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Ryujinx logoRyujinx

Experimental Nintendo Switch Emulator written in C#

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libnx

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Quick Overview

Ryujinx is an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator written in C#. It aims to provide accurate and high-performance emulation of Nintendo Switch games on various platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Pros

  • High accuracy in game emulation
  • Active development and frequent updates
  • Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS)
  • Good performance on modern hardware

Cons

  • Requires relatively powerful hardware for optimal performance
  • Some games may have compatibility issues or graphical glitches
  • Legal concerns regarding game ROM acquisition
  • Potential for online services abuse if not properly managed

Getting Started

To get started with Ryujinx:

  1. Download the latest release from the official GitHub repository.
  2. Extract the downloaded archive to a folder of your choice.
  3. Install the latest version of .NET 7.0 Runtime.
  4. Run the Ryujinx executable.
  5. Configure the emulator settings, including graphics, audio, and controls.
  6. Add your game ROMs to the emulator (ensure you have the legal right to use these ROMs).
  7. Select a game from your library and start playing.

Note: Always ensure you have the legal right to use any game ROMs you intend to play with Ryujinx.

Competitor Comparisons

Atmosphere-NX logo

Atmosphere

16,720

Atmosphère is a work-in-progress customized firmware for the Nintendo Switch.

Pros of Atmosphere

  • Runs directly on Nintendo Switch hardware, providing authentic experience
  • Supports a wider range of Switch features and functionality
  • More actively maintained with frequent updates

Cons of Atmosphere

  • Requires a modifiable Nintendo Switch console
  • Potentially risky in terms of warranty and legal implications
  • Limited to Switch hardware capabilities

Code Comparison

Atmosphere (fusee/loader.c):

static void setup_env(void) {
    // Setup context for kernel patch process.
    g_chainloader_argc = 0;
    memset(g_chainloader_arg_data, 0, sizeof(g_chainloader_arg_data));
}

Ryujinx (Ryujinx/Cpu/CpuContext.cs):

public void Execute()
{
    while (!_thread.IsCpuRunning)
    {
        ExecuteSingleStep();
    }
}

Atmosphere focuses on low-level system interactions and bootloader processes, while Ryujinx implements high-level CPU emulation in C#. Atmosphere's code is closer to the hardware, whereas Ryujinx abstracts Switch functionality for cross-platform emulation.

switchbrew logo

libnx

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Library for Switch Homebrew

Pros of libnx

  • Designed specifically for Nintendo Switch homebrew development
  • Provides low-level access to Switch hardware and system calls
  • Actively maintained by the Switch homebrew community

Cons of libnx

  • Limited to Switch-specific development
  • Steeper learning curve for developers new to console programming
  • Requires additional tools and setup for development environment

Code Comparison

libnx example (initializing the console):

#include <switch.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    consoleInit(NULL);
    // Your code here
    consoleExit(NULL);
    return 0;
}

Ryujinx doesn't have a direct code comparison as it's an emulator, not a development library. It focuses on running Switch games on PC rather than creating homebrew applications.

Additional Notes

Ryujinx is a Nintendo Switch emulator written in C#, while libnx is a development library for creating Switch homebrew applications. They serve different purposes in the Switch ecosystem, with Ryujinx focusing on game emulation and libnx on native homebrew development.

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README


Ryujinx
Ryujinx
(REE-YOU-JINX)

Ryujinx is an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator, created by gdkchan, written in C#. This emulator aims at providing excellent accuracy and performance, a user-friendly interface and consistent builds. It was written from scratch and development on the project began in September 2017. Ryujinx is available on Github under the MIT license.

Discord

Compatibility

As of May 2024, Ryujinx has been tested on approximately 4,300 titles; over 4,100 boot past menus and into gameplay, with roughly 3,550 of those being considered playable.

You can check out the compatibility list here.

Anyone is free to submit a new game test or update an existing game test entry; simply follow the new issue template and testing guidelines, or post as a reply to the applicable game issue. Use the search function to see if a game has been tested already!

Usage

To run this emulator, your PC must be equipped with at least 8GiB of RAM; failing to meet this requirement may result in a poor gameplay experience or unexpected crashes.

See our Setup & Configuration Guide on how to set up the emulator.

For our Local Wireless (LDN) builds, see our Multiplayer: Local Play/Local Wireless Guide .

Avalonia UI comes with translations for various languages. See Crowdin for more information.

Latest build

These builds are compiled automatically for each commit on the master branch. While we strive to ensure optimal stability and performance prior to pushing an update, our automated builds may be unstable or completely broken.

