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Ryujinx is a Nintendo Switch Emulator.

Website: https://ryujinx.org/

GitHub: https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx

GitHub Releases: https://github.com/Ryujinx/release-channel-master/releases

Compatibility List: https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx-Games-List/issues

Quickstart guide: https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx/wiki/Ryujinx-Setup-&-Configuration-Guide

Ryujinx Table of Contents

  1. Getting Started with Ryujinx

  2. Ryujinx Tips and Tricks

Getting Started with Ryujinx

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In order to play Nintendo Switch games on Ryujinx, you need a prod.keys file to decrypt your ROMs. You will need to continue to keep your prod.keys up to date as new Nintendo Switch firmware releases.

Firmware is required to play Nintendo Switch games through Ryujinx. To install firmware, open Ryujinx, click Tools, click Install Firmware and select the appropriate option depending on how your firmware is packaged.

Read Ryujinx's Quick Start guide to learn how to dump Nintendo Switch keys, firmware, and ROMs: https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx/wiki/Ryujinx-Setup-%26-Configuration-Guide.

Place your ROMs in Emulation/roms/switch. Place your prod.keys file in Emulation/bios/ryujinx/keys. Install your firmware through Ryujinx's GUI. Install your DLC and Updates through Ryujinx's GUI, see How To Manage DLC and Updates to learn how.

Read the Configuration section to learn more about Ryujinx and its folder locations.

To launch your ROMs in game mode, use Steam ROM Manager and use one of the following parsers to play your Nintendo Switch ROMs:

  • ES-DE
  • Nintendo Switch Ryujinx
  • Emulators

Ryujinx Configuration:

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  • Type of Emulator: Binary Package
  • Executable Location: /home/deck/Applications/publish/Ryujinx or /home/deck/Applications/publish/Ryujinx.sh
  • Config Location: /home/deck/.config/Ryujinx/
  • Storage Location: Emulation/storage/Ryujinx
  • DLC and Updates: Emulation/storage/Ryujinx/patchesAndDlc
    • It's recommended that you place your DLC and Updates directly in this folder. However, you can create any folder for Ryujinx DLC and Updates as long as it is not Emulation/roms/switch
    • For more detail, read: How To Manage DLC and Updates
  • ROMs: Emulation/roms/switch/
  • Keys (required): Emulation/bios/ryujinx/keys/
  • Firmware (required): Install through Ryujinx GUI
    • Ryujinx Firmware
    • Firmware is installed to $HOME/.config/Ryujinx/bis/system/Contents/registered
  • Saves:
    • Symlink: Emulation/saves/ryujinx/saves
    • Target: /home/deck/.config/Ryujinx/bis/user/save
  • saveMeta:
    • Symlink: Emulation/saves/Ryujinx/saveMeta
    • Target: /home/deck/.config/Ryujinx/bis/user/saveMeta

Note: ~/.config is an invisible folder by default. In Dolphin (file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right, click Show Hidden Files to see these folders.

Works With

  • Steam ROM Manager
  • ES-DE

Ryujinx Folder Locations

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These file locations apply regardless of where you chose to install EmuDeck (to your internal SSD, to your SD Card, or elsewhere). Some emulator configuration files will be located on the internal SSD as listed below.

$HOME refers to your home folder. If you are on a Steam Deck, this folder will be named /home/deck (you will likely not see deck in the file path when navigating using the file manager).

Paths beginning with Emulation/.. correspond to your EmuDeck install location. If you installed on an SD Card, your path may be /run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/roms/... If you installed on your internal SSD, your path may be /home/deck/Emulation/roms/..

Note: Folders with a . (.var, .local, .config, etc.) at the beginning are hidden by default. In Dolphin (file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right, click Show Hidden Files to see these folders.

$HOME/.config/Ryujinx

Ryujinx/
├── bis
│   ├── system
│   │   ├── Contents
│   │   └── save
│   └── user
│       ├── Contents
│       ├── save
│       ├── saveMeta
│       └── temp
├── Config.json
├── Config.json.bak
├── games -> Emulation/storage/ryujinx/games/
├── mods
│   ├── contents
│   ├── exefs_patches
│   └── nro_patches
├── profiles
│   └── controller
│       ├── Deck.json
│       └── Deck.json.bak
├── sdcard
│   ├── atmosphere
│   │   ├── contents
│   │   ├── exefs_patches
│   │   └── nro_patches
│   ├── Nintendo
│   │   ├── Contents
│   │   └── save
│   └── ocw-config.json
└── system
    ├── prod.keys
    └── Profiles.json

