Installing & Updating Brewser

Brewser runs as a homebrew application on a Nintendo Switch with custom firmware (Atmosphère). If your console isn't hacked yet, start with the NH Switch Guide — Brewser needs nothing beyond a standard Atmosphère setup.

What you need

• A Switch running custom firmware (Atmosphère). Any model that runs Atmosphère works — see the FAQ for the model rundown.
• An SD card with a little free space.
• A network connection, to load the catalogue and sign in. Most apps run fully offline once downloaded.

Install

1. Download the Brewser .nro from brewser.io.
2. Copy it into the /switch/ folder on your SD card. The Homebrew Menu lists any .nro it finds there.
3. Put the SD card back in your Switch.

Brewser keeps all of its own files under sdmc:/switch/brewser/ — the catalogue cache, your downloaded apps (apps/<id>/), and app storage. You don't need to create any of that by hand; Brewser sets it up on first launch.

First launch

1. Open the Homebrew Menu and launch Brewser.
2. The catalogue loads from play.brewser.io.
3. Browse, pick an app, and it downloads and boots in its own isolated context.
4. Signing in is optional — you only need a Brewser account for cloud saves, leaderboards and achievements. Sign-in uses a short device code you enter on your phone or computer.

New to the terminology (NRO, hbmenu, emuMMC)? The Glossary has you covered.

Updating — and why you can trust it

Brewser updates itself from within the app. Updates matter for a homebrew app that talks to your account and your hardware, so the updater is built to be safe by construction:

• Every update is cryptographically signed (ECDSA P-256). Brewser verifies the signature against a built-in key before it reads a single field of the update — an unsigned or tampered update is refused outright.
• The download is hash-checked in full. The new build is hashed in chunks and compared against the signed manifest before anything is installed. A corrupted download can't be applied.
• Updates only ever move forward. Brewser refuses to "update" to an older build, even a correctly-signed one, so an old version can't be replayed onto your console.
• Your data is never touched. The updater can only write to Brewser's own program files — your saves, app storage and settings are off-limits to it by design.
• A power cut mid-update won't brick Brewser. The new build is staged and verified, then swapped in with a two-step hand-off that can recover on the console itself, with no PC required.

When an update is available you'll see an Update Brewser prompt. It downloads, verifies, and restarts ("Restarting Brewser… Do not power off"). That's it — no manual file swapping.

Related

• How the runtime works — what happens when you launch an app.
• Troubleshooting — if an app won't start.
• FAQ — models, ban risk, cost, and "is this piracy?".