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Nintendo Switch

On a Switch running Atmosphère, OpenPak Setup (openpak.nro) switches the console between Nintendo's servers and OpenPak's, and back. It is the only thing you install.

Ban risk

Run OpenPak from an emuMMC, not from sysMMC, and never let a system that is set to OpenPak talk to Nintendo. See before you start.

What you need

  • A Switch that can run custom firmware, with hekate as the bootloader and Atmosphère 1.12.0 (the official release package) booted from hekate with a standard pkg3 or fss0 entry in bootloader/hekate_ipl.ini.
  • System firmware 22.5.0, 23.0.0 or 23.0.1. OpenPak Setup refuses to install on any other version and tells you which version the console runs.
  • An emuMMC (strongly recommended).
  • Your OpenPak account (create one).
  • Your own games, updated to their latest version. OpenPak refuses outdated game versions (error 2124-3001, see troubleshooting).

Setting up custom firmware itself is outside these docs. Follow the usual community guides for your console model.

Install

  1. Download openpak.nro from the latest OpenPak Setup release.
  2. Copy it into the /switch/ folder on your SD card.
  3. Boot your emuMMC with Atmosphère and open the Homebrew Menu (by default Atmosphère opens it in place of the Album).

  4. Start OpenPak Setup. It shows two entries:

    Nintendo                       Active
OpenPak

  5. Select OpenPak with A. The change is written at once.

  6. Accept the reboot it offers. The console only reads its new network setup at boot.

That is all. OpenPak Setup also keeps your own hekate boot entry working: it builds an OpenPak boot package next to the official one and updates the hekate entries itself.

After OpenPak is active:

  • The Album opens the Album again. Hold R while opening the Album to get the Homebrew Menu.
  • The eShop entry opens OpenPak's eShop, a homebrew store. Titles from it launch normally.
  • Link your user: System Settings → Users → your user → Link Nintendo Account. See linking a Switch.

What you'll see

A walkthrough from the first launch of OpenPak Setup to playing online. The wording below is what the tool shows on screen.

1. OpenPak Setup starts

The header reads OpenPak, Network selector, with a pill on the right that says which network is in use: NINTENDO (amber) on a console that has never used OpenPak. While it starts, the message line says "Checking openpak.org for network updates...".

If there is a newer OpenPak Setup, it asks "OpenPak <version> is available. Download and restart?" with A Update and B Not now. If a previous run saved a problem report, it first asks "OpenPak saved a problem report last time." with A Send, B Don't send, X Always, Y Never.

Screenshot coming

OpenPak Setup at first launch, Nintendo active.

2. The network list

Two rows, Nintendo and OpenPak. The network in use shows Active on its row. Under the list:

  • "Changes apply at boot — dns_mitm reads the hosts files then."
  • a line such as "<n> host rules · openpak.org · revision <n> · signed ceiling v<n>": where the rules came from. Without a connection it says "Offline: using the saved OpenPak network rules."

The footer shows A Select and B Exit.

If the console runs an unsupported firmware, selecting OpenPak is refused before anything is written: "OpenPak requires firmware 22.5.0, 23.0.0 or 23.0.1 — this console runs <version>".

3. Select OpenPak

Move to OpenPak and press A. The tool writes everything at once; this takes a few seconds. Success is the message "OpenPak selected. Reboot to apply?" (or "OpenPak setup updated. Reboot to apply?" if OpenPak was already active), the pill turning to OPENPAK (green), and the footer changing to A Reboot now and B Later.

Below the message you may see notes:

  • "Album now opens the Album — hold R on Album for the Homebrew Menu": expected.
  • "Store titles will not launch: /atmosphere/kips/<file> replaces OpenPak's Loader.": a Loader module of your own is in the way (see known limits).

If something fails, the line reads "Failed: <reason>" and the tool offers to send a report.

Screenshot coming

"OpenPak selected. Reboot to apply?" with the reboot prompt.

4. Reboot

Press A (Reboot now). The console restarts through hekate into OpenPak's boot package. The HOME menu looks as usual; the eShop icon now opens OpenPak's eShop.

