Package: nton
NTONNTON is a Nintendo Switch NRO to NSP Forwarder for firmware 12.0.0 and newer.A forwarder lets you open Homebrew files from your SD card through the Nintendo Switch Home Screen instead
of the Homebrew Launcher.Features⚙ Firmware 12.0.0+ Support🛡️ Title ID Conflict Checks🤖 Automatically Extracts Title Information and Icon from NRO🕹️ Direct Game Forwarding🎥 Enable or Disable Video Capture and Screenshots💾 1MB NSP Install Size🖼️ Custom Icons🧩 Plug-and-play✨ GUI and CLI Interfaces❤️ Forever FOSS!InstallationWindows Installers for the GUI version is available on theReleasespage.Alternatively you can download and install NTON from PIP/PyPI:$pipinstallnton[gui](Exclude[gui]if you do not plan on using the GUI)NoteIf pip gives you a warning about a path not being in your PATH environment variable then promptly add that path then
close all open command prompt Windows, or runningntonwon't work as it will not be recognized as a program.You now have thentonpackage installed - Voilà 🎉!Launch the GUI by runningntonwithout another subcommand in your Terminal or Windows Run.Otherwise, use the CLI by checking outnton --help.KeysProprietary Keys known asprod.keysare required. You can obtain them from your own personal Switch using
Lockpick_RCM.It must be placed atC:\Users\<User>\.switch\prod.keys, in your current working directory, or in
NTON's installation directory for NTON to be able to find and use the keys.UsageNTON is quite simple, just give it the path to the NRO on your microSD card!For example, to create a forwarder for the Daybreak Homebrew included with Atmosphere, it's as simple as:ntonbuild"D:/switch/daybreak.nro"This will build a forwarder with the Title Name, Publisher, Version, and Icon automatically extracted from the NRO.
The Title ID will be a randomly assigned value within generally conformed bounds. You may manually set a value with--name,--publisher,--version,--icon, and--idrespectively.The Title ID is automatically checked against a periodically updated list of pre-existing System and Software Title IDs
to ensure a collision does not occur. However, you should still be cautious and verify the Title ID is not already used
by other Software before using.NoteWhile NTON can be used on NRO files stored on your PC, it was designed to be used directly from your Switch's
microSD card. If you prefer to create forwarders with NRO files on your PC, or for batch purposes, you can specify
the path that the NRO file will reside on your microSD card during generation with--sdmc.For example, to make a forwarder for an NRO that is on your PC:ntonbuild"C:/Users/rlaphoenix/Downloads/haze.nro"--sdmc"/switch/haze.nro"Direct RetroArch Game forwardingUse a RetroArch Game Core as the NRO path and provide the path to the ROM on your Switch's microSD card with--rom.This will then load the Core directly under RetroArch and provide the path to the ROM as a startup argument to the
RetroArch Core.NoteYou must use a path to a RetroArch Game Core NRO, not the path to the RetroArch NRO itself.Do not move, delete, or rename the ROM or the Core NRO files that are on your microSD card, or it will break.Storage SizesOn Installation an NSP can allocate storage for specific purposes. There's three primary types of Storage:User Account Save Data: Storage allocated to each User profile. Most titles use this to save game progress.Device Save Data: Storage allocated to the Device itself. Typically used for data or information that should be set
to and used by all User profiles. For example, Animal Crossing: New Horizons uses this to store the Island data for
all profiles to use.Cache Storage: Storage allocated for temporary data. Data stored here will be wiped without warning.The NSP can specify how much data to allocate initially, as well as the maximum amount of storage that data can occupy
over time. Furthermore, the initial and maximimum size allocated for Journaling (a form of recovery and data integrity)
can also be specified.A Forwarder like the ROM NTON uses does not need any form of storage or save data. Therefore, NTON automatically sets
all storage sizes to0to reduce storage usage.TroubleshootingBefore continuing try running the homebrew from the Homebrew Launcher and see if it works through there.
If it does not work through the Homebrew launcher either, then it was never the forwarder's fault, and you should
check on your NRO or application installation.Please note that using Forwarders others have created has a good chance of not working on your system.
The location of the NRO on their system may differ from the location on your system, hence the NSP won't be able
to load the homebrew. I will not provide support if you are having an issue with a Forwarder you did not build
yourself.The forwarder does not launch, "The software was closed because an error occurred."Your "sigpatches" (signature patches) that allow unsigned titles to launch is likely outdated or not set up correctly.
