dantiicu/wine-nx

Wine is a long-standing open-source project that lets Windows programs run on non-Windows operating systems. Wine-NX takes that idea to an unusual destination: the Nintendo Switch. The goal is to package and run Windows executable files inside a Switch homebrew application, using the Switch's own operating system services for memory, input, file access, and display. The project is experimental and written in C. As of the latest commits, it can launch Windows Notepad on real Switch hardware well enough to show the main window, render menu fonts, and respond to touch input for clicking menus. That is the current milestone. The app is visible and interactive, but slow and not ready for everyday use. Getting there required building several layers from scratch. The project includes a custom display driver that reports a 1280x720 monitor to Wine and copies rendered pixels into the Switch framebuffer. Input is handled by reading the Switch touchscreen and converting touch coordinates into the Win32 mouse events that Windows programs expect. Memory management, thread setup, and Windows system-call dispatch have all been adapted to work inside the Switch operating system's constraints. Building the project requires Docker with a devkitpro toolchain image, plus an LLVM-MinGW cross-compiler for producing Windows ARM64 executable files. A shell script handles the entire build and stages the output onto an SD card layout that the Switch can read. The build is not a casual setup. Known gaps include poor rendering speed (the project is working toward GPU presentation via Vulkan), incomplete touch input handling, no keyboard or controller text input, and large portions of the Windows API that real applications would need but have not yet been implemented. Wine-NX is a technical proof-of-concept for systems programmers interested in OS compatibility work, not a tool for running games or daily-use Windows apps on Switch.