"nx.js" - JavaScript runtime for Nintendo Switch homebrew applications
Hello all, I'm feeling like it's time to share the nights / weekends project that I've been working on for the past few months: nx.js
nx.js is runtime which enables Nintendo Switch homebrew applications to be written in JavaScript (or anything that compiles to JavaScript, but specifically TypeScript). The idea stems from the desire to port some existing web-based games written in JavaScript over to Nintendo Switch. nx.js focuses on implementing web-based standards that would be useful for a homebrew application, such as the web Canvas API for drawing to the screen, and
I was able to port the popular 2048 game, which is a web-based JavaScript game, to be a Switch homebrew app and I'm pretty happy with the result so far. It still needs some polish on the rendering, but the core game mechanics work great without any modification to the original game engine code:
Another fun example is rendering the classic Star Wars ASCII text to the screen, by connecting to a telnet server which streams the data over the network:
If you'd like to play around on your own, then there's a bootstrapping utility to get you started. You can pick from one of the example applications and then modify from there. First, make sure you have Node.js installed for the tooling, and then run the following command in your terminal:
The example applications are configured to compile the code using esbuild. Applications can then be packaged up into a self-contained NRO file, including custom icon image, title, author, version, and RomFS filesystem for additional assets required for the application (images, custom fonts, etc.) using the
Anyways, nx.js is still in the early development phase from my point of view, but I think it's reached a point where I wanted to get it out there and start getting feedback. It's been fun for me to develop so far and learn some of the in-and-outs of developing Switch homebrew applications, and my hope is that some of the more tricky / nuanced parts can be abstracted out into intuitive and fun / familiar to use APIs for JavaScript apps to utilize going forward.
Let me know what you think! If you would like to get involved in the development of the runtime, or would like help in developing an application using nx.js, come join the Discord server and say hi.
Cheers!
nx.js is runtime which enables Nintendo Switch homebrew applications to be written in JavaScript (or anything that compiles to JavaScript, but specifically TypeScript). The idea stems from the desire to port some existing web-based games written in JavaScript over to Nintendo Switch. nx.js focuses on implementing web-based standards that would be useful for a homebrew application, such as the web Canvas API for drawing to the screen, and
fetch() for interacting with HTTP servers. Access to the Switch-specific hardware is implemented via the global Switch object, like handling controller and touchscreen inputs, vibrating the controller, and reading / writing files to the SD card. I think it could also be useful for anyone who is interested in creating a homebrew application, but might be intimidated by writing the C code and tooling necessary to get it working.I was able to port the popular 2048 game, which is a web-based JavaScript game, to be a Switch homebrew app and I'm pretty happy with the result so far. It still needs some polish on the rendering, but the core game mechanics work great without any modification to the original game engine code:
Download "2048.nro" file
Another fun example is rendering the classic Star Wars ASCII text to the screen, by connecting to a telnet server which streams the data over the network:
Download "starwars.nro" file
If you'd like to play around on your own, then there's a bootstrapping utility to get you started. You can pick from one of the example applications and then modify from there. First, make sure you have Node.js installed for the tooling, and then run the following command in your terminal:
Bash:
npm create nxjs-app@latestThe example applications are configured to compile the code using esbuild. Applications can then be packaged up into a self-contained NRO file, including custom icon image, title, author, version, and RomFS filesystem for additional assets required for the application (images, custom fonts, etc.) using the
nxjs-pack command.Anyways, nx.js is still in the early development phase from my point of view, but I think it's reached a point where I wanted to get it out there and start getting feedback. It's been fun for me to develop so far and learn some of the in-and-outs of developing Switch homebrew applications, and my hope is that some of the more tricky / nuanced parts can be abstracted out into intuitive and fun / familiar to use APIs for JavaScript apps to utilize going forward.
Let me know what you think! If you would like to get involved in the development of the runtime, or would like help in developing an application using nx.js, come join the Discord server and say hi.
Cheers!
Last edited by tootallnate,
