What is this?
nxnative turns your own Nintendo Switch game files (NSP) into an unsigned IPA you can sideload onto iPhone, iPad or Mac, so the game's own code runs natively on Apple hardware with its graphics rebuilt on Metal.
nxnative turns your own Nintendo Switch game files (NSP) into an unsigned IPA you can sideload onto iPhone, iPad or Mac, so the game's own code runs natively on Apple hardware with its graphics rebuilt on Metal.Is this an emulator, like Ryujinx or yuzu?No. It is not an emulator: it rewrites the game's native code and reimplements the Horizon OS as a host, so the original Switch binary runs directly on the Apple chip instead of being interpreted.
No. It is not an emulator: it rewrites the game's native code and reimplements the Horizon OS as a host, so the original Switch binary runs directly on the Apple chip instead of being interpreted.How do I pack a game into an IPA?On a Mac with Xcode and Homebrew, get nxnative and its tools, put the game's base NSP plus its update (and DLC) in a folder, then run the packaging script; the IPA appears in that same folder.
On a Mac with Xcode and Homebrew, get nxnative and its tools, put the game's base NSP plus its update (and DLC) in a folder, then run the packaging script; the IPA appears in that same folder.What do I need to provide besides the Mac tooling?You need your own copy of the game's NSP files and your prod.keys; the repository itself contains no game content.
You need your own copy of the game's NSP files and your prod.keys; the repository itself contains no game content.Does it work with any Switch game?Only a short list of tested games is confirmed playable; for untested titles the script tries to guess settings and may produce an IPA that doesn't even start, and you need iOS/iPadOS 26 or later.
Only a short list of tested games is confirmed playable; for untested titles the script tries to guess settings and may produce an IPA that doesn't even start, and you need iOS/iPadOS 26 or later.Is sideloading required to play?Yes, the built IPA has to be installed with a sideloading tool since it isn't signed by Apple.
Yes, the built IPA has to be installed with a sideloading tool since it isn't signed by Apple.Does the game run on Mac too, or only iPhone/iPad?The resulting app runs natively on iPhone, iPad and Mac, though the IPA itself must be built on a Mac with Xcode first.
The resulting app runs natively on iPhone, iPad and Mac, though the IPA itself must be built on a Mac with Xcode first.Which games are confirmed playable right now?Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Fire Emblem Engage, Metroid Dread, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Breath of the Wild and Link's Awakening are all tested and playable; Super Mario Odyssey is still being ported.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Fire Emblem Engage, Metroid Dread, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Breath of the Wild and Link's Awakening are all tested and playable; Super Mario Odyssey is still being ported.How long does packaging take and how much disk space is needed?The first build of a game takes 30–60 minutes (later rebuilds about 10 minutes), and you need roughly twice the NSP size plus 10 GB of free disk space.
The first build of a game takes 30–60 minutes (later rebuilds about 10 minutes), and you need roughly twice the NSP size plus 10 GB of free disk space.What happens to my save data if I reinstall the app?Some sideloading tools give a reinstalled app a fresh data folder, so you need to manually copy the old save/ folder and psouser.tsv over to keep your progress.
Some sideloading tools give a reinstalled app a fresh data folder, so you need to manually copy the old save/ folder and psouser.tsv over to keep your progress.Are there any known bugs?There's no amiibo or online play support, Fire Emblem Engage can lose some sound after you switch apps and back, and Super Mario 3D World can show small magenta squares in World 1-1.
There's no amiibo or online play support, Fire Emblem Engage can lose some sound after you switch apps and back, and Super Mario 3D World can show small magenta squares in World 1-1.What are similar projects?MacNativeGames, Wind-Waker-Recomp, Madeira, d2r-mobile, muguet, OpenEmu, ps2-web-recomp, TriAevum
MacNativeGames, Wind-Waker-Recomp, Madeira, d2r-mobile, muguet, OpenEmu, ps2-web-recomp, TriAevum