Note that we still don't know if custom themes can cause bans, you should not be connected to the internet or use a dns while in cfw (even if you don't use themes).
V4.1 Update : Atmosphere emunand support and custom material colors in layouts
What do you need:
- a
720p (read faq to know why) background image
-
Switch themes injector (
Alternative download)
-
NXThemes Installer homebrew to install the themes on your switch (
Alternative download, it's also available on the homebrew appstore)
How to make a theme:
1) Open the windows app
2) Go to the "nxtheme builder" tab
3) Select the home menu part you want to theme
4) Click on "..." and select your image
5) If you want, select a custom layout
6) Click on "Build nxtheme"
7) Profit !
There is also the
Web injector, a web port of the theme injector, it still works but it's slightly outdated and only supports dds images, it's easier to use the windows app.
Installing your theme:
Download the
NXthemes installer homebrew (the nro file) and copy it in the switch folder on your sd card.
Then make a folder called themes in the root of the sd card and copy your szs or nxtheme files in there.
Run from your favorite cfw the installer and use it to install your themes.
Sharing and downloading other people's themes:
Check out
this thread and the
r/NXThemes subreddit.
About custom layouts:
To make custom layouts you need a tool to edit bflyt files such as
The layout editor or Wexos's Toolbox, then you can use Switch theme injector to export your edits as JSON files (windows app only). These JSON patches are totally legal and can be shared, read how to create them
here,when sharing you can optionally include a preview jpg file with the same name of the json.
To use a JSON patch you downloaded from the internet open it from the layouts list.
FAQ:
Can a custom theme brick my switch ?
No, custom themes are applied through layered fs, no change is made to your nand
I installed a theme and now my switch crashes on boot or I had a custom theme, then I updated my console and now it crashes on boot.
Delete the
/titles/0100000000001000 and/or
/titles/0100000000000811 folders from the cfw folder on your sdcard, at this point your console will boot up normally, to clean up any leftovers launch the theme installer and select uninstall theme.
Why are nxtheme files better than SZS ?
They're legal, this means they can be freely shared and also they are firmware-independent so they can be installed on any firmware. It is also a more flexible format that can be extended in the future to support more features, such as theme packs.
Why only 720p images, i want to use a 1080p or 4K one !?
two reasons: first, the internal resolution of the home menu is 720p, no matter if docked or not, this means your image will automatically be scaled down to 720p. Second, bigger images seems more likely to crash the console during boot
The news applet crashes
You're using the old bflyt patch (read spoiler at the start of the thread), use this tool to fix your themes
Do themes work on firmwares older than 5.1.0 ?
For older firmwares this tool should work but we didn't test. If you want to try you need to use a common.szs from the firmware you want to mod and follow this guide. If your theme works let us know !
Note that if you encounter issues with older firmwares we may not be able to help.
Edit:
Version 4.0.1 works but has some issues (tested by hax4dayz).
Does Switch theme injector app run on linux ?
Yes and no, the UI doesn't work, you can make themes by using the command line interface (more on github)
You will also have to provide images as DDS file because the included converter requires DirectX so it works only on Windows.
To keep in touch with us, know about updates and more information join qcean's discord server:
https://discord.gg/p27kEST
Also follow this thread if you want to get notified about updates.