FlexTag

Overview

FlexTag is a lightweight, zero-overhead tagging framework for Morrowind on OpenMW. It lets mods ask questions like "is this cell a dungeon?" or "does this NPC belong to the Camonna Tong?" — without hardcoding IDs or guessing.

Nothing happens in-game just by installing FlexTag. It's a dependency. Other mods use it.

Built-In Tags

FlexTag ships with six tag datasets covering the vanilla game and its DLCs:

All tags use the record IDs from Morrowind.esm, Tribunal.esm, and Bloodmoon.esm. Case-insensitive.

YAML Format

Tag data files live in a ModTags/ directory under any data= path in openmw.cfg. The format is simple — each top-level key is a tag name, and its value is a list of record IDs:

CellDungeon:
  - "addamasartus"
  - "ald daedroth, inner shrine"
  - "arkngthand, cells of hollow hand"

NPCBandit:
  - "adraria nilor"
  - "agrob gro-bolmog"

That's it. No wrapper keys, no tags list, no applied_tags map. Create as many files as you want. FlexTag loads them all.

API

FlexTag exposes two interfaces: I.FlexTagG (global scripts) and I.FlexTagL (all other contexts). Both have the same functions. Every function that accepts an object also accepts a raw string record ID — case doesn't matter.

Querying Tags

objectHasTag(object, tag) — returns true if the object has the tag. tag can be a single string or an array of strings (returns true on the first match).

if I.FlexTagL.objectHasTag(self.cell, "CellDungeonDaedric") then
    -- do something in daedric ruins
end

if I.FlexTagL.objectHasTag(self, {"NPCBandit", "NPCSixthHouse"}) then
    -- target is either a bandit or a Sixth House cultist
end

objectTags(object) — returns a table of all tags on an object (read-only).

local tags = I.FlexTagL.objectTags(self)
if tags.NPCBandit then
    -- ...
end

getRecordsWithTag(tag) — returns an array of all record IDs that have a given tag.

local dungeons = I.FlexTagG.getRecordsWithTag("CellDungeonMorrowind")
log(#dungeons .. " dungeon cells found")

tagList() — returns the set of all registered tag names.

appliedTags() — returns the full {recordId: {tagName: true}} map (read-only).

Modifying Tags

addTag(object, tag) — adds one or more tags to an object. tag can be a single string or an array.

I.FlexTagG.addTag(someNPC, "QuestActive")
I.FlexTagG.addTag(someCell, {"CellExplored", "CellCleared"})

removeTag(object, tag) — removes one or more tags from an object.

I.FlexTagG.removeTag(someNPC, "QuestActive")

Tags added or removed at runtime are visible immediately and persist for the session.

Type Reference

For Mod Authors: Adding Tags

Drop a .yaml file into any ModTags/ directory. Use the format above: top-level keys are tag names, values are arrays of record IDs. FlexTag loads all files at startup, one key per frame, so even large files won't cause a hitch.

# MyMod_tags.yaml
QuestActive:
  - "caldera_mine_slave_key"
  - "dwemer_boots_auriels"

CellCleared:
  - "addamasartus"
  - "gnisis, eggmine"

Technical Notes

• Tags are loaded via a coroutine that yields between YAML keys — zero frame hitches.
• All storage writes are deferred until loading completes. Runtime tag mutations are atomic.
• The TagList catalogue prunes automatically when the last instance of a tag is removed.
• Storage lifetime is Temporary — nothing persists in your save file. Tags rebuild fresh each session.