Ryujinx
A Switch emulator whose original project was shut down in 2024 and now continues as community forks.
What it does
Ryujinx emulates the Nintendo Switch: it implements the console’s ARM CPU, Maxwell GPU and operating system services well enough to run retail software, with Vulkan and Metal backends, upscaling beyond the console’s native resolution, and controller mapping.
Status
Legal position
Emulation itself is lawful in most jurisdictions. What is not is obtaining the console’s firmware, prod.keys or game images from anywhere other than hardware and cartridges you own. The emulator ships with none of them and cannot run anything without them.
Alternative to
| Alternative | Type | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Ryubing and Kenji-NX | Open source | The maintained forks of this codebase |
| Eden | Open source | A separate continuation of the emulation effort |
| Dolphin | Open source | GameCube and Wii, mature, and legally unambiguous |
| A Nintendo Switch | Paid | The alternative that nobody lists and everybody should consider |
Install
Development continues as Ryubing, hosted on the project’s own Git server rather than GitHub: git.ryujinx.app/projects/Ryubing
The original ryujinx.org downloads and GitHub repository are gone.