Open System Settings → Users, pick your user and choose Link Nintendo Account. Instead of Nintendo's page, an OpenPak page with a QR code appears. Scan it with your phone, sign in with your OpenPak account, type the six-digit code the console shows into your phone, and approve the link on the console (details).

Success: the user page shows the account as linked, and the link appears in your account on openpak.org.

Screenshot coming

The OpenPak link page with its QR code.

6. You are online

  • Your Friend List (from your user icon on the HOME menu) loads instead of an error, and friends on OpenPak show up with their online status.
  • News shows OpenPak's channels.
  • A game that OpenPak serves goes online with its normal menus. Games OpenPak does not serve yet fail to connect, as they would with no internet.

Screenshot coming

The Friend List loaded on OpenPak.

If a step looks different, see troubleshooting.

What it changes

Selecting OpenPak:

  • writes a marked block of host rules into /atmosphere/hosts/default.txt and /atmosphere/hosts/emummc.txt, pointing the services OpenPak serves at OpenPak. Anything else in those files is kept. Other tools' redirects for the same names are commented out so the choice really decides where the console goes;
  • installs the OpenPak certificate authority so the console trusts OpenPak's servers;
  • builds /atmosphere/package3-openpak (Atmosphère with OpenPak's changes) and points your hekate entries at it; the original package is left untouched;
  • turns on the console's device certificate for the emuMMC (needed to sign in);
  • installs OpenPak's News channels and the patches that let the console's News read them;
  • on firmware 23.0.x, lets Save Data Cloud accept OpenPak's save keys (see below);
  • installs one small data-only patch for Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, which checks a key inside the game itself that no console-level change can reach. It is the only game patch OpenPak ships, and it is removed when you select Nintendo.

Backups of every file it changes are kept in /switch/openpak/system. Do not delete that folder while OpenPak is enabled.

A console on OpenPak reaches only OpenPak

System updates, the vendor eShop, telemetry and every third-party service a game dials go to OpenPak. Services OpenPak does not answer yet simply fail to connect. Nothing reaches the vendor while OpenPak is selected.

Switch back to Nintendo

Open OpenPak Setup, select Nintendo, and accept the reboot. This is a full revert: the host rules, certificate, boot package and patches are removed, and every file OpenPak changed is put back the way it was.

Before a firmware update

Select Nintendo before you update the console's firmware, then update, then select OpenPak again once the new firmware is supported. If you forget, hekate may stop at Failed to apply 'openpak_ksp'; press POWER to continue booting, then select Nintendo. On an unsupported firmware OpenPak Setup warns you at launch; selecting Nintendo always works.

Cloud saves

On firmware 23.0.0 and 23.0.1 the console's own Save Data Cloud screen backs up to OpenPak. After selecting OpenPak, reboot through the hekate entry for the system OpenPak runs on. See cloud saves.

Updates and failure reports

  • When OpenPak Setup starts with a connection it checks for a newer release and offers it: A to update, B for not now. Nothing is downloaded without that yes, and it only ever downloads from the OpenPak Setup releases on GitHub.
  • Some OpenPak changes need you to re-apply: if the tool says "OpenPak updated the Switch's network redirects. Re-apply OpenPak and reboot", select OpenPak again and reboot.
  • If the tool fails, it saves a small report under /switch/openpak/reports/ and asks before sending it (A send, B don't, X always, Y never). Reports carry the versions, what was being done and the error text; no account token or console identifier.

Known limits

  • Presence, invitations, matchmaking and NAT traversal are partial; joining a game from an invitation does not always work yet.
  • Only firmware 22.5.0, 23.0.0 and 23.0.1 are supported. Some pieces (News patches) wait for matching builds on 23.x.
  • A Loader module of your own in /atmosphere/kips (an overclock module, for example) is loaded ahead of OpenPak's and can stop eShop titles from launching. OpenPak Setup names it in a warning and leaves it alone.

Problems: see troubleshooting, or report them at openpak-nro issues.