nx.js

nx.js is a framework that enables the development of Nintendo Switch homebrew applications using JavaScript. Powered by the V8 JavaScript engine (the same engine as Chrome and Node.js), nx.js provides a streamlined environment for writing homebrew applications for the Nintendo Switch console.

With nx.js, developers can leverage their JavaScript skills and tools to create engaging and interactive experiences for the Nintendo Switch platform. The framework abstracts the underlying low-level details and provides a high-level JavaScript API that simplifies the development process.

nx.js is designed with Web standards in mind, so familiar APIs like setTimeout(), fetch(), new URL(), Canvas, WebGL2, Web Audio, Web Bluetooth and much more are supported. If you are familiar with web development then you should feel right at home.

Features

• JavaScript Development: Write homebrew applications for the Nintendo Switch using JavaScript or TypeScript, a popular and widely supported programming language.
• High-Level API: Benefit from a high-level JavaScript API designed specifically for the Nintendo Switch platform, providing easy access to console-specific features and functionality.
• Input Handling: Capture and process user input with ease, including buttons, touch screen, and motion controls, to create engaging gameplay experiences.
• Graphics and UI: Create visually appealing and interactive user interfaces using the web Canvas API, GPU-accelerated by the Skia 2D graphics library.
• 3D Graphics: Render hardware-accelerated 3D graphics with the WebGL2 API, backed by a real OpenGL ES 3 context on the Switch GPU.
• Audio & Video: Play audio and video files with the web Audio and Video elements, plus the full Web Audio API, backed by an FFmpeg media pipeline.
• Bluetooth: Communicate with Bluetooth Low Energy peripherals using the Web Bluetooth GATT client API.
• WebAssembly: Support for executing code compiled to WebAssembly (WASM).

Getting Started

Please see the Getting Started guide.

Contributing

Contributions to nx.js are welcome! If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please open an issue or submit a pull request in the GitHub repository.

Join the Discord server!

Building from Source

1. Node.js needs to be installed (curl -sfLS install-node.vercel.app/22 | bash)
2. pnpm needs to be installed (npm i -g pnpm)
3. jq needs to be installed (brew install jq)
4. The devkitPro compiler toolchain needs to be installed
5. Install required packages from the official registry:

   sudo dkp-pacman -S switch-dev switch-freetype switch-libjpeg-turbo switch-libpng switch-harfbuzz switch-libwebp switch-libzstd switch-mbedtls switch-ffmpeg
   

6. Install the additional custom packages which are not in the official devkitPro registry (switch-v8, switch-skia, switch-libuv, switch-ada, switch-dav1d, and others). These are distributed via a Docker image:

   docker pull ghcr.io/tootallnate/pacman-packages:nxjs
   docker run -it --rm --platform linux/amd64 --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)",target=/host ghcr.io/tootallnate/pacman-packages:nxjs sh -c 'cp packages/*/*.pkg.tar.zst /host'
   sudo dkp-pacman -U *.pkg.tar.zst
   

7. Now you can compile one of the example apps into a self-contained .nro:

   ./build.sh hello-world
   

License

nx.js is released under the MIT License. Please see the LICENSE file for more details.