vanished-source rule, which exists so an upgraded install is not asked to approve
a change the upgrade itself made).

`UOFIDDLER.md` loses Part 1 entirely rather than having it rewritten. What is
left is creature art, which phase 5 takes, after which the page goes away. `v3.md`
§8.6 keeps its reasoning with a note saying what superseded it, because the
argument for why the manual step existed is still the argument for why this was
worth building.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016wDDVXWMDz82WqE1i969r4
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2026-09-10 11:13:56 -05:00
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@@ -1,34 +1,45 @@
# Extracting from your own UO client (UOFiddler)
**Audience:** the shard operator, once, at setup time.
**Related:** [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) (why the cliloc conversion is unavoidable),
[`SPAWN_ATLAS.md`](SPAWN_ATLAS.md) (where creature art fits).
**Related:** [`SPAWN_ATLAS.md`](SPAWN_ATLAS.md) (where creature art fits),
[`../link/v8.md`](../link/v8.md) (the Asset Bridge, which is replacing this page).
Two features read data that **only exists inside a UO client**, and a UO client's
files are EA's, not ours to redistribute. So neither this repo nor any image we
publish can ship them — the operator extracts from **their own** client, once,
> ### The cliloc conversion is gone — you no longer do this by hand
>
> **Protocol 8, phase 2.** The shard reads its own client's `Cliloc.enu` and
> serves the table over the bridge, so there is nothing to install, convert or
> copy. Press **Admin → Shard → Import** after you patch your client and that is
> the whole procedure; see [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md).
>
> Part 1 of this guide has been deleted rather than rewritten. If you already
> have a converted file it keeps working on an install with no uo-link
> configured, but nobody should make a new one.
>
> **Creature art is next** (phase 5), after which this page goes away entirely.
What remains here reads data that **only exists inside a UO client**, and a UO
client's files are EA's, not ours to redistribute. So neither this repo nor any
image we publish can ship them — the operator extracts from **their own** client
and points the site at the result.
| Feature | What it needs | Required? | Without it |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Item / title names** ([`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md)) | `Cliloc.enu`, converted | No | Names render as raw ids — `id 1023721` instead of *quarter staff* |
| **Creature art** ([`SPAWN_ATLAS.md`](SPAWN_ATLAS.md)) | Sprites from `.mul`/`.uop` | No | Atlas pages render as text, which is the normal state |
**Both are optional and neither is load-bearing.** A shard that never does any of
this is fully supported. Do part one and skip part two if art is not worth your
time — they share only the tool.
**It is optional and it is not load-bearing.** A shard that never does any of this
is fully supported.
Everything you extract stays **outside the repository**: the converted cliloc
file lives at a path you choose, and `spawnAtlas.art.json` plus `server/uploads/`
are gitignored, so none of it can be committed by accident.
Everything you extract stays **outside the repository**: `spawnAtlas.art.json` and
`server/uploads/` are gitignored, so none of it can be committed by accident.
---
## Part 0 — Get UOFiddler
[UOFiddler](https://github.com/polserver/UOFiddler) is the community client-file
editor. We use it because its `Ultima.dll` already contains the cliloc
decompressor, maintained by people who do this for a living.
editor. What is left here uses its GUI to export sprites; the `Ultima.dll` this
guide used to reach for was the cliloc decompressor, and the shard has its own
now.
1. Download the latest release zip from
<https://github.com/polserver/UOFiddler/releases/latest> — one asset, named
@@ -38,204 +49,30 @@ decompressor, maintained by people who do this for a living.
```
UOFiddler-4.22.2/
Ultima.dll ← the decompressor (Part 1 needs this path)
UoFiddler.exe ← the GUI (Part 2 needs this)
Ultima.dll
plugins/
…
```
3. **Runtime:** UOFiddler 4.22.2 is built for **.NET 10**. Running `UoFiddler.exe`
needs the .NET 10 **Desktop** Runtime (Windows only); loading `Ultima.dll` from
the converter in Part 1 needs the .NET 10 runtime. Install from
<https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0>.
