Brewser DocsSwitch Runtime
Hardware APIs
Talking to real hardware from web apps
This is where Brewser shines for tinkerers. The Switch's USB port (and Bluetooth radio) become gateways to microcontrollers, MIDI gear and more — through the same APIs Chromium exposes.
Supported APIs
| API | Status | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| WebSerial | ✅ Verified on hardware | ESP32/Arduino over USB CDC |
| WebBluetooth | ✅ Verified on hardware | BLE sensors & peripherals |
| Web MIDI | ✅ | MIDI controllers (e.g. AKAI pads) |
| Web NFC | ✅ | Reading NFC tags |
| WebUSB | See support matrix | Direct USB device access |
Permission model
Apps must declare required hardware in their manifest. At runtime, the user picks the device from a system picker — modeled on Chrome's WebUSB/WebSerial flow. There is no auto-connect: nothing talks to your hardware without an explicit user choice.
Example: ESP32 over WebSerial
Hotplug, connect, and exchange data with an ESP32 over USB CDC exactly as you
would in Chrome — navigator.serial.requestPort(), open, read/write streams.