Difference between revisions of "Homebrew Launcher"

	The Homebrew Launcher
General
Author(s)	Dimok, Maschell and others
Type	Loader
Version	1.5
Links
	Download
	Source

Latest revision as of 19:16, 2 June 2024

The Homebrew Launcher is an application that allows homebrew (in ELF or RPX format) to be loaded from an SD Card and executed on the Wii U. You need to be in Aroma to use WUHB aps.

Usage

See also: Homebrew setup tutorial

Note: The Homebrew Launcher can currently run on all Wii U firmwares except for Aroma.

Option A: Tiramisu Module

Tiramisu include a Module which enables launching the homebrew channel through the Mii Maker

Option B: Dedicated Channel

this option is not recommended because it is prone to crashes and freezes. download both the Channel here and WUP Installer GX2. extract the zips and the copy the files onto the SD card. after turning on the Wii U open WUP Installer GX2 and install the Homebrew Launcher Channel (HBLC)

Creating/Installing Homebrew

Each application has its own folder, with its own files inside. For example, inside sd:/wiiu/apps, there could be homebrew_launcher and ftpiiu folders. When you download a program for the Homebrew Launcher, look through its files until you see

Homebrew packages (folders) must contain one ELF, RPX or WUHB executable, and optionally a meta.xml and icon.png. The ELF contains the code and assets for the program, and is the file launched when program is selected in HBL.

The icon.png file contains the logo for your program, that will show up in the list. It is a standard 256x96 PNG image, that can be simply scrapped together using Microsoft Paint or hand-crafted using Photoshop or GIMP.

The meta.xml file contains various metadata for the program, including the name and description. Here is an example meta.xml, taken from the FTPiiU program.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<app version="1">
  <name>FTPiiU</name>
  <coder>joedj</coder>
  <version>0.3</version>
  <release_date>20160331200000</release_date>
  <short_description>An FTP server</short_description>
  <long_description>ftpiiU is an FTP server for WiiU.
Ported to WiiU by Dimok.
Based on FTPii from joedj
  </long_description>
</app>

The name, coder and version strings are self-explanatory. The release_date tag contains a timestamp in the form of YYYYMMDDhhmmss. For example, 8:15:29am on the 29th April 2016 would be 20160429081529.

short_description is what shows up in HBL's main menu. long_description is what shows up in the application's own window. It can span across multiple lines, but each line must not have any spaces or tabs, as those will show up in HBL.

Network Play

HBL has also been designed to allow you to test your software by sending it over the network. Tools like SendElf and wiiload have been tested and are 100% compatible. SendElf has the advantage of having a graphical drag-and-drop interface, whereas wiiload has the advantage of being a part of devkitPPC, and is able to be placed into your compiler chain easily.

Developing Homebrew

See also: Homebrew development guide

Visit https://github.com/dimok789/hello_world to see an example of a successful HBL ELF/RPX program. Along with requiring devkitPPC (like regular libwiiu development) HBL software also relies on libogc, mainly for the ported libraries included with it.

Themes

The theming functionality of HBL is not yet complete, but some aspects can still be changed. The buttons and cursors shown on screen can be changed by creating files in the sd:/wiiu/apps/homebrew_launcher/resources folder. See https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/tree/master/data/images if you would like to see a base resources folder.

The background music can also be changed, simply place your new music at sd://wiiu/apps/homebrew_launcher/resources/bgMusic.ogg. It can be in OGG, MP3 or WAV format, but the name of the file must be bgMusic.ogg.

