Various linux distributions are avalaible to build.
You can use Jet-Factory to build a distribution for your Switch (still in beta, may not always work).
The state of each distributions avalaible is variable here is a little table reporting the state of it (click on a distro to download):
| Distro | State | Version | Default user / password |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Bionic | Stable | 18.04 | |
| Lakka 4.X | Stable | 4.X | |
| Fedora | Open Beta | 35 | |
| Gentoo | Buildscript | - | |
| Arch | Archived | - | alarm / alarm |
| Ubuntu Focal | Archived | 20.04 | |
| Tumbleweed | Closed Alpha | - |
Stable = No major issues, support is available
Archived = No support, may be broken, please don't bother devs about these builds they exist for transparency and historical reasons.
Closed Beta = A build as been made but it is not publicly available (which probably means its broken in multiple ways and not usable).
Open Beta = A build is available for users to try out, it may have some issues but support is available.
Buildscript = Techical users may be able to build this distro with the help of a providied buildscript. There is no guarantee it is up to date or without issues.
Insert SD card to your PC
Download TegraRcmGUI for Windows and run "TegraRcmGUI_vX.X_installer.msi" to install TegraRCMGUI (follow on-screen instructions).
Launch "TegraRCMGUI" and Install The APX driver if needed. This can be located in "Setting" -> "Install Driver"
Download Hekate latest release and extract "heakte_ctcaer_X.X.bin"
Connect your switch to your PC/device via usb cable.
First, power off your Switch then insert the RCM Jig in the right joycon rail and press/hold VOLUME UP + POWER BUTTON for three seconds to enter into RCM
Find and select "heakte_ctcaer_X.X.bin" under "Select payload:" and hit "Inject payload". Then your Switch should now be in Hekate bootloader.
First time Linux installation
The process in hekate is destructive, so you need to backup your fat partition files (if they are more than 1GB total) or emuMMC.
Move the sliders as you want them and then hit next. You will have plenty of chances/warns to backup your stuff if it's needed.
bootloader/ini
|- L4T-XXXXXXX.ini
switchroot
|- install
| |- l4t.00 (4092 MiB parts. Last part can be 4 MiB aligned)
| |- l4t.01
| |- ...
| |- l4t.XX
|- ubuntu
|- boot.scr
|- coreboot.rom
|- Image
|- initramfs
|- tegra210-icosa.dtb
|- uenv.txt
To change the default reboot functionality, edit uenv.txt.
After pmc_reboot2payload.reboot_action=, write via-payload to have a reboot boot back into linux after shutdown or bootloader to reboot to Hekate.
Example: pmc_reboot2payload.reboot_action=bootloader
If you want to reboot to a specific payload from wihin the OS, execute echo "payload.bin" > /sys/devices/r2p/custom_payload where payload.bin is located in the /lib/firmware directory
TODO