Troubleshooting
Common problems
A game that is missing, will not launch, or stops with an error, and what to check first.
On this page
A game is not in the library
- Its folder must be directly in
games/, and must contain agame/subfolder. - Folder names that start with a dot are skipped. An FTP upload in progress lives in
games/.uploading-<id>/until it finishes. - Folder names of 64 bytes or more are skipped. The importer caps ids at 63 characters.
- The library shows up to 64 games.
Launch says “Can’t launch”
The details page gives the reason. The usual ones:
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| Applet mode | Close the loader, hold R while opening any game, start rpynx again. See Start with full memory |
Status unsupported | A Ren’Py 7 game: import it again with --recompile or --decompile. See Ren’Py 8 and 7 |
| Runtime missing | Copy renpy-runtime.nro to switch/renpy-loader/runtimes/ |
No game/ folder | Import the game with the importer, or copy its game/ folder into games/<id>/ |
The game stops with an error
Read logs/<id>/traceback.txt. Some errors come from what the Switch cannot do:
| In the traceback | Why |
|---|---|
ModuleNotFoundError for ctypes, ssl, sqlite3, mmap or multiprocessing | The Switch’s Python lacks these. The game cannot run as it is |
OSError: horizon does not support processes | The game starts another program. Opening links and folders shows a notice instead; other programs cannot run |
Could not find font … | A font the game expects is missing. The runtime ships the Ren’Py SDK’s two fonts; a game copied straight from an SDK folder found its fonts there |
An error loading .dll, .so or .pyd | Native code cannot load on the Switch |
GLTFModel | 3D models are unsupported |
Files with Japanese names are missing
The Switch’s SD card cannot list them. Import the game with the importer, which packs them into game/rsl-nonascii.rpa. Scripts and .rpa files with such names cannot be packed. See Non-ASCII file names.
The controls are wrong
Hold + and − for 3 seconds. See Emergency combo.
The library shows a banner
- Red, SD folder not writable: the card is full or write-protected. The loader keeps running but cannot save settings.
- Controller file loaded from backup: the profile was damaged, so the previous version (
.bak) is in use. Save your controller settings again to write a good file.
Nothing happens after a game
If the console seems stuck on the way back to the library, close the software from HOME. Then look at logs/runtime.log and sdmc:/atmosphere/crash_reports/, and see Errors and crash reports.