3. **Runtime:** UOFiddler 4.22.2 is built for **.NET 10**, so running
`UoFiddler.exe` needs the .NET 10 **Desktop** Runtime (Windows only). Install
from <https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0>.
### Finding your client files
The cliloc file is in your **UO client installation directory**, not in your
ServUO tree — the shard server has no copy of it. Look for `Cliloc.enu` (English;
the other seven are `chs`, `cht`, `deu`, `esp`, `fra`, `jpn`, `kor`) beside
`art.mul` / `artLegacyMUL.uop`. The EA Classic Client's default location is:
The art files are in your **UO client installation directory**. Look for
`art.mul` / `artLegacyMUL.uop` and the `anim*.mul` set. The EA Classic Client's
default location is:
```
C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\Ultima Online Classic\
```
**If your shard distributes its own patched client to players, use that copy.**
Any cliloc edits you shipped to players are then already in the base table and
you need no overlay for them (see [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) §Shard-added and
shard-edited items).
---
## Part 1 — Convert the cliloc table
**Goal:** turn the client's compressed `Cliloc.enu` into a file the site can
read, and point the site at it.
The site cannot read `Cliloc.enu` directly. Every modern client compresses it
(the "Mythic" container), and so does ServUO's own bundled `Ultima.StringList` —
which is why the shard cannot supply names on our behalf either. The full
reasoning is in [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) §Why the operator has to convert the
file; this section is just the procedure.
Two routes. **The bundled tool is the recommended one** — the GUI export needs a
fixup step, described below.
### Route A — the bundled converter (recommended)
Needs a .NET SDK (any version 8 or newer — the project targets `net8.0` and rolls
forward, so whatever you have works) **plus** the .NET 10 runtime from Part 0,
which is what actually loads `Ultima.dll`.
```bash
cd website/server/tools/cliloc-export
dotnet build -c Release
# plain binary — recommended, exact
dotnet run -c Release -- \
"/path/to/UOFiddler-4.22.2/Ultima.dll" \
"/path/to/UO client/Cliloc.enu" \
/srv/uo-data/clilocs.plain
# or tab-delimited text, if you want to eyeball or hand-edit it
dotnet run -c Release -- \
"/path/to/UOFiddler-4.22.2/Ultima.dll" \
"/path/to/UO client/Cliloc.enu" \
/srv/uo-data/clilocs.tsv --tsv
```
Expected output for a stock English client:
```
wrote 123490 entries to /srv/uo-data/clilocs.plain (maxTextBytes=12150, skippedOversize=0)
```
**Sanity-check that number.** A stock `Cliloc.enu` is ~123,000 entries. A few
hundred means it read something else and you should not ship the result. The
tool exits non-zero and says `no entries were written — is that a cliloc file?`
when it gets nothing at all.
The conversion runs on whatever machine has the client (usually Windows), and the
site reads the output wherever it runs — so **copy the output file to the server**
if those are different machines. It is a single self-contained file (~5 MB); the
`--tsv` form is larger but diff-able.
<details>
<summary>Errors you may hit</summary>
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| `Ultima.StringList not found — is that really UOFiddler's Ultima.dll?` | First argument points at some other `Ultima.dll` (ServUO ships one too — it is **not** the same assembly and cannot do this) |
| `You must install .NET to run this application` | Missing the .NET 10 runtime from Part 0 step 3 |
| `Unexpected Ultima.StringList API` | UOFiddler older than 4.21 |
| `usage: clilocexport …` | Fewer than three arguments |
</details>
### Route B — the UOFiddler GUI
Use this if you would rather not install a .NET SDK. **It needs one extra step**,
so do not skip the fixup.
1. Launch `UoFiddler.exe` and point it at your client directory when it asks
(or **Options → Path Settings**).
