My First Tool

Build your own OnlyWorlds tool without writing a single line of code by hand.

Work in Progress
This guide is being developed alongside the creation of Tactical Tangle, a showcase tool for ancient Greek warfare simulation.

Table of contents

  1. Overview
  2. Prerequisites
    1. 1. Create a GitHub account
    2. 2. Install development tools
      1. Visual Studio Code or Cursor
      2. Python
      3. Git (optional but recommended)
  3. Starting Your Tool
    1. Method 1: Use as Template (Recommended)
    2. Method 2: Fork (For Contributing Back)
    3. Clone to Your Computer
  4. Next Steps
    1. Understand the Structure
    2. Key Files to Keep
    3. Making It Your Own
  5. Publishing Your Tool
    1. Enable GitHub Pages
    2. Custom Domain (Optional)
  6. Getting Help
    1. AI Assistants
    2. Community
    3. Documentation
  7. Example: Building Tactical Tangle
    1. Part 1: Setup & Architecture
    2. Part 2: OnlyWorlds Integration
    3. Part 3: Game Mechanics
    4. Part 4: AI Enhancement
    5. Part 5: Polish & Deploy
  8. Tips for Success
  9. License Note

Overview

Modern AI tools can write entire applications from clear descriptions. This guide will help you create your first OnlyWorlds tool using AI assistants to handle all the technical work.

No coding experience required
If you can describe what you want and follow step-by-step instructions, you can build a tool.

Prerequisites

1. Create a GitHub account

GitHub hosts your code and publishes your tool to the web for free.

  1. Visit github.com and click “Sign up”
  2. Choose a username - This becomes part of your tool’s web address
  3. Verify your email - Check your inbox for confirmation
  4. Complete setup - Skip optional steps for now

Your username is permanent and visible in your tool’s URL. Choose thoughtfully.

2. Install development tools

You need a code editor and Python to run the template locally.

Visual Studio Code or Cursor

Choose one editor (both are free):

Install with default options. Both work identically for this guide.

Python

Required to run the template tool locally:

  1. Download Python from python.org
  2. During installation: Check “Add Python to PATH”
  3. Verify installation: Open terminal and type python --version

For proper version control:

  1. Download Git from git-scm.com
  2. Install with defaults - Accept all default options
  3. Configure Git (in terminal): 
    git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Starting Your Tool

GitHub’s template feature creates a clean new repository without forking history.

  1. Visit github.com/OnlyWorlds/tool-template
  2. Click “Use this template” → “Create a new repository”
  3. Name your repository (e.g., tactical-tangle or my-onlyworlds-tool)
  4. Set to Public (required for free GitHub Pages hosting)
  5. Click “Create repository”

Method 2: Fork (For Contributing Back)

Use this only if you plan to improve the template itself.

  1. Visit github.com/OnlyWorlds/tool-template
  2. Click “Fork” in top-right
  3. Rename if desired and click “Create fork”

Clone to Your Computer

  1. Copy your repository URL from GitHub (green “Code” button)
  2. Open terminal in your development folder
  3. Clone the repository: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPO-NAME.git
cd YOUR-REPO-NAME
  4. Start the tool: 
    python start.py
  5. Open browser to http://localhost:8000

The tool needs your OnlyWorlds API credentials to connect. Get them from your OnlyWorlds profile.

Next Steps

Understand the Structure

The template tool is organized for easy modification:

tool-template/
├── index.html          # Main page (modify for your UI)
├── js/
│   ├── app.js         # Application controller
│   ├── api.js         # OnlyWorlds API integration (reuse this!)
│   ├── auth.js        # Authentication handling
│   └── constants.js   # OnlyWorlds element types
├── css/
│   └── styles.css     # Visual styling
└── start.py           # Local server

Key Files to Keep

When building your tool, these files handle OnlyWorlds integration:

  • js/api.js - Complete API wrapper
  • js/auth.js - Credential management
  • js/constants.js - Element type definitions

Making It Your Own

  1. Modify index.html for your tool’s interface
  2. Keep the auth system - It handles API credentials
  3. Reuse API calls - The template has all CRUD operations ready
  4. Add your features - Game logic, visualizations, whatever you imagine!

Publishing Your Tool

Enable GitHub Pages

  1. Go to Settings in your GitHub repository
  2. Scroll to Pages section
  3. Source: Deploy from a branch
  4. Branch: Select main and / (root)
  5. Save and wait ~5 minutes

Your tool will be live at: https://YOUR-USERNAME.github.io/YOUR-REPO-NAME

Custom Domain (Optional)

  1. Add a CNAME file to your repository root with your domain
  2. Configure DNS at your domain provider to point to GitHub

Getting Help

AI Assistants

  • OnlyWorldsBot - Custom ChatGPT trained for OnlyWorlds
  • Claude - Excellent for code generation
  • GitHub Copilot - Built into VS Code/Cursor

Community

Documentation

Example: Building Tactical Tangle

Follow along as we build a real tool from scratch:

Part 1: Setup & Architecture

Coming soon - Setting up the repository and basic structure

Part 2: OnlyWorlds Integration

Coming soon - Loading characters and world data

Part 3: Game Mechanics

Coming soon - Adding physics and battle simulation

Part 4: AI Enhancement

Coming soon - Connecting OpenAI for character decisions

Part 5: Polish & Deploy

Coming soon - Final touches and publishing

Tips for Success

Start small - Get basic functionality working before adding features
Use the template’s code - Don’t reinvent authentication and API calls
Test locally first - Use python start.py before publishing
Ask for help - The community loves seeing new tools!

License Note

The tool template uses MIT license. Your tool can use any license, but consider keeping it open source to help the community grow.