Switch 2: HBLauncher and an FTP server, the first homebrew
By Tgames · · 3 min read
HBLauncher runs apps on the Switch 2 through ns2jb, and ftpd-sb, the console's first FTP server, transfers files from a PC.
A homebrew launcher for the Switch 2
On 23 October 2026, developer Ravens Claw X released HBLauncher and its development kit, after a video of the launcher running the night before. It builds on ns2jb, pepsipu's jailbreak, and uses the same way in through SmileBASIC 4. The launcher shows a list of apps, opens one, then returns to the menu; you control it with the stick, the touchscreen, or a Joy-Con 2 laid flat and used as a mouse.
But it is neither a custom firmware nor an NRO loader like on the original Switch. The apps are programs for the graphics chip (Vulkan shaders): the logic runs on the console's GPU, and a PC left switched on holds the apps and keeps the link with the console alive for the whole session. No app runs on the CPU, and nothing is installed permanently.
What you need
The development kit
The kit lets you write your own apps, starting from the bundled “Hello World” example. It gives access to the buttons, the touchscreen, the motion sensors, the Joy-Con 2 optical mouse, rumble, NFC reading (amiibo data can't be read) and the network. The launcher holds 32 apps, and there is no save system for them yet. The author publishes a detailed list of what has and hasn't been tested on the console.
ftpd-sb, the Switch 2's first FTP server
A few hours later, ftpd-sb 0.1.0 arrived along with HBLauncher 0.2.0, which it requires. The app shows the console's IP address; you connect to it from FileZilla, on port 5000, with plain FTP, anonymous login, passive mode and one connection at a time.
Read this before you start
The author says so at the top of their profile and of each repository: everything is written by AI (“vibe coded”), with no warranty, and the author accepts no responsibility for damage to the console or lost saves. The repositories have no licence yet. Both tools are aimed at the curious and at developers: there is still no custom firmware for the Switch 2, and SmileBASIC 4 is no longer on sale on the US eShop. If the scene interests you, stay on 23.0.1. Questions are welcome in our Switch & Wii U Questions/Help section.
Sources: HBLauncher (GitHub) · HBLauncher 0.2.0 · ftpd-sb (GitHub) · HBLauncher announcement on X · ftpd-sb announcement on X
A homebrew launcher for the Switch 2
On 23 October 2026, developer Ravens Claw X released HBLauncher and its development kit, after a video of the launcher running the night before. It builds on ns2jb, pepsipu's jailbreak, and uses the same way in through SmileBASIC 4. The launcher shows a list of apps, opens one, then returns to the menu; you control it with the stick, the touchscreen, or a Joy-Con 2 laid flat and used as a mouse.
But it is neither a custom firmware nor an NRO loader like on the original Switch. The apps are programs for the graphics chip (Vulkan shaders): the logic runs on the console's GPU, and a PC left switched on holds the apps and keeps the link with the console alive for the whole session. No app runs on the CPU, and nothing is installed permanently.
What you need
- a Switch 2 on 23.0.1 and SmileBASIC 4 version 4.4.9, with more than 20 MiB free in its save data. No other version is supported;
- a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W running CircuitPython: plugged into the console, it poses as a USB keyboard and types the bootstrap program, which takes about eight minutes the first time;
- a Linux PC (x86-64, the only tested platform) with Node.js 22, on the same network as the console and the Pico, with ports 39380 and 39381 open;
- for every session, restart SmileBASIC and the host on the PC: as with ns2jb, everything is wiped on reboot.
The development kit
The kit lets you write your own apps, starting from the bundled “Hello World” example. It gives access to the buttons, the touchscreen, the motion sensors, the Joy-Con 2 optical mouse, rumble, NFC reading (amiibo data can't be read) and the network. The launcher holds 32 apps, and there is no save system for them yet. The author publishes a detailed list of what has and hasn't been tested on the console.
ftpd-sb, the Switch 2's first FTP server
A few hours later, ftpd-sb 0.1.0 arrived along with HBLauncher 0.2.0, which it requires. The app shows the console's IP address; you connect to it from FileZilla, on port 5000, with plain FTP, anonymous login, passive mode and one connection at a time.
- /save and /tmp (SmileBASIC's save data and temporary files) are readable and writable, /rom (the software's own files) is read-only;
- no access to the microSD card: the console denies the request. Nor to other games' saves;
- speed is limited by the link with the PC, which must stay on;
- writes change real save data: an interrupted transfer can leave a partial file.
Read this before you start
The author says so at the top of their profile and of each repository: everything is written by AI (“vibe coded”), with no warranty, and the author accepts no responsibility for damage to the console or lost saves. The repositories have no licence yet. Both tools are aimed at the curious and at developers: there is still no custom firmware for the Switch 2, and SmileBASIC 4 is no longer on sale on the US eShop. If the scene interests you, stay on 23.0.1. Questions are welcome in our Switch & Wii U Questions/Help section.
Sources: HBLauncher (GitHub) · HBLauncher 0.2.0 · ftpd-sb (GitHub) · HBLauncher announcement on X · ftpd-sb announcement on X
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