2. Open the **Cliloc** tab and use its **export to CSV** action.
3. It writes `CliLoc.csv` to UOFiddler's configured output path, in **three**
columns with a header row:
```
Number;Text;Flag
1023721;quarter staff;0
```
4. **Strip the trailing flag column.** The site's text parser reads
`number<TAB|,|;>text`, so that third field is otherwise absorbed into the name
and every item on the site renders as `quarter staff;0`.
```bash
sed -E 's/;[0-9]+$//' CliLoc.csv > clilocs.csv
```
```powershell
Get-Content CliLoc.csv |
ForEach-Object { $_ -replace ';\d+$','' } |
Set-Content -Encoding utf8 clilocs.csv
```
The header row needs no removal — a line whose first field is not an integer
is skipped. Blank entries (`1005008;`) survive the fixup correctly and are
dropped at import, as intended.
5. Copy `clilocs.csv` to the server.
**Why the fixup is not just done for us:** the parser already handles
`number,flag,text` — the flag in the *middle*, which is what several exports
emit. UOFiddler puts it at the *end*, where it is indistinguishable from a name
that genuinely ends in `;0`. One `sed` on the operator's side beats a parser
heuristic that would corrupt real names.
### Point the site at it
Two ways, the setting winning over the environment:
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| **Admin → Shard → cliloc path** | Takes effect on the next refresh, no redeploy |
| `UO_CLIENT_PATH` env var | The deploy-time default |
The value may be **the file itself or a directory to search** — both are natural
answers to "where is it", and overlays are picked up either way.
Setting the path deliberately does **not** import as a side effect. Click
**Import** (or `POST /api/v1/admin/shard/clilocs/import`) to load it.
### Verify
`GET /api/v1/admin/shard/clilocs`, or the Admin → Shard panel, reports what each
source contributed:
```json
"sources": [
{ "label": "clilocs.plain", "kind": "base", "entries": 123490, "added": 123490, "overrode": 0 }
]
```
Roughly **67,500 rows stored** from a stock table is correct — about half a
cliloc table is empty strings for ids the client reserves and never uses.
Then load any character sheet with equipment: items should show names rather than
`id 1023721`.
<details>
<summary>What a refusal means</summary>
A bad file answers `200` with a `status` and a named reason, not a `500` — you
need to be told *which file* to fix.
| `code` | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `COMPRESSED` | You pointed at the raw client `Cliloc.enu`. Convert it — this whole page. |
| `TRUNCATED` | Half-copied file. Re-copy; the loaded table is untouched. |
| `EMPTY` | A text source with no parseable rows — the file is named in the reason. |
| `status: needsReview` + `missingSources` | A previously-loaded source has vanished (unmounted volume? deliberate deletion?). Nothing changes until you re-import with `{ "approve": true }`. |
</details>
### Custom items — do *not* re-export for these
Shard-added items carry ids no client table has. Drop a small delimited file in a
`custom/` directory beside the base file and re-import:
```
/srv/uo-data/
clilocs.plain ← base, from this guide
custom/
01-uomysticmoon.tsv ← your additions and overrides
```
Files are read in sorted order and **later sources win**, so an overlay both adds
new ids and overrides stock ones you have re-purposed. **Adding one item never
means re-exporting a 5 MB client file.** Details in [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md).
**If your shard distributes its own patched client to players, use that copy** —
it is what your players actually see. (It is also the copy the shard itself reads
from, since a ServUO server resolves `Config/DataPath.cfg` into its own client
path at boot, which is the premise the Asset Bridge is built on.)
---
@@ -246,7 +83,8 @@ functional as text, and `art` is NULL on every fresh import.
**This project ships no art and no art-extraction tooling, and never will.**
1. In `UoFiddler.exe` (paths configured as in Route B step 1), open the
1. Open `UoFiddler.exe` and point it at your client directory
(**Settings → Paths**), then open the
**Animations** tab for creature sprites — or **Items** for object art — find
the creature, and export as PNG. Right-click an entry for its export options,
or use the tab's *Export All* action for a batch. (4.22.2 added an export