Emulation/bios/Ryujinx

ryujinx/
└── keys -> /home/deck/.config/Ryujinx/system

How to Update Ryujinx

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How to Update Ryujinx

  • Through the Update your Emulators & Tools section on the Manage Emulators page in the EmuDeck application
  • Manual file replacement of Ryujinx
  • Through the application's automatic updater
    • When you open Ryujinx, you may be prompted for an update, accept the prompt to update the application

How to Launch Ryujinx in Desktop Mode

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How to Launch Ryujinx in Desktop Mode

  • Launch Ryujinx Binary from the Applications Launcher (Steam Deck icon in the bottom left of the taskbar)
  • Launch the script from Emulation/tools/launchers, ryujinx.sh
  • Launch the binary in /home/deck/Applications/publish/Ryujinx
  • Launch the emulator from Steam after adding it via the Emulators parser in Steam ROM Manager

Ryujinx File Formats

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  • .kp
  • .nca
  • .nro
  • .nso
  • .nsp
  • .xci

How to Manage DLC and Updates

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IMPORTANT: Do not keep your DLC and Update Files in the Emulation/roms/switch folder. Steam ROM Manager will try to parse them and the Steam shortcuts created will not work.

  1. Place updates and DLC files in Emulation/storage/ryujinx/patchesAndDlc
    • It's recommended that you place your DLC and Updates directly in this folder. However, you can create any folder for Ryujinx DLC and Updates as long as it is not Emulation/roms/switch
  2. Open Ryujinx, right click the ROM, and click Manage Title Updates or Manage DLC
  3. Select Add, and navigate to Emulation/storage/ryujinx/patchesAndDlc, and select your Update or DLC
    • You can select more than one at a time if you are adding a batch of DLCs
    • Optionally, you can right click the patchesAndDlc folder and click Add to Bookmarks
  4. After selecting the Update or DLC, select it in the Ryujinx menu, and click save
    • Updates:
    • DLC:
  5. Updates will be reflected under the ROM name in the game list, DLC will automatically be applied in-game

Ryujinx Hotkeys

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Ryujinx Hotkeys Keyboard Keys
Stop Emulation Steam or ... + DPad Left Esc

Ryujinx Tips and Tricks

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How to Configure Gyro

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Gyro for Ryujinx requires SteamDeckGyroDSU. SteamDeckGyroDSU can be installed via EmuDeck, or it can be installed manually.

Visit SteamDeckGyroDSU to learn how to install and utilize SteamDeckGyroDSU.

How to Configure Gyro With External Controllers

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Desktop Mode

  1. Switch to Desktop Mode
  2. Exit out of Steam
    • You may exit out of Steam a couple of different ways:
      • Right click the Steam icon in your taskbar and click Exit Steam
      • Open Steam, click the Steam button in the top left, click Exit
      • Open a terminal (Konsole) and enter killall -9 steam
      • Do note that clicking the the X button in the top right of the Steam window will not exit out of Steam
    • Your controls will switch to Lizard Mode. Use L2 to right click, R2 to left click, and the Right Trackpad to move the mouse
    • You may also connect an external keyboard and mouse
  3. Click the bluetooth icon in the bottom right of your taskbar and connect your controller
  4. Open Ryujinx
  5. Click Options at the top, click Settings
  6. Click the Input tab on the top
  7. Click Configure under Player 1
  8. Under Input Device, select your external controller
  9. Select your Controller Type
    • Select either Joycon Pair or Pro Controller depending on the game you are playing
  10. Click Load to the right of Controller Type
  11. Under Motion, check Enable Motion Controls and uncheck Use CemuHook compatible motion
  12. Exit out of Ryujinx
  13. Switch to Game Mode

Game Mode

  1. In Game Mode, connect your controller
  2. Select your Nintendo Switch game
  3. On the Play screen, select the Controller icon to the right of the screen
  4. Select your controller tab at the top
  5. Click the Gear icon to the right, and click Disable Steam Input
    • You may need to restart first for this setting to properly apply
  6. Your controller's gyro will now work for this selected game, repeat as needed for your other games

If your controller gyro does not work after the above steps, reset Ryujinx's configuration in the EmuDeck application on the Manage Emulators page and try again.

Post-Configuration

To restore the default Steam Deck controls:

  1. Open Ryujinx
  2. Click Options at the top, click Settings
  3. Click the Input tab on the top
  4. Click Configure under Player 1
  5. Select Steam Virtaul Gamepad under Input Device
  6. Click Load on the right side of the screen
  7. Click Save and exit out of Ryujinx

(Optional) To restore Steam Input:

  1. Select your Nintendo Switch game
  2. On the Play screen, select the Controller icon to the right of the screen
  3. Select your controller tab at the top
  4. Click the Gear icon to the right, and click Enable Steam Input
    • You may need to restart first for this setting to properly apply
  5. The controls will be reverted to Steam Input and the Steam Deck controls will be restored

How to Optimize Performance (Power Tools)

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Visit Power Tools to learn how to optimize performance using Power Tools.

