Switch 2: ns2jb on Windows, mac2jb 0.3 and Flipper Zero
By Tgames · · 3 min read
Windows, a Mac app, Flipper Zero: tools around ns2jb are multiplying, while SmileBASIC 4 is no longer on sale, not even in Japan.
ns2jb on Windows: not yet
The README for ns2jb asks for a computer running macOS or Linux. Two attempts target Windows, with no confirmed result on a console:
mac2jb 0.3: a proper Mac app
mac2jb, by cpypwn, makes an Apple silicon Mac pose as a USB keyboard: it types ns2jb's bootstrap program into SmileBASIC, then the launch commands. Four versions came out on 24 October:
Flipper Zero and Rubber Ducky
Another proposal, submitted on 22 October and not yet merged, generates DuckyScript scripts for devices that pose as a keyboard, such as the Flipper Zero or the Rubber Ducky. They then type the program into SmileBASIC for you. The author warns that it is slow, because fast typing drops characters, and that the program still has to be saved by hand.
SmileBASIC 4 pulled in Japan too
On 23 October, we had only seen SmileBASIC 4 pulled from the US eShop. Japanese site Game*Spark reports that on the same day, at 10.30 pm Tokyo time, the software could no longer be bought on Nintendo's stores in Japan or abroad. Neither the official website nor SmileBASIC's X accounts have mentioned it; Game*Spark asked the publisher, SmileBoom, and no answer had been published by 25 October.
A coincidence adds to the confusion: on 21 October, SmileBoom suspended uploads and downloads of players' creations to fix a PHP vulnerability on its servers, then restored them on the 22nd. The notice mentions neither the Switch 2 nor ns2jb: nothing links the two except the date.
Be careful
None of these tools installs custom firmware: they only make ns2jb easier to launch, and it remains a tethered demo on 23.0.1. Beware of Switch 2 "activators" in password-protected archives, and do not look for SmileBASIC 4 on third-party sites. Questions belong in the Switch & Wii U Questions/Help.
Sources: mac2jb release notes (GitHub) · Proposed Windows fix · Windows adaptation (GitHub) · Proposed DuckyScript scripts · Game*Spark · SmileBASIC, 21 October maintenance
ns2jb on Windows: not yet
The README for ns2jb asks for a computer running macOS or Linux. Two attempts target Windows, with no confirmed result on a console:
- a change proposed on 22 October to pepsipu's repository fixes a first blocker: the program looked for a /tmp folder, which does not exist on Windows. Its author says they has not yet managed a single complete run, and the change has not been merged;
- an adaptation published on GitHub on 23 October replaces the Unix-specific mechanisms with their Windows equivalents and runs in PowerShell. Its computer-side tests pass with Node.js 24, but the author writes that running it on the console still needs to be verified.
mac2jb 0.3: a proper Mac app
mac2jb, by cpypwn, makes an Apple silicon Mac pose as a USB keyboard: it types ns2jb's bootstrap program into SmileBASIC, then the launch commands. Four versions came out on 24 October:
- 0.2.1 removes the precompiled driver, which you now build yourself, and tightens the permissions of session files;
- 0.3.0 adds an app with a graphical interface: progress, estimated time remaining, a step for saving the program, and private logs;
- 0.3.1 once again ships a tested, unsigned USB driver, installed from the app. It requires you to turn off System Integrity Protection (SIP) in macOS, which mac2jb never does on its own;
- 0.3.2 adds a built-in updater that checks SHA-256 hashes. The notes pass on community reports: success is said to be more frequent with the console on Ethernet.
Flipper Zero and Rubber Ducky
Another proposal, submitted on 22 October and not yet merged, generates DuckyScript scripts for devices that pose as a keyboard, such as the Flipper Zero or the Rubber Ducky. They then type the program into SmileBASIC for you. The author warns that it is slow, because fast typing drops characters, and that the program still has to be saved by hand.
SmileBASIC 4 pulled in Japan too
On 23 October, we had only seen SmileBASIC 4 pulled from the US eShop. Japanese site Game*Spark reports that on the same day, at 10.30 pm Tokyo time, the software could no longer be bought on Nintendo's stores in Japan or abroad. Neither the official website nor SmileBASIC's X accounts have mentioned it; Game*Spark asked the publisher, SmileBoom, and no answer had been published by 25 October.
A coincidence adds to the confusion: on 21 October, SmileBoom suspended uploads and downloads of players' creations to fix a PHP vulnerability on its servers, then restored them on the 22nd. The notice mentions neither the Switch 2 nor ns2jb: nothing links the two except the date.
Be careful
None of these tools installs custom firmware: they only make ns2jb easier to launch, and it remains a tethered demo on 23.0.1. Beware of Switch 2 "activators" in password-protected archives, and do not look for SmileBASIC 4 on third-party sites. Questions belong in the Switch & Wii U Questions/Help.
Sources: mac2jb release notes (GitHub) · Proposed Windows fix · Windows adaptation (GitHub) · Proposed DuckyScript scripts · Game*Spark · SmileBASIC, 21 October maintenance
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