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Build a native Tears of the Kingdom app for Apple silicon Mac or iPhone/iPad from your own Switch files. Experimental; local builds and signing are required.
Curated collections
Before you start
- Platform
- Apple silicon Mac · macOS 26+; iPhone 14+ / iPad · iOS/iPadOS 26+
- How to start
- Build required
- Game files
- Bring game files
File requirements
Requires your own Switch base game v1.0.0 as XCI/NSP and your own keys/system files from your console. Mac can also use separate cumulative updates v1.1.2, v1.2.1 or v1.4.3 as NSP/NSZ; only v1.4.3 has been tested on iOS. Apple silicon Mac needs macOS 26+ with Metal 4; 16 GB RAM is recommended. A base Mac build needs about 25 GB beyond the input game, plus roughly 17 GB if APFS cloning cannot be used. A fresh updated Mac build needs about 40 GB. iOS builds need full Xcode 26+, iOS/iPadOS 26+, an iPhone 14 or newer for phones, and signing that retains the increased-memory entitlement; allow 45 GB for a fresh base build or 60 GB with an update. The generated app contains original game content: keep it for your own use. This listing supplies no games, keys, firmware, signed apps or derived shaders.
Based on public documentation; full builds and playthroughs have not been tested. Project documentation 
What it recreates
MacNativeGames runs the Switch game’s ARM64 code on Apple chips, replaces system services and translates NVN graphics to Metal. It builds on generic d2r-mobile components by joe jiang (@happyjoejiang) and credits nxnative. This is liyong’s project, distinct from JZen’s Zelda-Mobile.
What’s different
Mac offers keyboard and compatible controllers, MetalFX and 21:9 ultrawide settings. A shared list stores shader identifiers and bind states; each build generates shaders from the user’s game. It does not distribute a ready-made game or a compiled shader cache. No Nintendo affiliation or endorsement.
What you can use today
Experimental source build with no formal Releases. The author reports Mac tests on M4 hardware and v1.4.3 gameplay on iPhone 14 and an A16 iPad; these are not RemakeList tests. Earlier Mac observations of roughly 90 FPS after warm-up are not a stable-performance or full-playthrough guarantee. iPhone 14 uses close to 4 GB and was closed by iOS twice at about eight minutes in busy areas. Missing iOS shader variants can leave objects invisible; new Mac scenes can stutter. Online features and amiibo are unsupported.
Sources & notesSources checked:
AI / REA provenance Partial AI-assisted development
Commit b75be8cfa704 explicitly lists Claude as co-author. This verifies an AI-assisted contribution, not that all code or game assets were generated by AI.
Author commit explicitly credits Claude as co-authorChecked 20 October 2026 against repository commit b75be8cfa704 and the author’s announcement linking this repository. The formerly unpublished research entry now has a public source build; its existing URL is preserved. RemakeList has not built, installed or played it.
Project documentation Official README · requirements and platform status · Version 1.4.3 test notes · author reports · Third-party code and licenses · Foundation · joe jiang (@happyjoejiang)’s d2r-mobile · Shared shader list · identifiers, not shader code · Releases · none at time of review · Reviewed commit · author and AI collaboration credit Sources checked: 2026-10-20 · Based on public documentation; full builds and playthroughs have not been tested.