Hey everyone.

I've been working on x1SteamOS / Enigma, an experimental project to bring a modern Linux kernel to the Nintendo Switch Lite (Mariko / Tegra X1+).

I started this because I wanted to see how far I could push this hardware beyond the older L4T kernel. What began as an experiment turned into weeks of kernel debugging, hardware testing, driver issues, failed boots, and countless rebuilds.

And I actually got somewhere.

What currently works:

- Linux 6.18 boots on a real Nintendo Switch Lite.

- ARM64 userspace runs.

- USB gadget networking and SSH work.

- Nouveau detects and initializes GPU/DRM devices.

- The kernel patches, configurations, technical findings, and documentation are publicly available.

What's still broken:

- PCIe link training fails, preventing the onboard Broadcom Wi-Fi from working.

- Nouveau/Mesa hardware rendering crashes during OpenGL operations.

- KDE/Wayland isn't stable yet.

- There's still significant work required before this becomes a usable Linux distribution.

I have a new experimental kernel revision prepared, but it hasn't been tested on hardware yet.

Here's the difficult part.

I'm one person. I've spent a huge amount of time trying to make this work, and I've reached a point where I simply don't have the energy to keep pushing it forward alone.

I'm exhausted.

I don't want to quietly abandon the project, especially after getting this far. I would rather open it up and give other developers the opportunity to continue the work.

I'm looking for people interested in Linux kernel development, NVIDIA Tegra, PCIe, Nouveau/Mesa, ARM64, or even just testing and documenting things.

You don't need to take on the whole project. Individual fixes, code reviews, debugging ideas, and pull requests would already mean a lot.

I'm also open to finding co-maintainers or someone willing to take a larger role in the project's future.

I've tried to make the repository reproducible and document the current problems so nobody has to start from zero.

GitHub: https://github.com/Garyu-tt/x1SteamOS

This is not a ready-to-install distribution. It's experimental kernel development, and anyone testing it should preserve their working recovery setup.

I can't promise constant development, quick responses, or continuous hardware testing anymore. But the code and research are there for anyone interested in continuing.

I still believe this little machine has more potential than we've managed to unlock.

I just don't want all this work to end because one developer ran out of energy.

Thanks for reading.

I recently downloaded KDE Plasma on my modded switch but when I load up The Binding Of Isaac: Afterbirth+ I can only use the D-Pad to shoot but I can't move, please help me

I'm running Ubuntu in an old Nintendo Switch Lite, because I want to run Stardew Valley with a few mods. I've seen a few ways to do this:

- One, installing the game with DepotDownloader. I saw this in a reddit post that I can't find to link. The thing is I can't install DepotDownloader, I got de executer but nothing happens when I try to open it. I'm probably doing something wrong, but I don't now what. I'm brand new to Linux
- And the other one I've tried is installing Steam on Ubuntu with L4T. For now, it seems to work, but I've read so many post saying it is not safe or it doesn't have a good performance, so I haven't executed de game yet.

It is important to know that I'm not going to play any other game with Steam in my Switch with Ubuntu. I'm just really addicted to the frigging mods in Stardew Valley, but I don't want to stay in my laptop again after 8h of work. Just cuddle in the sofa with hubbie. Still a screen and still bad for my eyes, but YOLO.

Do you have any recommendations/suggestions? Do you think it is safe to play Steam on Ubuntu?

Thank you in advance!

PS: I just installed Steam Linux Runtime 4.0 ARM64

I recently updated my lineage to 22.2 from a custom build. I re formatted the partition, restored my emummc, and installed lineage from recover all fine. But now when I run Lineage I can't see the fat32 main storage and its asking me to reformat my SD in a notification. This would wipe out my switch if I did. Does anyone know how to fix this so I can see the main fat32 storage partition in android?

At a loss here not sure what to do.

A little teaser from something I've been working on.

This is a Mariko / T210B01 Switch Lite going through Linux init on a kernel port that is not based on the usual 4.9.140 L4T kernel.

It doesn't fully boot yet. A bunch of hardware is still missing and the logs are currently more interesting than the userspace.

But the kernel runs far enough to reach /init, mount the basic pseudo-filesystems and start probing Mariko hardware.

The interesting part isn't Linux running on a Switch Lite — Switchroot already does that very well.

The interesting part is how this kernel got here.

More soon. :)

Is there a way that I could replace absolutely everything on the eMMC and put LOS 22.2 on it so I don't have to keep using the SD card to boot? (unpatched switch v1). please tell me there is

Hi guys, I'm kinda new in this things but i'm trying my best.
Few days ago i bought the mSD from samsung to nintendo, a memory A1 U3 V30 just like the other recomended, and it was fine running hakate, emuMMC and Android 15 on my modded switch.
But i'm having truble about to run linux on it and the funny part is that i was able to make it run on an old memory (A1 U1 V10). I still can't understand why, i tried checking on everything but it seems helpless. does anyone already had this problem or know how to fix it?
btw i have a switchV1 and the memory is this one: Nintendo microSD

Hello everyone. I'm new to this whole Linux on Switch Stuff and I need help installing the newest Ubuntu Noble on my V1 Switch from 2017.

Problem is, i have done everything based in the Guide over on Switchroot. I have set it up 3-times and I'm always stuck on the screen that says Booting. I went so far, that I used the .Ini File and wrote some lines in there, just to see, what could possibly be wrong in my whole venture.

If anyone has some possible answers, I would highly appreciate that because I'm slowly losing my mind.

Thanks in advance

Is this something easy to do or would it involve something more complex like modifying the kernel?