Sigpatches can go outdated from Horizon OS firmware updates, Atmosphere updates (as well as silent updates). It is
recommended to use thesys-patchsys-module to automatically patch your
system from signature checks as well as other useful patches. The default configuration is fine for the majority of
systems and is a simple copy & paste to your microSD card to install.It's also possible theprod.keysyou used with NTON is outdated for your firmware. Get new ones with Lockpick_RCM
and make sure you choose to get keys from the SysMMC or EmuMMC that you will be installing the forwarder on (or
whichever has a newer firmware version).The forwarder starts loading but then crashesThe NRO path set when building the forwarder is incorrect or the NRO file is currently missing (or your microSD card is
not inserted). Make sure the path you choose starts with/and is an absolute path to an existing NRO file on your
Switch's microSD card (not your PC).The forwarder's icon is a '?'This happens when theicon_AmericanEnglish.datwithin the built forwarder is not to the spec that Nintendo likes, in
some way. This is usually caused by the format of the image not being JPEG, or it has EXIF data or other unnecessary
extra metadata.NoteThis is considered a bug if it happens to you after using NTON as it should automatically sanitize the
images when building the forwarder. If this happens to you, please report what image you chose to use, or give
information on what exact NRO you were making a forwarder from.The forwarder's icon is a loading circle, opening failsThe installation of the Forwarder NSP failed in some way and the result is a corrupt title under that Title ID.
This may have happened when trying to install data to the Title ID you chose or had randomly assigned to your forwarder
NSP on an unsupported firmware version. This also happens when trying to install DLC to a Title without having the
minimum required Game Update for that DLC (i.e. Installing the DLC Courses while on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe v1.0). However,
since this happened on your Forwarder NSP you can likely rule that out.When this happens deleting and reinstalling the same NSP likely won't fix it or do anything. You may need to reinstall
the NSP via Goldleaf and hit "Proceed" when it warns yo uthat the title is already installed. Goldleaf will deal with
the pre-existing files properly unlike Tinfoil (where you likely had the corruption in the first place). DBI may also
help you resolve this issue as it has tools to remove partial installs and leftover files.The forwarder randomly stopped working, I've read everything so farYou most likely updated Atmosphere or Horizon OS's Firmware and need to update your Sigpatches. If that hasn't fixed
it, make sure you haven't deleted or moved the NRO on your Switch's microSD card. It cannot be moved as the built
forwarder has a hardcoded file path that it loads the NRO from when launched.If it still does not work, it's possible a firmware update has broken theforwarder ROMthat is used and needs
to be updated. Both Firmware 9.0.0 and 12.0.0 have previously broken different forwarder ROMs requiring updates. If
you believe this to be the case then please make an Issue.DevelopmentThe following steps are basic instructions on downloading and working on the code under aPoetryenvironment.Follow Poetry's Docs toInstall Poetry.Download NTON's latest code,git clone https://github.com/rlaphoenix/ntonNavigate to the downloaded code repository,cd ntonOptionallyhave Poetry install the virtual-env in the project,poetry config virtualenvs.in-project trueInstall NTON's dependencies and development tools,poetry install -E guiRun NTON from within the Poetry venv,poetry run nton --helpNoteIf you plan to work on or use the GUI during development, then add-E guiduring Step 5.As shown, running thentonexecutable is somewhat different to a normal installation. This is because Poetry installs
all dependencies and thentonshim itself within a virtual-environment, which is like a clone of your Python install
stripped clean, with only NTON's dependencies installed. That way you don't mess around with any dependencies from any
other installed Python applications, nor the other way around. A secluded environment.I recommend taking a look atPoetry's Docsfor further information, why not get started by reading Poetry's guide onUsing Your Virtual Environment.Creditmeliodas2255for theirOpen-Source forwarder ROMsupporting v12.0.0+ with both direct RetroArch Forwarding
and general forwarding both supported.vgmoosefor thesdl-hello-worldNRO that is used in CI/CD testing.LicensingThis software is licensed under the terms ofGNU General Public License, Version 3.0.
You can find a copy of the license in the LICENSE file in the root folderThis project uses the following software:hacBrewPack licensed under GPL-v2 for packing the NSP:https://github.com/The-4n/hacBrewPacknstool licensed under MIT for NRO extraction and verification:https://github.com/jakcron/nstoolhptnacp from hacPack licensed under GPL-v2 for creating new NACP partitions if the NRO did not have one:https://github.com/The-4n/hacPack/tree/master/hacPack-Tools/hacPackTools-NACPNo changes were made to any of the aforementioned software and copies of their licenses can be found next to their
binaries within the bin folder.Open folder icons created by Freepik - FlaticonClose icons created by Freepik - FlaticonDelete icons created by Pixel perfect - Flaticon© rlaphoenix 2022-2024