Apollo is a File Explorer Homebrew for the Nintendo Switch. Its goal is to be the most convenient and reliable method to manage console's files.
Following the NX Homebrew Scene trend its name comes from Apollo - one of the Olympian deities, who is i.a. a god of music, truth, knowledge and protection of young.
It is also a reference to Apollo 11 - a spaceflight mission which allowed people to walk on the Moon.
Apollo is my first homebrew project, I hope you'll like it.

Overview
Apollo's current features are:

- Graphical User Interface: Minimalist design which is based on default hbmenu and official home menu esthetic.
- Selecting items: A simple but mandatory feature.
- Copying files and directories: Before doing so, application checks whether user is trying to overwrite currently existing files or directories and then asks about overwriting them.
- Recursive directory deletion: It allows for complete deletion of directories' content and obviously for file deletion.
- Renaming files and directories: Speaks for itself.
- Sorting items: Alphabetically or reversed.

Screenshots

Spoiler: Click for screenshots

Planned features
Planned features for the very next release:

- Moving files and directories
- Showing files and directories' information (size, permissions)
- Sorting files by size and reversed
- Remembering cursor's position while browsing between folders
- Viewing images
- Viewing text files
- Extracting .rar and .zip files
- Creating directories and files

Download

Download: https://github.com/evo-brut3/Apollo/releases/latest
Github: https://github.com/evo-brut3/Apollo​

Credits
- devkitPro for providing toolchain.
- XorTroll for the amazing Plutonium which allowed Apollo to look like this and the Goldleaf which is a mine of knowledge.
- GilFerraz for his beautiful Miiverse UI concept which inspired me to create sidebar.
- Lucas Lacerda for his Nintendo Switch UI Concept.
- jaames for the nx-hbmenu mockup which helped me with the design.
- Nintendo for security <3.

 

[NoNAND]

Having an alternative to NX shell is good.
Nice GUI
hopefully you'll find a workaround that'll fix the moving files issue.

 

[Reecey]

Excellent work! Does this delete content as well updates, dlc etc.. That’s what I’m looking for in a content manager. This looks very similar to n1dus which stopped working on firmware 7.0.1. and in my opinion was the best content/installer manager ever made, simple and so good.

 

[gizmomelb]

More options are always good, nice work.

now there's a quote to keep and treasure

 

[huma_dawii]

Awesome! Make one for the Wii U... i beg you T.T

 

[Wamboniga]

Looks super nice, good work pal
Im also interested in USB SDcard Access and ftp.

Keep it up

 

[Charli]

- Nintendo for security <3.

Your tool looks great so far, thank you

 

[Powerful]

Just curious, what’s the point in this and why should I use it over NX Shell, and gold leaf?

 

[AD2076]

Just curious, what’s the point in this and why should I sue it over NX Shell, and gold leaf?

Why do you say NX Shell AND Goldleaf intead of NX Shell OR Goldleaf? What's the point in using both?
Multiple chioce is often nice. A new project could bring improvements and/or new functions not available in other projects

 

[Deleted User]

>a god of music
music player support?

 

[Deleted User]

Can they not add an ftp option

 

[Idaho]

Nice project but NX-Shell is far more advanced and judging by the list of planned feature for this it'll never be better than NX-Shell is at the moment...

 

[raxadian]

More options are always good, nice work. I'll check it out. I see viewing text files is planned, if you can integrate text editing you'll be onto a winner.

Eh; don't you already have your smartphone for that?

Unless you want a text editor to directly edit files on the switch for better hacking.

 

[hippy dave]

Unless you want a text editor to directly edit files on the switch for better hacking.

This Config files etc.

 

[FoxMcloud5655]

Eh; don't you already have your smartphone for that?

Unless you want a text editor to directly edit files on the switch for better hacking.

Exactly why it's been the most requested feature. Editing text files will allow you to manually change many things you previously could only do via FTP or otherwise.

EDIT: Ninja'd by hippy

 

[evo-brut3]

USB storage access if possible

I would love to access the sd card via usb connection, similar to gold tree usb install, but also to copy/move other files than nsp

Im also interested in USB SDcard Access and ftp.

