🎵 JoyCon Singer

Plays MIDI files through Joy-Con / Pro Controller HD Rumble motors.
Port of SteamHapticsSinger for Nintendo Switch.

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Project structure

joycon-singer/
├── Makefile.switch         ← Switch build (devkitPro)
├── Makefile.pc             ← PC build (Linux/macOS)
├── main_pc.cpp            ← PC version (hidapi over Bluetooth)
├── main_switch.cpp         ← Switch homebrew (libnx)
├── minimidi.h              ← Minimal MIDI parser (no deps, shared)
├── rumble.h                ← Joy-Con HD Rumble encoding (shared)
└── .github/workflows/
    └── build.yml           ← GitHub Actions: auto-build + release

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Switch version (CFW / Homebrew)

Requirements

• Nintendo Switch with CFW (Atmosphere recommended)
• devkitPro + devkitA64 + libnx

Setup (local build)

Linux / macOS:

# 1. Install devkitPro
# Follow: https://devkitpro.org/wiki/Getting_Started
# or use the pacman method:
sudo dkp-pacman -S switch-dev

# 2. Set environment
export DEVKITPRO=/opt/devkitpro
source /opt/devkitpro/devkit-env.sh   # or re-login

# 3. Build
make -f Makefile.switch -j$(nproc)

Windows (MSYS2 / devkitPro shell):

# Open: Start → devkitPro → MSYS2
pacman -S switch-dev    # if not installed yet
cd /path/to/joycon-singer
make -f Makefile.switch

Docker (no local install needed):

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/project" -w /project \
    devkitpro/devkita64:latest \
    make -f Makefile.switch -j$(nproc)

Install on Switch

1. Copy joycon-singer.nro to sdmc:/switch/joycon-singer/
2. Put your .mid files in sdmc:/switch/joycon-singer/
3. Launch via hbmenu

Controls (will be rewritten bc on New TUI)

Button	Action
A	Play / Pause
B	Back to file list
D-pad Up	Next song
D-pad Down	Previous song
HOME	Exit

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PC version (Joy-Con via Bluetooth)

Requirements

• Joy-Con or Pro Controller paired via Bluetooth
• libhidapi-dev (Linux) or brew install hidapi (macOS)

Linux udev rule (needed to access HID without root)

Create /etc/udev/rules.d/70-nintendo.rules:

SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="057e", MODE="0666"

Then: sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger

Build & run

make -f Makefile.pc -j$(nproc)
./joycon-singer song.mid
./joycon-singer -p -a 0.8 song.mid    # repeat, amplitude 0.8

Options:

-p         Repeat song
-a AMP     Amplitude 0.0–1.0 (default: 0.7)
-l         Force Joy-Con L only
-r         Force Joy-Con R only
-b         Force Joy-Con L+R pair
-P         Force Pro Controller

MIDI channel mapping

MIDI Channel	Motor
0	Right (Joy-Con R or Pro right)
1	Left (Joy-Con L or Pro left)
...
15	Right (Joy-Con R or Pro right)
16	Left (Joy-Con L or Pro left)

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GitHub Actions (auto-build)

Push to main → artifact is uploaded automatically.
Tag a release → NRO zip is attached to GitHub Release.

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

The workflow uses the official devkitpro/devkita64:latest Docker image — no setup needed on the CI runner.

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Notes

• Frequency range: 41–626 Hz (Joy-Con LF band)
• Amplitude is clamped to 0.8 to protect the LRA motor
• MIDI channels > 1 are silently ignored (only ch 0 and 1 are used, 16 ch not tested only have 1 pair of Joy-Cons)
• Switch 2 is compatible, on PC of course (same Joy-Con protocol, also untested)