A new update has been released for Sphaira , the alternative and advanced interface to the traditional hbmenu (Homebrew Menu) developed by developer ITotalJustice for the Nintendo Switch console .

In this new release, one of the most visible changes is the reduction of the rounding of the icons, which goes from a value of 15 to 5, giving a cleaner and more modern look to the interface.

Furthermore, visual and functional improvements have been introduced, such as support for images in the options windows, and automatic text scrolling for all cut items: simply highlight an item to activate scrolling, which can also be adjusted in the “Advanced Options” section.

A particularly interesting addition is the new “Games” menu, which allows you to start or delete installed games directly from the interface.

This menu also contains bonus features such as randomly launching a game (“launch random”) or the ability to hide installed forwarders (“hide forwarders”), an option that required a change to the title ID generation system to be supported properly.

Also introduced is a useful option for users who download compressed content: it is now possible to extract ZIP files directly to the root of the SD card. Still on the subject of customization, the user can now change the behavior of the right side menu.

On the stability and performance front, some issues have been fixed, such as a potential memory leak that would occur when deleting homebrew from the main menu, preventing the associated image’s memory from being properly released.

Additionally, a bug has been fixed that caused the file browser to crash when selecting all files (with L2) when there were hidden files, if the option to hide them was active.

USB connection handling has also been improved, making exiting the installer menu faster and more responsive by using an event-based system instead of a timeout.

Finally, the German localization file has been updated to include a 12-hour clock, and a freeze that occurred when closing the USB menu with the cable unplugged has been fixed.

Characteristics

Sphaira ‘s main menu automatically lists all files .nroin the directory /switch/, allowing you not only to launch them, but also to sort them, delete them, and create direct links to them.

From the program you can access other sections, such as the file browser or the app store, using the and keys .

The file browser, accessible via , offers functions such as cut, copy, delete and rename, also allowing multiple selection via the button . In addition, it is possible to create forwarders for files that have a predefined association.

Sphaira also integrates an app store based on the hb-appstore API , ensuring compatibility between the two platforms. Applications can be downloaded and manifests installed in the same directory used by hb-appstore , avoiding conflicts.

Another interesting feature is the support for custom themes. Sphaira includes three predefined themes, Abyss , Black and White (still in progress), but it also allows users to add other custom themes by placing them in the directory /config/sphaira/themes/.

Each theme can include music files in format BFSTMand detailed visual specifications. Additionally, new themes can be downloaded via the “Themezer” feature, with installation managed via NXThemes Installer .

The forwarder functionality is particularly versatile: Sphaira allows you to create direct links for files .nroand associated files, such as emulated game ROMs.

For example, if a Game Boy Advance game is placed in the directory , while the mGBA/roms/gba/ emulator is already installed on the console, it will be possible to create a forwarder that uses the game’s icon and an automatically generated name.

The file association system allows you to link specific extensions to certain applications, making the user experience seamless and customizable.

For example, files with the extension .gbaor .gbccan be associated with emulators such as mGBA or Gambatte . This system supports both single ROMs and ZIP archives, where Sphaira automatically detects the contents to determine the icon and file association.

For the nostalgic, Sphaira also supports the use of GBS files, which contain audio tracks from Game Boy games. These files are played randomly as background music, with a maximum duration of 45 seconds per track, until silence is detected.

Sphaira also includes a number of additional features such as a built-in (albeit limited) web browser, support for nxlink for developers, an “InfaRed Sensor” application to use the Joy-Con’s infrared camera, and the ability to replace hbmenu as the default launcher, creating an automatic backup for restore.

Changelog v0.9.1

Fixed a freeze that occurred when closing the USB menu when no USB cable was connected.

Changelog v0.9.0

Reduced icon rounding from 15 to 5.
Added image support to options windows.
Fixed a potential memory leak when deleting homebrew from the menu, which prevented images from being dropped correctly.
Added scrolling text support for all clipped entries. Highlighting an entry will cause the text to start scrolling. The scrolling speed can be adjusted from the “Advanced Options” menu, by selecting “Text Scrolling Speed”.
Added a “Games” menu, which allows you to launch and delete installed games. There are extra options such as “random launch”, which selects a random game to launch, and “hide forwarder”, which hides installed forwarders.
Changed the title_id generation system for forwarders, needed to support the “hide forwarder” option.
Added option to extract ZIP files directly to the root of the SD card.
Added option to change the behavior of the right side menu.
Replaced the values “enabled” and “disabled” with “On” and “Off”.
Fixed a file browser crash that occurred when using “select all” (L2) on hidden files, when the option to hide them was active.
Improved USB menu (installer) exit speed by using an event instead of a timeout.
Updated de.json file (added 12-hour clock), thanks to @glitched-nx in #130 .

Editing the right side menu

The default right side menu is the Appstore. With this update, you can now change the menu that appears on the right side (by pressing the key ). Not all menus are supported; the current list includes: