TortoiseBotsManager: A Vanilla 1.12 Control Panel for TortoiseBots

By Indie Kings | October 26, 2026

Updated October 26, 2026: TortoiseBotsManager is a Vanilla 1.12 client addon that turns the TortoiseBots module into a point and click control panel, with button driven combat and camp orders that travel as hidden addon messages.

Image: mechanical keyboard closeup via Wikimedia Commons.

The panel replaces the command line

Sagiroth's TortoiseBotsManager, 12 stars and 3 forks over 133 commits on GitHub, is the in-game control panel for TortoiseBots, the PlayerBots module built for the Tortoise WoW 1.18.1 server restoration. It is a Vanilla 1.12 (build 11200) addon: log your alts in as bots, group them, and command them with buttons instead of typing .bot commands, and it is licensed MIT, separate from the module's AGPL licensing. The whole thing is client side only: the repo ships addon source and no game files or services, and the addon functions only on a server running the TortoiseBots module. Installation is the old handmade way, extract the zip into Interface/AddOns and fully restart the client, because the game loads new addon files only on restart and not on /reload.

Eight tabs and a bot panel

The main window's tabs map to how a bot party actually lives. Fight covers attack, stop, interrupt, flee, pull and pull back, focus and crowd control marks, movement orders and party switches for AoE, auto CC, loot, sap and spread tactics. Camp covers between pull life, resting, ready checks, repairs, selling junk, training, release and corpse run, rebuffing and formations. Party shows your group and roles and opens each bot's gear and bags; Roster holds your own characters for logging in, out, inviting, kicking and summoning, and filling parties or raids; Guild holds bots you claimed into your guild as raid alts; Raid adds boss tactics when you are in one; Dungeon appears only when the server enables it and lets your bots run a dungeon, with either the bots or you leading. Log tracks the recent bot messages and server replies. The deeper bot panel is a paper doll and bag view with upgrade markers, equipping, trading, using, mailing and banking items, per bot behavior switches, spells and NPC errands with flights.

Quiet mode and mini mode

Two details make this feel made by someone who plays solo with bots daily. Button clicks travel as addon messages, so no chat spam appears for you or anyone nearby, which is how a button panel can mirror every documented .bot command without the words. And a targeting rule keeps orders sane: target one of your bots and the commands narrow to that bot, otherwise they go to the whole party. Mini mode swaps the full window for a small bar of fight buttons and favorites via a single /tbm mini command, with key bindings and slash commands documented for people who would rather never see the window at all.

Addon card

Item	Detail
Project	TortoiseBotsManager by Sagiroth
Role	In-game control panel (slash command /tbm) for TortoiseBots
Client	Vanilla 1.12, build 11200
License	MIT
Repo stats	12 stars, 3 forks, 133 commits
Tabs	Fight, Camp, Party, Guild, Roster, Raid, Dungeon, Log
Bot panel	Paper doll, bags with upgrade markers, equip, trade, mail, bank, spells, errands, flights
Modes	Mini bar mode (/tbm mini), key bindings, slash commands
Comms	Orders sent as addon messages, no chat spam
Requirement	Server must run the TortoiseBots module

FAQ

What is TortoiseBotsManager?
The /tbm in-game control panel addon for TortoiseBots, letting players command their bot party with buttons instead of typing commands.

Which client does it run on?
Vanilla 1.12, build 11200, the 2006 era client that Turtle-WoW and Tortoise WoW patch builds extend.

Does it work on any server?
No, it only works on servers running the TortoiseBots module, since the commands are the module's addon protocol.

Does it cost anything?
No, it is MIT licensed open source, and the Ko-fi donations are optional and gate no features.

What if I updated mid-session?
Restart the game client fully; WoW only loads new addon files on restart, not on /reload.

What can one bot do from the panel?
Everything from gear and bag inventory management with upgrade markers to equipping items, trading, mailing or banking, plus behavior switches, spells and NPC errands like flights.

Bottom Line

Every bot project eventually lives or dies on its interface, because commanding a fake party through chat commands at boss health thresholds is how players get killed. A quiet, mode aware panel that turns orders into buttons, remembers who you targeted, and collapses to six favorites is the difference between a tech demo and something you actually play 40 levels with, and the MIT release alongside the AGPL module shows the author understood the documentation value of an addon is a different license than its engine.

Sources

GitHub Sagiroth/TortoiseBotsManager README (tabs, bot panel, install, licensing), accessed 26 October 2026
TortoiseBots Getting Started documentation as linked from the repository