Scripting

Scripting

Genie 5 runs Genie 4 .cmd scripts. The engine is a faithful port of Genie 4's Wizard-derived script language — if you've written scripts for Genie 4, Wizard, or StormFront, the syntax is identical and your scripts should just run. New to scripting? This page is a friendly tour; the complete vocabulary is on Scripting Reference.

If a script worked in Genie 4 and doesn't work here, that's a bug we want to hear about — file an issue. Script compatibility is treated as non-negotiable.

Where scripts live

Drop .cmd files into your Scripts folder:

• Per character: Profiles/<Character>-<Account>/Scripts/
• Shared (before you've logged in): Scripts/

See Application Folders for the exact path on your OS. No restart needed — Genie picks up new files immediately.

Hello world

Create Scripts/hello.cmd:

echo Hello, %1!

Run it from the command bar (scripts are prefixed with .):

.hello world

Output: Hello, world! — %1 was filled in by the argument you passed.

The vocabulary at a glance

# A comment is a # followed by whitespace or end-of-line.
# Lines starting with #command are meta-commands (#echo, #put, #stop, ...).

# Variables:
#   $name  reads a global / live game-state value
#   %1, %2 are the arguments passed to the script (%0 is all of them)
#   var foo = bar   sets a local variable; read it back as %foo

# Send a command to the game:
put look

# Wait for game text matching a label (literal) or regex:
match Done You finish searching.
matchwait

# Or block until a substring appears:
waitfor You can move again

# Pause for seconds:
pause 2.5
waitpause            # sleep until the current roundtime expires

# Conditionals on live game state:
if_health < 50 then put cast 1101
if def(weapon) then echo I have a weapon set

# Loops via labels + goto:
LOOP:
  put assess
  pause 1
  goto LOOP

Roundtime safety

Scripts are roundtime-aware. By default, a put issued while you're in roundtime queues, waits, and respects the type-ahead budget — you don't have to write waitpause; put north everywhere. Use waitpause explicitly only when you need to gate on roundtime expiring before the script proceeds (for example, before computing a value that depends on being able to act).

Because DragonRealms doesn't announce when roundtime ends, the engine schedules its own wake-up from the live roundtime clock — so RT-gated scripts resume correctly. The mechanics are in Scripting Reference.

Game-state variables

Every live game-state field is exposed as a $variable, so scripts can read your character's condition directly. Common ones:

Variable	Holds
$health, $mana, $spirit, $concentration, $stamina	Current vital percentages (0–100).
$roomname, $roomdesc, $roomexits	Current room info.
$righthand, $lefthand	What you're holding.
$preparedspell	Prepared spell (or empty).
$stance	off / adv / fwd / neu / grd / def.
$kneeling, $prone, $sitting, $stunned, $hidden, $webbed, …	Status booleans.
$roundtime	Seconds of roundtime remaining.

Type #vars at the command bar to see the full live list. The complete table is on Scripting Reference.

Running and stopping scripts

.myscript arg1 arg2   # run Scripts/myscript.cmd with %1=arg1 %2=arg2
#scripts              # list running scripts
#stop myscript        # stop one script
#stopall              # stop everything
#edit myscript        # open it in your editor (set via Display Settings)

A Script Bar above the command bar shows what's running, with stop/edit controls; it hides itself when nothing is running.

What's different from Genie 4

A few intentional divergences:

• Per-character script folders — scripts saved while playing one character live separately from another's. The first-launch migration copies your existing Genie 4 Scripts/ across once.
• Undefined $var aborts the script — rather than silently expanding to empty (a classic Genie 4 bug source), Genie 5 stops with a clear reason. Use if def(name) to test first.
• Comments — # is a comment only when followed by whitespace or end-of-line. #put north is a meta-command, not a comment.
• gosub for reusable routines — jumping into a nested/indented block isn't reliable; use gosub for sub-routines.

Example scripts to study

The community DR-Genie-Scripts repo has ~55 real scripts, from one-liners to 500+-line hunt loops. Start with the simpler ones (foraging, alchemy, simple buffers) before combat scripts.

Related

• Scripting Reference — the complete language: every statement, variable scoping, the roundtime gate, type-ahead.
• Configuration & Rules — triggers and variables that scripts build on.
• Lich 5 Integration — running Ruby scripts alongside .cmd.