# ticohq/tico

The first custom emulation frontend for Nintendo Switch. A controller-first interface built for performance and simplicity.

Repository: https://github.com/ticohq/tico
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/tico
Homepage: https://ticoverse.com
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-14T00:30:44+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 81/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 97, longevity 16
- inputs: {"age_days": 225, "days_push": 20, "days_rel": 20, "gap_med": 10.5, "n_releases_24m": 15}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1270, forks 19 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:11.899473+00:00)

## What it is
tico is a custom emulation frontend (game launcher) for Nintendo Switch homebrew that wraps libretro cores and standalone emulators behind a controller-first interface. It automatically organizes game libraries, manages box art and metadata, handles save states, and integrates RetroAchievements.

## Use cases
- launch retro games on Nintendo Switch from a single frontend
- organize a ROM library with box art and metadata automatically
- play emulation entirely with a gamepad without touchscreen or keyboard
- track RetroAchievements while playing classic games
- resume games exactly where I left off with automatic save states
- customize a console-style homescreen for my emulation library

## When to choose
- you want a polished, controller-only emulation experience on a modded Nintendo Switch
- you want automatic library organization and asset management instead of manual file browsing
- you want achievement tracking and save-state resume across multiple emulators in one launcher

## When to avoid
- you need emulation on PC, Android, or other platforms rather than Nintendo Switch
- you want a fully open-source project - the license is custom and only some core sources are public
- you expect bundled ROMs, BIOS files, or DRM circumvention - none are included
- you need deep manual emulator configuration; tico intentionally hides config menus

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, gui, plugin-system
- domain: gaming-tools, entertainment, cross-platform
- platform: game-engine, embedded, cross-platform
- tags: emulation-frontend, retro-gaming, libretro, nintendo-switch-homebrew, game-launcher, retroachievements, controller-first-ui

## Member repositories
- ticohq/tico (main) score 81

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.899473+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T05:03:28.396412+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ticohq/tico (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.899473+00:00, sha c840f1ea3268)
  - homepage: https://ticoverse.com (fetched 2026-08-29T12:15:26.345892+00:00, sha c05815677cbd)
  - site_page: https://ticoverse.com/blog/tico-0-7-2-is-here-make-it-yours (fetched 2026-08-29T12:15:26.355412+00:00, sha 29a38044cdd2)
  - site_page: https://ticoverse.com/blog/opening-up-tico-core-sources-released (fetched 2026-08-29T12:15:26.357736+00:00, sha dd18c7acbb67)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.