[General Topics] eepymeowers:
As the original nookDevs website is long since dead, I am writing this guide on how to root the Nook 1st Edition.

NOTE: This guide only works for Nook 1st Editions with a serial number NOT starting with 10031 or greater.

Before starting, you need:

Nook 1st Edition with S/N not starting with 10031 or greater

microSD(HC) card formatted as FAT32. I recommend 4GB or less, I have not tested microSDXC - I have only tested this with a 4GB microSD.

signed_bravo_update.dat and bravo_update-2.5.1.dat, in this ZIP file.

signed_bravo_update.dat hashes:

MD5 hash: c752fa57f7253d4c499398630c27bdab

SHA-1 hash: 84287d73b70e98da6a6af9f362b31e96d4e6eea4

SHA-256 hash: a22bbbf1cc61a81fd812abc5b75f5c713cab3471be36219897aeb91b26405b35

bravo_update-2.5.1.dat hashes:

MD5 hash: 4107574c32b149705e962db963f5622a

SHA-1 hash: 6f410e7500c5f94dc4ae7deb981255c53f195507

SHA-256 hash: 489aa298879da760b5986d4a551a10dc1e54d62c52fe0d3480c3592e6f719da0

BACK UP ANY FILES YOU DO NOT WISH TO LOSE, THE DOWNGRADE PROCESS WILL WIPE YOUR NOOK.

Extract the ZIP in this post somewhere on your computer.

Copy the signed_bravo_update.dat file to your Nook 1st Edition's internal storage via a computer.

Safely eject the Nook, and do NOT let it lose power during the update. Let it do the update. If it says "Invalid Update", redownload the update.

Once the update is done, set up your Nook again and copy bravo_update-2.5.1.dat to the microSD you are using for this.

Rename bravo_update-2.5.1.dat to bravo_update.dat.

Unplug your Nook from your computer, making sure it has enough battery for this.

Put your microSD inside of the Nook.

Turn off the Nook by holding in the sleep/power button on the top of the device until the screen turns blank.

Press and hold the upper page-flip button on the right-hand side of your Nook (the one marked with a < pointing towards the middle of the e-ink screen).

While continuing to hold the page-flip button, press and release sleep/power button on top. Don't let go of the page-flip button.

Continue holding the page-flip button until the e-ink screen displays a "checking for update" message. Release the page-flip button within a couple seconds of when you see this message.

Timing is key. If your nook displays the typical "Starting Up" screen, you've missed it—wait until it starts up, then turn it off and try again.

Wait for your nook to finish running the updater (the touchscreen will show the progress).

Wait for your nook to fully start up after successful update, and then manually reboot it (hold the power button for about 5 seconds so that both screens shut down and then start your nook again).

That's it! You've rooted your Nook. You no longer need the microSD.

How you can use your newly-rooted Nook:

Get the Android platform-tools from here if you do not already have them.

Extract the zip, and open a terminal or command line in the platform-tools directory.

Connect your Nook to the same network your computer is on, and then in the Wi-Fi settings, select the second line (Wi-Fi Hotspot ....). Select the Wi-Fi network you are connected to (should be the second line). You will now see your connection details on the e-ink screen.

Enter adb connect NOOK_IP:5555 into your terminal, with NOOK_IP being your Nook's IP address.

Nothing should appear to happen and will be returned to your command prompt. This is normal.

You can now use the ADB tools with your Nook. To get a root shell, enter adb shell.

You're done!

If you want some more resources to fufill your curiosity, you can go to these links:

The Softroot guide, aka what this guide is based off.

Tips and tricks, from the same website!

A app directory, on the same website as well.

Credit to:

The nookDevs team (robbiet480/Robbie Trencheny, aschmitz, obra/Jesse Vincent, JesusFreke, perfinion, poutine/BenB, and stangri). Without them, none of this would exist. All of the credit goes to them.

If you have any further questions, you are welcome to ask! Thanks for reading this guide.