If you want to see details on updates to the emulator, you can visit our Changelog.

The latest automatic build for Windows, macOS, and Linux can be found on the Official Website.

Documentation

If you are planning to contribute or just want to learn more about this project please read through our documentation.

Building

If you wish to build the emulator yourself, follow these steps:

Step 1

Install the .NET 8.0 (or higher) SDK. Make sure your SDK version is higher or equal to the required version specified in global.json.

Step 2

Either use git clone https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx on the command line to clone the repository or use Code --> Download zip button to get the files.

Step 3

To build Ryujinx, open a command prompt inside the project directory. You can quickly access it on Windows by holding shift in File Explorer, then right clicking and selecting Open command window here. Then type the following command: dotnet build -c Release -o build the built files will be found in the newly created build directory.

Ryujinx system files are stored in the Ryujinx folder. This folder is located in the user folder, which can be accessed by clicking Open Ryujinx Folder under the File menu in the GUI.

Features

  • Audio

    Audio output is entirely supported, audio input (microphone) isn't supported. We use C# wrappers for OpenAL, and SDL2 & libsoundio as fallbacks.

  • CPU

    The CPU emulator, ARMeilleure, emulates an ARMv8 CPU and currently has support for most 64-bit ARMv8 and some of the ARMv7 (and older) instructions, including partial 32-bit support. It translates the ARM code to a custom IR, performs a few optimizations, and turns that into x86 code. There are three memory manager options available depending on the user's preference, leveraging both software-based (slower) and host-mapped modes (much faster). The fastest option (host, unchecked) is set by default. Ryujinx also features an optional Profiled Persistent Translation Cache, which essentially caches translated functions so that they do not need to be translated every time the game loads. The net result is a significant reduction in load times (the amount of time between launching a game and arriving at the title screen) for nearly every game. NOTE: This feature is enabled by default in the Options menu > System tab. You must launch the game at least twice to the title screen or beyond before performance improvements are unlocked on the third launch! These improvements are permanent and do not require any extra launches going forward.

  • GPU

    The GPU emulator emulates the Switch's Maxwell GPU using either the OpenGL (version 4.5 minimum), Vulkan, or Metal (via MoltenVK) APIs through a custom build of OpenTK or Silk.NET respectively. There are currently six graphics enhancements available to the end user in Ryujinx: Disk Shader Caching, Resolution Scaling, Anti-Aliasing, Scaling Filters (including FSR), Anisotropic Filtering and Aspect Ratio Adjustment. These enhancements can be adjusted or toggled as desired in the GUI.

  • Input

    We currently have support for keyboard, mouse, touch input, JoyCon input support, and nearly all controllers. Motion controls are natively supported in most cases; for dual-JoyCon motion support, DS4Windows or BetterJoy are currently required. In all scenarios, you can set up everything inside the input configuration menu.

  • DLC & Modifications

    Ryujinx is able to manage add-on content/downloadable content through the GUI. Mods (romfs, exefs, and runtime mods such as cheats) are also supported; the GUI contains a shortcut to open the respective mods folder for a particular game.

  • Configuration

    The emulator has settings for enabling or disabling some logging, remapping controllers, and more. You can configure all of them through the graphical interface or manually through the config file, Config.json, found in the user folder which can be accessed by clicking Open Ryujinx Folder under the File menu in the GUI.

Contact

If you have contributions, suggestions, need emulator support or just want to get in touch with the team, join our Discord server. You may also review our FAQ.

Donations

If you'd like to support the project financially, Ryujinx has an active Patreon campaign.

All developers working on the project do so in their free time, but the project has several expenses:

  • Hackable Nintendo Switch consoles to reverse-engineer the hardware
  • Additional computer hardware for testing purposes (e.g. GPUs to diagnose graphical bugs, etc.)
  • Licenses for various software development tools (e.g. Jetbrains, IDA)
  • Web hosting and infrastructure maintenance (e.g. LDN servers)

All funds received through Patreon are considered a donation to support the project. Patrons receive early access to progress reports and exclusive access to developer interviews.

License

This software is licensed under the terms of the MIT license. This project makes use of code authored by the libvpx project, licensed under BSD and the ffmpeg project, licensed under LGPLv3. See LICENSE.txt and THIRDPARTY.md for more details.

Credits

  • LibHac is used for our file-system.
  • AmiiboAPI is used in our Amiibo emulation.
  • ldn_mitm is used for one of our available multiplayer modes.
  • ShellLink is used for Windows shortcut generation.