[Pre-release] KittenHATS v0.1.24 — child-friendly KIDS boot flow for Hekate

Hi everyone,

I’ve released the first public pre-release of **KittenHATS**, a child-friendly boot interface for modified Nintendo Switch systems.

It started as a practical family project: I wanted a child to be able to start the normal emuMMC route without seeing the full Hekate/Nyx interface and maintenance options.

## Features

- Simple child-friendly home screen

- One-button `KIDS` emuMMC boot route

- PIN-gated CLEAN/admin access

- Incorrect PIN returns to the home screen

- Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish interface text

- Boot splash

- Reboot-to-payload integration

The default administrator PIN is:

`1234`

**Warning:** Change the default PIN before normal use or before giving the system to a child.

The PIN is intended as a child-proofing barrier, not as cryptographic security. Anyone with physical access to the SD card can still modify the configuration.

## Important before installing

KittenHATS does **not** create emuMMC or install Hekate, HATS or Atmosphère.

Create and boot-test emuMMC first.

Recommended order:

1. Prepare Hekate/HATS

2. Create emuMMC

3. Boot-test emuMMC directly in Hekate

4. Back up the SD card

5. Install the KittenHATS overlay

6. Configure the `KIDS` boot entry

7. Change the default administrator PIN

8. Test both KIDS and admin routes

Merge the overlay into the SD-card root. Do not delete or replace the complete existing `bootloader` directory.

## Current status

This is **v0.1.24**, the first public pre-release.

Payload size: `127,625 bytes`

SHA-256:

`566a31b6d11a7147822a2f2b378024eb4d0e44fe21b66a18cf5ab192581b8a1d`

Current limitations:

- Theme switching is planned but not implemented

- The demo video is still being prepared

- Some remaining on-device hardware validation is still open

- KittenHATS controls the boot flow during startup, but does not block homebrew applications or overlays after Atmosphère has started

## Technical details

KittenHATS is written in C99 and uses:

- Hekate BDK

- LVGL

- FatFs

- devkitPro/devkitARM

- Hekate boot-storage and chainloading mechanisms

## Background

I come from a construction background and taught myself software development using an AI-assisted workflow with Bestek, ChatGPT and the DeepSeek API.

AI helped with research, implementation proposals, debugging and review, but critical behavior was still checked through source inspection, clean builds, binary hashes and iterative testing on real hardware.

## Source and download

Repository:

https://github.com/Farmeobaasje/KittenHATS

Release:

https://github.com/Farmeobaasje/KittenHATS/releases/tag/v0.1.24

The release includes:

- `KittenHATS-v0.1.24-overlay.zip`

- `SHA256SUMS.txt`

No firmware, keys, dumps or complete HATS distribution are included.

## Feedback welcome

Constructive feedback is welcome, especially around:

- installation clarity

- PIN behavior

- KIDS/CLEAN routing

- Hekate compatibility

- testing on different Switch hardware revisions

Please make a full SD-card backup before testing.

KittenHATS is an independent project and is not affiliated with Nintendo, CTCaer, Hekate or HATS.