Forwarders

There are several forwarders that can be used to skip the browser exploit. For example, when launching the Haxchi channel, a button can be configured to load the Homebrew Launcher instead.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 | author   = Dimok, Maschell and others
 | type     = loader
-| version  = 1.2 RC3
+| version  = 1.5
 | download = https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/releases
 | source   = https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher
 }}
-The '''Homebrew Launcher''' is an application that allows homebrew (in ELF format) to be loaded from an SD Card and executed on the Wii U.
+The '''Homebrew Launcher''' is an application that allows homebrew (in ELF or RPX format) to be loaded from an SD Card and executed on the Wii U. You need to be in Aroma to use WUHB aps.
-== Setup ==
+==Usage ==
 ''See also: [[Homebrew setup tutorial]]''
-:''Note: The Homebrew Launcher can currently run on all Wii U firmwares up to 5.5.1.''
+:''Note: The Homebrew Launcher can currently run on all Wii U firmwares except for [[Aroma]].''
-The easiest method of using the Homebrew Launcher is by using a pre-hosted payload (internet connection required), but you will still need to install data to your SD Card. Download the [https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/releases/download/v1.2_RC3/homebrew_launcher.v1.2_RC3.zip Homebrew Launcher] from its GitHub page.
+===Option A: Tiramisu Module===
+Tiramisu include a Module which enables launching the homebrew channel through the Mii Maker
-Alternatively, on a [[5.5.1]] Wii U, without using a computer, you can visit directly [http://wiiubru.com/go wiiubru.com/go] in the browser with an SD card inserted. After starting the link, a menu will pop up where Homebrew Launcher as well as other apps can be installed directly to the SD card.
+===Option B: Dedicated Channel===
+this option is not recommended because it is prone to crashes and freezes. download both the [https://github.com/GaryOderNichts/homebrew_launcher/releases/tag/v2.1_fix Channel here] and WUP Installer GX2. extract the zips and the copy the files onto the SD card. after turning on the Wii U open WUP Installer GX2 and install the Homebrew Launcher Channel (HBLC)
-=== Step 1: Install required files to SD Card (only needs to be done once) ===
-Make sure that your SD Card switch is pointed towards the top of your SD Card (in the 'unlocked' position), and insert it into your computer.
-Open the downloaded archive from above, using your favourite archiving program (Windows/Mac/Linux default archivers work). There will be a folder called <code>wiiu</code> which needs to be copied to the root of your SD Card.
-That's it. Eject the SD Card from your computer and insert it into your Wii U.
-=== Step 2: Kernel Exploit and Installation (must be performed every reboot) ===
-The Wii U's web browser contains numerous exploits that allow code execution. A simple method of installing the Homebrew Launcher without needing to configure an off-line web server is to simply visit a hosted payload sire (e.g. http://loadiine.ovh). Just follow the steps on the website to install the Homebrew Launcher payload on our console.
-This installation does not void your Wii U console's warranty, as it is not a permanent hack. Opening/closing System Settings or turning off the console are acts that reload the kernel, removing the launcher from memory.
-This program previously placed itself in-front of [[Mii Maker]], as [[Mii Maker]] is granted SD Card access without any external modification. On these older versions, if you close the launcher, you do not need to re-install it (unless you opened System Settings or rebooted your console), just reopen [[Mii Maker]]. To actually use Mii Maker, users would press the “Exit” button in Homebrew Launcher after opening it through [[Mii Maker]]. However, with the release of [[WUP Installer]] and the HBL forwarder, this became unnecessary and was removed.
 == Creating/Installing Homebrew ==
-Each application has its own folder, with its own files inside. For example, inside <code>sd:/wiiu/apps</code>, there could be <code>homebrew_launcher</code>, <code>ftpiiu</code> and <code>loadiine_gx2</code> folders. When you download a program for the Homebrew Launcher, look through its files until you see
+Each application has its own folder, with its own files inside. For example, inside <code>sd:/wiiu/apps</code>, there could be <code>homebrew_launcher</code> and <code>ftpiiu</code> folders. When you download a program for the Homebrew Launcher, look through its files until you see
-Homebrew packages (folders) must contain one ELF executable, and optionally a <code>meta.xml</code> and <code>icon.png</code>. The ELF contains the code and assets for the program, and is the file launched when program is selected in HBL.
+Homebrew packages (folders) must contain one ELF, RPX or WUHB executable, and optionally a <code>meta.xml</code> and <code>icon.png</code>. The ELF contains the code and assets for the program, and is the file launched when program is selected in HBL.
 The <code>icon.png</code> file contains the logo for your program, that will show up in the list. It is a standard 256x96 PNG image, that can be simply scrapped together using Microsoft Paint or hand-crafted using Photoshop or GIMP.
@@ Line 62: / Line 51: @@
 ''See also: [[Homebrew development|Homebrew development guide]]''
-Visit https://github.com/dimok789/hello_world to see an example of a successful HBL ELF program. Along with requiring devkitPPC (like regular libwiiu development) HBL software also relies on libogc, mainly for the ported libraries included with it.
+Visit https://github.com/dimok789/hello_world to see an example of a successful HBL ELF/RPX program. Along with requiring devkitPPC (like regular libwiiu development) HBL software also relies on libogc, mainly for the ported libraries included with it.
 == Themes ==
 The theming functionality of HBL is not yet complete, but some aspects can still be changed. The buttons and cursors shown on screen can be changed by creating files in the <code>sd:/wiiu/apps/homebrew_launcher/resources</code> folder. See https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/tree/master/data/images if you would like to see a base resources folder.
@@ Line 70: / Line 60: @@
 == Forwarders ==
 There are several forwarders that can be used to skip the browser exploit. For example, when launching the [[Haxchi|Haxchi channel]], a button can be configured to load the Homebrew Launcher instead.
-There is also a version of the Homebrew Launcher that can be installed as a channel using [[WUP Installer GX2]], however, this is only useful with [[Haxchi]] or [[CBHC]], since a custom firmware is required to keep these channels, and launching [[Mocha CFW]] otherwise requires the Homebrew Launcher. This version of the Homebrew Launcher does not touch [[Mii Maker]], so that can be used normally.