¶ L4T Ubuntu 18.04 installation guide
Current version: 5.1.0 (r3)
Note: hekate 6.0.3 or newer MUST be used for this release.
If you need help you can ask in our Discord Server
You should also take a look at our FAQ and Common Issues which may already answer to some of your questions
The important parts of the guide are the Installation and Update sections.
You can skip the rest if you don't want extra information about the project.
IMPORTANT: The apt repo certificate expired on 2023/04/14.
On existing installations, you will need to run the following commands at least once.
Or if the installation image was downloaded before 2023/04/22, run them after setup.
sudo apt-key del 92813F6A23DB6DFC
wget -O - https://newrepo.switchroot.org/pubkey | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt update
¶ Updating existing installations (3.x.x/5.x.x)
If you come from a previous release and need to update.
-
In L4T Ubuntu Linux, go to the
Software Updaterapp and click "Install Now"
Or open terminal and execute:sudo apt update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade.
After update is finished, reboot and done.- If Nvidia BSP was forcefully changed, creating a
.reinitfile into boot directory will restore Kernel, Kernel Modules and Firmware on the next boot and make the installation working again. - In case of an update from
3.x.x, uenv.txt will be backed up. If it was manually edited before, README_CONFIG.txt can be followed to restore the custom boot settings inside .ini this time.
- If Nvidia BSP was forcefully changed, creating a
-
If you haven't already, go to
hekate->Nyx Options->Dump Joy-Con BTand dump Joycon pairing data, with both Joycon connected to console, after first pairing them in hos.
¶ Prerequisites
- hekate 6.0.3 or newer
- A 16GB SD Card MINIMUM (Recommended: 128GB and up U3 or U3/A2 class)
- A computer (for backing up and extracting the installation files)
¶ Installation
-
Download the base image directly or via torrent from here.
-
Backup your SD Card:
- Backup normal files from FAT32 (this also backs up emuMMC if file based)
- If emuMMC raw partition exists, go to
hekate->Tools->Backup eMMC->SD emuMMC RAW Partitionand back it up (BOOT0/1 and Raw GPP) - If android exists, do a TWRP backup
Suggestion: Use hekate UMS (hekate->Tools->USB Tools) with a USB-C cable connecting your switch and PC to mount your SD card and transfer files instead of swapping your card from Switch to PC.
-
WARNING: This following will wipe everything on your SD card.
Partition your SD card inhekate->Tools->Partition SD Cardleave at least 5GB for FAT32 for installation files downloaded in step 1 AND recreate any partition that may have backed up.
-
From your PC, extract the 7z to your SD FAT32 partition. Suggestion: Use hekate UMS (
hekate->Tools->USB Tools) with a USB-C cable connecting your switch and PC to mount your SD card instead of swapping your card from Switch to PC.
-
In Hekate, go to Tools -> Partition SD Card -> Flash Linux.
-
Go to
hekate->Nyx Options->Dump Joy-Con BTto dump Joycon pairing data, with both Joycon connected to console, after they were paired in hos first. This must be run even if a Switch Lite is used, since it dumps the calibration data.
-
Now you can boot L4T Ubuntu.
Make sure any existing online updates are done viaSoftware Updateroraptcommand. -
After making sure everything is fine, you can now restore your backed up files
- Copy your normal files to FAT32
- For emuMMC use Hekate to restore your backup
hekate->Tools->Restore eMMC - For Android, copy your TWRP backup to your FAT32 partition then follow the steps and 4 of our android BUT instead of installing "Lineage zip, followed by your GApps zip" at step 4.g restore your backup in TWRP
¶ Extras
Pairing procons
Pair procons by opening the bluetooth menu in settings and pressing the + button in the bottom left corner. Then press the sync button on the controller and select its name in the pairing window.L4T Megascript
Use the L4T-Megascript app, available in your apps list (installed by default in 3.4.0+)You can get or build various essential stuff, apps or emulators with a single click. All configured and optimized for Switch.
¶ Misc.
¶ Credits
CTCaer (kernel/bootloader, distro maintainer, NVENC/NVDEC),
Gavin_Darkglider (distro maintainer),
Azkali (distro maintainer),
Ave (repo management and host),
DanielOgorchock(Switch controller drivers/joycond),
Bylaws,
Langerhans,
Natinusala,
stary2001 (reboot2payload),
NVIDIA (Tegra BSP),
theofficialgman and cobalt2727 (L4T-Megascript),
Everyone else in switchroot