I planned to work on that feature, but I don't promise anything, because as for now I know very little about how to implement this.

E-Reader functionality would be fantastic. There really isn’t a good E-Reader for switch at the minute.

If I remember correctly joel16 said that he had some problems with that, but I'm really curious what are these problems, so I'll think about that.

hopefully you'll find a workaround that'll fix the moving files issue.

Well I removed the moving function in a minute before first release, but only because of my new overwriting method, I'll add it in v0.2 without any problems.

Does this delete content as well updates, dlc etc.. That’s what I’m looking for in a content manager. This looks very similar to n1dus which stopped working on firmware 7.0.1. and in my opinion was the best content/installer manager ever made, simple and so good.

Sorry I see that I didn't make it clear - Apollo is not going to be another content manager if we're speaking about nsp, xci, nca and others, there are already better homebrew for that, like Goldleaf or Tinfoil. Apollo's goal is to become convenient and reliable multi-functional file explorer.

Awesome! Make one for the Wii U... i beg you T.T

Haha, thank you, I need to make it more advanced before any porting, but I'm not saying no .

Just curious, what’s the point in this and why should I use it over NX Shell, and gold leaf?

That's is pretty good question, the point of project is that I'd like to learn new things, so I could provide community with better tools, the point of Apollo as I stated before - is to make it

the most convenient and reliable method to manage console's files

I also want to add new features which are requested by the community (of course features which I'm able to do at the moment). You're asking why you should use it over NX Shell or Goldleaf, well I do respect the creators very much, especially XorTroll because of the Plutonium, but for example NX Shell is pretty slow and Goldleaf doesn't allow you to select multiple files (or I'm stupid and I can't see that option) and I prefer Apollo's design over NX Shell and Goldleaf's (but that is only a matter of choice).

>a god of music
music player support?

You got it pretty quickly

Can they not add an ftp option

Why not?

Nice project but NX-Shell is far more advanced and judging by the list of planned feature for this it'll never be better than NX-Shell is at the moment...

I got a felling that not everyone understood it correctly - this is only a list for the very next release as I wrote in the first post and on the Github. I'm planning to do more advanced stuff, but in the next releases.

 

[Joel16]

I don't mind some competition but the all the planned features are already incorporated into NX Shell apart from text editing/viewing. Anyways I hope to see more uniqueness from your project rather than another program that does the same thing in different ways.

 

[evo-brut3]

I don't mind some competition but the all the planned features are already incorporated into NX Shell apart from text editing/viewing. Anyways I hope to see more uniqueness from your project rather than another program that does the same thing in different ways.

I believe that these features are mandatory for any file explorer. My role model is currently banned from Google Play Es File Explorer, which before deletion was mine "must-have' tool. I'll be happy to give it more uniqueness, but this not a game nor a movie, this is a tool, so having same features which works in different ways is unavoidable.

 

[Joel16]

I believe that these features are mandatory for any file explorer. My role model is currently banned from Google Play Es File Explorer, which before deletion was mine "must-have' tool. I'll be happy to give it more uniqueness, but this not a game nor a movie, this is a tool, so having same features which works in different ways is unavoidable.

No worries, I was just posting what I thought. I too learned a lot of how FS code works from 3D Shell and then here with the switch variant (I still have a lot to learn to be honest lol). I hope you can gather more knowledge with this and I wish you luck!

 

[evo-brut3]

No worries, I was just posting what I thought. I too learned a lot of how FS code works from 3D Shell and then here with the switch variant (I still have a lot to learn to be honest lol). I hope you can gather more knowledge with this and I wish you luck!

Thank you very much, hearing that from the creator of the most advanced file explorer for the Switch means a lot to me. I must say that making Apollo gave me more knowledge than 3 years of high school (they taught me english not c++).

 

[Dichotomy754]

I haven't tried it yet, for now ftp and windows browser is working good enough so I'll probably wait for text editing and the like before messing about with it. Though if you're looking for the most recommended features I'm sure a dark skin is going be be pretty high on that list