One has to wonder, with the Switch 2 including a builtin mouse cursor, if they have any plans to invest more in their own browser on the new system.

The petition to them got 28k signatures and is one of the top 10 most-signed on Change.org to Nintendo (actually, it's the 10th), but the browser has still not received any major new updates.

But! They still might take that feedback into account for their new console, and we'll see in a few months. Either way though, in terms of Broccolini and project goals, if the compatibility ever gets good enough, I'd at least try and submit it.

@sflynn2025 It would be free! But, it's not clear if Nintendo for example would allow such a program on the eShop.

Not at all! But maybe one day :smiley:

For Discord, it would need at least cookies, POST requests, javascript, and websockets. Here's the compatibility status as of right now:

What Works

• renders HTML and CSS!
• inertia scrolling and touch-based navigation
• async image downloading
• history and bookmarks
• tabs and tab image previews
• private browsing mode
• restore previous tabs on re-launch
• full qwerty on-screen keyboard
• support for a few different font families
• base64 data uris and SVGs work

To Do:

• pinch to zoom! and pan left/right
• add cursor to be controlled with the joystick
• fix images drawing on top of everything
• detailed history and managing bookmarks
• store and use cookies, local storage, etc
• handle POSTs and other non-GET requests
  • handle different error codes
• video and audio embed support
• simple javascript within pages
• improve HTML/CSS compatibility
  • form input elements
  • iframes and frames
• probably many more things

@funeraldinerfan you indeed can't export, only screenshot. It's mostly a novelty!

Still, I never thought I'd see a description on the eShop that sells itself as "Transform your favorite console into an amazing, and surprisingly small personal computer." (Even if it's misleading/buggy/limited/basic/expensive/etc).

I've started working on a basic web browser that will run on the WiiU, Switch, and other consoles! It's built using the same libraries as the Homebrew App Store. The project page is here: https://github.com/vgmoose/broccolini

Here's a screenshot of it on the Wikipedia home page:

There's still a lot left to do, but I'll keep working on it, and will share project updates here from time to time. My first goal is supporting homebrew consoles, although it's possible that it could end up on an official store (eg the eShop or PSStore).

If you have a modded WiiU or Switch, you can download the latest nightly build here, and feel free to open an issue on Github if you encounter bugs or missing functionality: https://nightly.link/vgmoose/broccolini/workflows/main/main

Not much, it's mostly just interesting that it exists in the first place. There's a calculator, a note taking "app", a todo list, a drawing "app". But it very much feels like the kind of fake-desktop interface you'd see in an easter egg within an actual game.

It's not homebrew, but I'm surprised this is even on the eShop! https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/nos-new-operating-system-switch/

It's a mini "operating system" game with an onscreen cursor. (It's not an actual OS, that's just the branding). The only real features that aren't gimmicks is that it lets you store small notes and todo's.

It's on sale for $2 right now, which could actually be worth it depending on your use cases. Not too exciting, but it is some basic functionality that would've been nice built into the Switch's OS.

Edit: apparently this sale is only in the US, it's definitely not worth more than $5, so don't even consider it! The controls feel unpolished/rushed too.

In forum posts, it's a version of markdown. On your profile though, you can also use HTML, CSS, and JS within SVGs (like on my profile).

Found another workaround! Try: http://insecure.archiveofourown.org

A quote from the ao3 team (from reddit):

Older devices unable to load the site: Due to necessary updates in the site’s security, some older devices may be unable to access the site, getting a message like “could not establish a secure connection to the server”. If upgrading to a newer device is not an option, we maintain an insecure version of the site at http://insecure.archiveofourown.org which users on obsolete devices can access. Please be aware that using an insecure site can leave you vulnerable to having personal information such as password or browsing history intercepted.

Sign in doesn't work on the insecure site, however (and you shouldn't sign in, anyway, without HTTPS). For just reading and searching however, this may be a useful option.

I still think that it's a cloudflare SSL bug that should be fixed on their end, however. It doesn't appear to be the usual Cloudflare verification issue (which Raven mentioned), and seems like a problem with their Cloudflare configuration.

I'm seeing this as well, on Switch and not PC even on the same network. Here's a screenshot of the error:

It also seems like it happens inconsistently. If you click on search and wait for the page to load, sometimes it resolves and sometimes it doesn't. A workaround is using google's search instead, but if this issue keeps happening I'll investigate further.

It means if you lock your device, you can technically go past 20 minutes, since the time while the device is asleep doesn't count.

It's only 20 minutes of screen on time, and then the browser applet closes.

Also to add: The reason that the page needs to be interacted with a few times to submit feedback is because the Cloudflare verification check looks at actions like cursor movements to determine if your device is a bot or not.

So by submitting this data they should be able to see "oh, these kinds of controller movements with this user agent are legitimate users" and update their check accordingly.

If you ever get those "Cloudflare - Verifying" checks on various websites that never end, and prevent the page from loading, there's a way to leave them feedback.

On the Switch, keep dragging the page around, or holding and releasing A while trying to drag around with the joystick (as if you were scrolling), until a little clickable "Leave feedback?" link appears in the Cloudflare box.

When the feedback window pops up, check off that the box that says it's looping or slow, and enter some message in the box describing how it's broken. Make sure to check the "Send additional diagnostics" box before submitting.

There are typically hundreds of users on the DNS browser at once, if everyone does this every time they encounter a Cloudflare page, Cloudflare might actually update the verification and fix the check.

@Rasy_oras If "OK" is grayed out, ensure that all other fields are filled in. It should let you save and continue as long as the DNS address is entered correctly.

Thanks Almond! You're the gold standard for how we should manage this site, happy anniversary!

Okay! The messaging page is back now. Here are the changes on the new system:

• When you link a user account to an IP, all past IPs are automatically unlinked.
  • (Only one IP will auto-remember a user at a time)
• If an IP isn't seen for a month or longer, it will be forgotten from the system
  • If the user has a SB account, it will need to be re-linked to a new IP with password
• To use messaging, you must set a messaging PIN
  • Your SB account password is required to set or change the PIN
• SB account passwords can be reset at https://switchbru.com/account
  • If you forgot your password, it can also be reset over email

These are changes have been made to increase the security of the dashboard for users that have their IP change frequently, or have collisions with their IPs (such as at public wifi hotspots).

Please report any bugs/issues either in this thread, a new post, or via DM.

Very nice! Let's try it out!

The goal of captcha's is to prevent misuse / automated bots from visiting a website. And the problem with the Switch's browser, is that cookies aren't persisted, so at the start of every 20 minute browser load, you're seen as a completely new user. So from that perspective, the Switch visitors likely look like bot traffic.

And then separately, the JS used by the captcha pages might use features not supported by the old version of Webkit used on the Switch. Likely if you were a WiiU browser user in 2025, there would be a similar problem.