[Open Source Pre-release] KittenHATS v0.1.24 — child-friendly Switch boot interface

Hi everyone,

I’ve published the first public pre-release of **KittenHATS**, an open-source child-friendly boot interface for Nintendo Switch systems.

The project started from a practical family problem: I wanted to create a much simpler startup screen for a child, while keeping maintenance access behind a PIN.

## Main features

- Simple child-friendly start screen

- One-button normal-use route

- PIN-protected maintenance route

- Incorrect PIN returns to the home screen

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

- Boot splash

- Reboot-to-interface support

The default administrator PIN is:

`1234`

Change it before regular use.

The PIN is intended as a practical child barrier, not as strong security. Physical access to the SD card still allows the configuration to be changed.

## Current status

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

- Theme switching is planned but not yet implemented

- A demonstration video is still being prepared

- Additional testing on real hardware is still ongoing

## Technical details

KittenHATS is written in C99 and uses:

- LVGL

- FatFs

- devkitPro/devkitARM

- a bare-metal early-boot environment

- reproducible build and checksum validation

I come from a construction background and taught myself software development through practical projects and AI-assisted research.

AI helped with research, implementation ideas, debugging and review, while critical behavior was checked through source inspection, clean builds, binary hashes and real-device testing.

## Source and release

Repository:

https://github.com/Farmeobaasje/KittenHATS

Release:

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

The release does not include copyrighted games, console data or third-party system packages.

Constructive technical feedback is welcome, especially about:

- interface clarity

- PIN behavior

- startup routing

- installation documentation

- testing on different hardware revisions

Please read the repository documentation and make a complete SD-card backup before testing.

KittenHATS is an independent project and is not affiliated with Nintendo.