How to Configure Multiplayer

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Ryujinx comes with a nifty auto-map feature that makes setting up multiplayer a breeze. To set up multiplayer, you simply need to enable the additional ports.

  1. In Game Mode, open Ryujinx
    • You may add Ryujinx to Steam by using the Emulators parser in Steam ROM Manager
  2. Open the Input settings in the Settings menu
  3. For each controller you are using for Player 2, 3, 4, etc, click the respective Configure button
    • You do not need to adjust any settings for Player 1
  4. Under Input Device
    • Player 2: Steam Virtual Gamepad 1
    • Player 3: Steam Virtual Gamepad 2
    • Player 4: Steam Virtual Gamepad 3
    • Player 5: Steam Virtual Gamepad 4
    • Player 6: Steam Virtual Gamepad 5
    • Player 7: Steam Virtual Gamepad 6
    • Player 8: Steam Virtual Gamepad 7
  5. Using Player 2 as an example:
    • On the Player 2 configuration screen, after you have selected the appropriate Input Device, select your preferred Controller Type and click Load to the right of Profile
  6. After you are finished enabling any additional players, click Save and you may open your game either directly as a shortcut in Steam or through ES-DE
  7. (Optional) You may need to re-arrange the controller order in Game Mode for your controllers to function as expected. See How to Re-Arrange the Controller Order to learn how

How to Install Mods

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Mod Resources

This list is not comprehensive

Preface

Read Ryujinx's instructions on how to install mods here: How to Install Ryujinx Mods

The folder structure of a mod is important. It should generally look like the following:

mod_directory
  - exefs
  - romfs
  - romfs_ext

Tutorial

  1. In Desktop Mode, open Ryujinx
  2. Right click a game you intend on modding
  3. Click Open Mod Data Location
  4. Place your mod folder in the opened folder
    1. You may need to extract the mod first
  5. Your mod is now installed

Special Characters

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Files with special characters in the ROM name will not launch from steam. Rename your ROMs and remove the special character.

Known Cases:

  • é in Pokémon
  • ' in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  • + and ' in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

If you used Steam ROM Manager previously, re-run Steam ROM Manager after renaming your ROMs.

How to Remove Special Characters

How to Roll Back Ryujinx to an Older Version

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Preface

Your ROMs launch using a script created by EmuDeck, ryujinx.sh in Emulation/tools/launchers.

The script launches the corresponding emulator in /home/deck/Applications/publish and specifically looks for two traits:

  • The most recently downloaded version of the emulator in /home/deck/Applications/publish, based on the file/release date.
  • The emulator name at the beginning of the file. Anything after the emulator name is ignored.
    • For example, if the latest version of the emulator is 1351 and you would like to downgrade to 1349. When you download version 1349, you could rename it to EMULATORNAME-1349.AppImage, and EmuDeck's script will ignore the -1349 in the file name, allowing you to record which versions of the emulator you are using through the file name.

How to Roll Back Ryujinx

  1. Download the version of the emulator you would like to use from Ryujinx's GitHub: https://github.com/Ryujinx/release-channel-master/releases
  2. Move the downloaded emulator from Step 1 to /home/deck/Applications/publish
  3. (Optional) Rename or delete the original emulator file
  4. One at a time, right click Ryujinx and Ryujinx.sh, click Properties, click Permissions, check Is executable
  5. Your games will now launch using the version of the emulator you downloaded

How to Select Between Yuzu and Ryujinx in Game Mode

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If you are using Steam ROM Manager and would like to run some games through Yuzu and others through Ryujinx, you may use Steam ROM Manager's exception manager to selectively run your games in your preferred emulator.

For further instructions, see Steam ROM Manager: How to Hide ROMs on a Per Parser Basis.

If you are using ES-DE, you may use ES-DE's alternative emulators feature to select on a per-game basis which to run through Yuzu and which to run through Ryujinx.

For further instructions, see ES-DE: How to Select a Different Emulator on a Per-Game Basis.

How to Configure Language Settings

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UI

  1. In Desktop Mode, open Ryujinx
  2. At the top, click Options, click Change Language
  3. Select your preferred language in the menu

In-Game

  1. In Desktop Mode, open Ryujinx
  2. At the top, click Options, click Settings
  3. Click the System tab
  4. To the right of System Language, select your preferred language in the drop-down menu