Hey all!

It's been a while since I started working and playing around with homebrew replacing HOME menu in February. After several months of RE, new approaches and a lot of work, I'm glad to present the result of all my work related to HOME menu + homebrew:

uLaunch is a custom, open-source replacement/reimplementation for Nintendo Switch's HOME menu (qlaunch), extending it with amazing, homebrew-orienteed functionality!



uLaunch is a very ambitious project, consisting on two custom library applets, a custom system application and a custom system applet, in order to replace the console's HOME menu with a custom, homebrew-orienteed one.

Are you looking for help with themes? Check this documentation for everything you need!

Having trouble with uLaunch? Check the FAQ section for support!

Features

List of HOME menu features uLaunch has:

• Proper launching and foreground management: launch, suspend and close titles and applets
  
  
• Proper general channel handling (some of it might be not implemented): sleep, shutdown, reboot, HOME menu press detection...
  
  
• Settings:
  
  • Show connected WiFi network's name
    
    
  • Open connection applet in case user wants to change network settings
    
    
  • Change console's language and show active one
    
    
  • Change console's nickname and show current one
    
• User features:
  
  • Allow creating user on the startup menu
    
    
  • Show user's page (in order to edit nickname, icon, friends...)
    

List of not (yet) implemented HOME menu features:

• Controller managing
  
  
• Album
  
  
• Periodical play report sending (so long, telemetry!)
  

This is the amount of features uLaunch contains, compared to the original HOME menu:

• Homebrew support
  
  • Launching as applets (no need of Album!)
    
    
  • Launching as applications (no need of any titles to do so!)
    
    
  • Custom basic homebrew menu
    
    
  • Option to add custom NRO accessors to main menu (homebrew or custom items easily accessible, no more need of forwarders!)
    
• UI
  
  • Themes (different to official HOME menu themes/NXThemes)
    
    • Custom icons, menu assets and graphics (custom images, colors, sizes, positions...), background...
      
      
    • Custom background music and sound effects!
      
  • Folders in order to keep your main menu organized!
    
• Users
  
  • PC-like login on startup (select user and use it for everything, log off, register/change/remove password...)
    
    
  • User password support! (up to 15 characters)
    
• Miscellaneous extras
  
  • Web browsing (via web-applet) directly from the main menu!
    
    
  • Foreground capturing from PC itself (Windows-only) via USB-C cable and QForegroundViewer!
    

Disclaimer

Homebrew-as-application 'flog' takeover

uLaunch allows you to launch homebrew as an application, taking advantage of the system's 'flog' built-in application title, which was stubbed but not removed, thus it's content can be overriden via LayeredFS and launched.

Since launching this title should be impossible, it might involve ban risk. uLaunch has this option disabled by default, so enable and use it use it at your own risk. Always make youre you're safe from bans (by using tools like 90DNS) before using uLaunch to avoid any possible risks.

For more detailed information (too much to be put here), check GitHub's README: https://github.com/XorTroll/uLaunch

IMPORTANT! Note that this is the first release of the project, and while it was made to be as stable and complete as possible, it is far from being fully ready, so expect some unimplemented functionality or sudden bugs or small issues.

Themes

You can check my Discord (https://discord.gg/3KpFyaH) for an active theme submissions channel.

Download it from here: https://github.com/XorTroll/uLaunch/releases

This project has taken me a lot of work, hope you enjoy a custom, brand-new HOME menu!

 

[NANASHI89]

How to delete titles from my microSD card?

 

[blawar]

Nice, not my cup of tea but I'm sure someone will enjoy the design. I would recommend that you choose a random title id to override though, using flog's is ban bait.

 

[Billy Acuña]

Nice, not my cup of tea but I'm sure someone will enjoy the design. I would recommend that you choose a random title id to override though, using flog's is ban bait.

Perhaps you are trolling anyways but how using flog's is a ban bait?

 

[LightBeam]

Trying it, tbh the only downside for now is that pausing a game is a little bit longer, but it's only 0.1. Also the sub menus are a bit weird but that's absolutely alright. Tbh I expected much worse from a 0.1 release, so congrats on that, it really looks awesome. Can't wait to see the themes and customize the console a bit more

 

[Justinde75]

Those forwarders for emulators

PLEASE WE NEED MORE THIS IS PERFECT

 

[Deathbot64]

Will I be able to connect online with this new menu running? Don't wanna get banned but damn do I ever need folders (over 100 games)

 

[XorTroll]

Perhaps you are trolling anyways but how using flog's is a ban bait?

He ain't trolling, sadly. Telemetry reports titles the user has played, and if N notices you have played flog (something which would be technically impossible) is probably a guaranteed ban.
As HOME menu I know I'm killing a big part of N's telemetry since HOME menu took care or play reports (not sure if something else does too), but ban risk is there.

This is why that option is disabled by default and uLaunch warns of ban risk.

 

[Haevens]

@XorTroll
After translating the language file into French, I have a black screen, what's the problem according to you?

 

[nWo]

Thank you for your work, XT.

 

[yusuo]

Wow, this is awesome. Which folder do I have to copy over for atmosphere

 

[Denni93]

Just tried it out, it looks really impressive!

Can´t wait to see some themes made for it

 

[jammybudga777]

Since this uses less memory than qlaunch, does this mean we can use more sysmodules together since there is more memory available?

That's what I'm hoping for too.

 

[XorTroll]

That's what I'm hoping for too.

Nope, since sysmodules' memory is different from applets' one.

 

[jammybudga777]

Nope, since sysmodules' memory is different from applets' one.

Damn!! But great project dude. Will be testing it out soon. Thanks for your work

 

[VashTS]

This is great, thanks for the hard work! I'm gonna try and set it up when I get home from work. Just a quick question, is there a way to make it look and feel just like stock Home but with all the added features? That would be perfect for me

 

[jammybudga777]

Also curious. The image of mario land 2 game boy. Is that reading/showing from an installed nsp title?

 

[Billy Acuña]

Also curious. The image of mario land 2 game boy. Is that reading/showing from an installed nsp title?

It is a forwarder made by uLaunch

 

[BaamAlex]

Great Work. I love it.

 

[ZachyCatGames]

Looks really cool
Not being able to use online things like the eshop is quite unfortunate though.

 

[blawar]

Perhaps you are trolling anyways but how using flog's is a ban bait?

Because that title id would likely show up in system logs and telemtry. Legit switches cant run that title, so its presence = ban.