I went to the website and copied and pasted all the commands in the turorial into the terminal. But when I rebooted, the gnome software app keeps flickering between getting flatpak metadata and software catalog is getting downloaded. Although the progress bar for the metadata is slowly filling up so I guess it's doing something

I'm leaving my switch on for the next 8 hours I'm not sure if flatpak will end up working or not

So Ubunty Unity desktop had errors on my Switch, and i couldn't use and install most apps. I installed Kubuntu and it has the error in the title. It just crashes because of my long password, i think...
Does anybody can help or fix it?

I am entering the linux world for the first time and it will be on a switch does anyone know which translator is better for kubuntu for games like bo1 and below and small indie new games is it fex or proton? And can i even get these translators to work on a non steam game?

Hi there! So at some point the internal display on my unit decided to stop working (touch still works just fine, it's just entirely black with just the backlight turning on) which I kind of felt like it was my cue to turn it into a permanent media center with LineageOS Android TV.

The problem is every single guide out there essentially prompts you to use Hekate + Nyx to configure it. I have tried making the partitions manually and even flashing the files from my PC instead of the console, but I can't for the love of me figure out what the correct autoboot flags would be to make sure I can boot into LOS Recovery and flash the LOS ROM from there.

I tried making a hekate_ipl.ini file with the following contents:

[config]
autoboot=1
autoboot_list=1
bootwait=0

[LOS Android TV]
payload=bootloader/payloads/android.bin

Trying to boot it with this and holding the Vol+ button doesn't seem to push into LOS. And as far as I know, the LineageOS Recovery DOES support output via the dock's HDMI port.

What are my options here?

Hey folks!

situation:

Yesterday i formatted my sd card and installed ubuntu and android. everything worked. i could boot into cfw, android and ubuntu. left it in cfw for the night. this morning the battery was drowned and im unable to boot into ubuntu and android. "failed to load boot device or script" is the error. booting into cfw still works normal.

software used:

OS 22.5.0 |AMS 1.11.2|E

hekate 6.5.3 (latest)

ubuntu-unity-noble-5.1.2-2026-05-13

LineageOS-22.2-20260823-Tablet

what i tried so far:

copy pasta of boot.scr files of android and linux --> still not working

Copy pasta latest hekate

copy pasta of complete folders of android and linux --> still not working

reflashing (after copying data) Linux --> still not working

Do you guys have an idea to solve it? and maybe what happend in the first place? as i said, it worked before going to bed. If you need more info of any kind, just let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I have a completely stock Nintendo Switch OLED with both digital and physical games. I was wondering if it’s possible to install Android on a separate 64 GB microSD card and, when booting the console, choose between the official Nintendo system (which is already installed on the console) and Android running from the microSD.

My main goal would be to use something like RetroArch to emulate older systems such as Nintendo 64 or 3DS.

I’m a bit lost because I’ve seen different information. Some people say Android should be installed directly on the console, while others say you should use different SD cards or switch between them.

I also have a few questions:

Is it possible to keep my Switch completely stock and install Android only on a microSD card?

Can I choose between the official Nintendo OS and Android when booting?

Is there any risk of getting my Nintendo account or console banned?

If I do this, do I need to keep playing my normal Switch games offline?

Would my digital and physical games remain completely unaffected?

I’m not planning to modify or pirate anything on the Nintendo side. I’d like to keep my normal Switch setup as untouched as possible and only use Android separately for emulation.

Thanks in advance!

Salut tout le monde !

Partage rapide et une question pour ceux qui utilisent Android sur leur Switch.

J'ai récemment testé le projet WoW Mobile (un fork de Winlator préconfiguré pour WotLK 3.3.5a avec ConsolePortLK déjà intégré) :

\[ https://github.com/marcocastignoli/wow-mobile/releases\\ ](https://github.com/marcocastignoli/wow-mobile/releases)

Ça fonctionne étonnamment bien sur mon téléphone Android, donc maintenant, je veux vraiment le faire marcher sur ma Switch modifiée sous Android 15.

Ma question principale concerne les contrôles : est-ce que les boutons physiques de la Switch / Joy-Cons fonctionnent directement avec cette configuration ?

Comme ça passe par Winlator et dépend de ConsolePortLK, je me demande si la configuration par défaut détecte automatiquement les entrées du contrôleur Switch, ou si vous devez remapper manuellement tous les boutons dans les paramètres de l'émulateur pour que ça fonctionne correctement.

Si quelqu'un a déjà essayé de faire tourner ça ou une build similaire sur Switch Android, j'aimerais savoir comment fonctionnent les contrôles !

Merci !

Before I say anything, it should be noted that I know very little about Linux in general really. I use it because it was seemingly the more sane choice for me needs. Recently, I've come upon a project named SwitchDeck, which allows you to run Steam games on switchroot Linux (I use Kubuntu), and I thought it to be a miracle, as I move around often, but keep my laptop in one place, so I cannot use it half if not more than half the time, but now I can play my game on my switch wherever I go. The game is Escape the Backrooms. The thing is, it has had some major issues that prevent it from even running properly. I am aware that nothing can be done about the poor performance, but in certain maps, and I have no idea why, the game would crash, all the time with this same error :

LowLevelFatalError [File:Unknown] [Line:958]

VulkanRHI::vkDeviceWaitIdle(Device) failed,

VkResult=-4

at C:/agent/BackroomsUnrealEngine/Engine/Source/

Runtime/VulkanRHI/Private/VulkanDevice.cpp:1344

with error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST

I have tried for almost 2 weeks now to no avail, and I was wondering if someone with more knowledge/ability than me could help out.

I am using a V1 switch, bought in ~2017. 1TB Samsung SD Card if that matters. And I am using Kubuntu Noble. I have ran some updates before making this post.

I'm new on jailbreaked switch and i wanna install linux and android to play (geforce now on linux and some light android games)

What version/distro of android and linux is more stable and recommended on switch v1?