3DS:Game plugins/3GX: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:59, 2 August 2025

The 3GX file format is an evolution of the old PLG file format that is used in newer game plugins. You can use them via Luma3DS's built-in plugin loader.

Installation

What you need

Universal-Updater

Installation

Power on your console
Launch Universal-Updater from the HOME Menu, or from the Homebrew Launcher
Select the magnifying glass on the bottom screen, then search for Luma3DS
Press A while hovering over Luma3DS from the list of homebrew
Choose boot.firm and wait for the install to finish
Reboot your console
If you see the Luma3DS configuration menu, enable any options that you need, then press Start
- Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need them

What you need

The latest release of Luma3DS (the Luma3DS .zip file)

Installation

Insert your SD card into your computer
Copy boot.firm from the Luma3DS .zip to the root of your SD card, replacing boot.firm if it is already there
Reinsert your SD card into your console and power on
If you see the Luma3DS configuration menu, enable any options that you need, then press Start
- Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need them

Using 3GX plugins

Plugin location

The 3GX plugin loader will look for plugins in the luma -> plugins directory. Each plugin must be inside a folder named with the game's Title ID. Inside the folder, place your .3gx file.

You can get the game's title ID from here (cartridges), here (digital games), or from the FBI -> Titles menu. For example, Taiko no Tatsujin: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure's title ID is 0004000000190E00, so if you wanted to use a plugin for that game, you'd create a folder named 0004000000190E00
The creator of the plugin may have already created a folder with the correct name for you, in which case you can just copy the title ID folder from the plugin's zip/rar/7z archive to the plugins folder
If you want the plugin to run for all games (for example, for the CTRPluginFramework blank plugin), rename the plugin to default.3gx and just leave it in the plugins folder

An example directory for a plugin affecting one game would be luma -> plugins -> 0004000000190E00 -> plugin.3gx.

An example directory for a plugin affecting all games would be luma -> plugins -> default.3gx.

Launching 3GX plugins

Open the Rosalina menu (Left Shoulder+D-Pad Down+SELECT by default)
Scroll down to the plugin loader option, then press A to enable it
Press B to exit the Rosalina menu
Open your game of choice
- The screen should flash another color to indicate that the plugin has successfully loaded
Look at the information on the plugin's webpage/README for usage instructions - usage will differ for each plugin

Usage notes

Most plugins have a menu that can be opened by pressing SELECT while the plugin is loaded

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Page WIP|notes=*Usage notes (if any) are missing.}}
+{{shortcut|3DS:3GX|3GX}}
+The 3GX file format is an evolution of the old PLG file format that is used in newer game plugins. You can use them via Luma3DS's built-in plugin loader.
-The 3GX file format is an evolution of the old PLG file format that is used in newer game plugins. You can run them by using a fork of Luma3DS that has a plugin loader built-in.
 == Installation ==
-=== Using [[3DS:Universal-Updater|Universal-Updater]] ===
+<tabber>
+|-|Universal-Updater=
 ==== What you need ====
@@ Line 13: / Line 12: @@
 ==== Installation ====
-# Search for <code>Luma3DS [Nanquitas]</code> in Universal Updater, and download the <code>boot.firm</code> file
+# Power on your console
-# Reboot your system
+# Launch '''Universal-Updater''' from the HOME Menu, or from the Homebrew Launcher
-# In the Luma configuration screen, select any options you need, then press START
+# Select the magnifying glass on the bottom screen, then search for '''Luma3DS'''
-#* Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need any
+# Press {{B|A}} while hovering over '''Luma3DS''' from the list of homebrew
+# Choose <code>boot.firm</code> and wait for the install to finish
+# Reboot your console
+# If you see the Luma3DS configuration menu, enable any options that you need, then press Start
+#* Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need them
-=== Manually ===
+|-|Manually=
 ==== What you need ====
-* [https://github.com/Nanquitas/Luma3DS/releases The 3GX loader fork of Luma3DS]
+* The latest release of [https://github.com/LumaTeam/Luma3DS/releases/latest Luma3DS] (the Luma3DS <code>.zip</code> file)
 ==== Installation ====
-* Copy the <code>boot.firm</code> from the 3GX loader fork of Luma to the root of the SD card, replacing the <code>boot.firm</code> already there
+# Insert your SD card into your computer
-* Insert the SD card into your system and power it on
+# Copy <code>boot.firm</code> from the Luma3DS <code>.zip</code> to the root of your SD card, replacing <code>boot.firm</code> if it is already there
-* On the Luma Configuration screen, enable any options that you need, then press Start
+# Reinsert your SD card into your console and power on
-** Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need them
+# If you see the Luma3DS configuration menu, enable any options that you need, then press Start
+#* Hint: If you don't know what the options are, you don't need them
+</tabber>
 == Using 3GX plugins ==
@@ Line 43: / Line 49: @@
 An example directory for a plugin affecting all games would be <code>luma</code> -> <code>plugins</code> -> <code>default.3gx</code>.
-=== Using 3GX plugins ===
+=== Launching 3GX plugins<span class="anchor" id="Using 3GX plugins"></span> ===
-# Open the Rosalina menu ([Left Shoulder] + [Down D-Pad] + [Select] by default)
+# Open the Rosalina menu ({{B|Left Shoulder|D-Pad Down|SELECT}} by default)
-# Scroll down to the plugin loader option, then press (A) to enable it
+# Scroll down to the plugin loader option, then press {{B|A}} to enable it
-# Exit the Rosalina menu by pressing (B) a couple of times
+# Press {{B|B}} to exit the Rosalina menu
 # Open your game of choice
 #* The screen should flash another color to indicate that the plugin has successfully loaded
@@ Line 53: / Line 59: @@
 === Usage notes ===
-WIP
+* Most plugins have a menu that can be opened by pressing {{B|SELECT}} while the plugin is loaded