CosmoU 0.13.3

💙 Thank you, Eduard!

CosmoU 0.13.3 is built on ideas and bug reports by Eduard in the CosmoU Discord – pictures and music per console, your own order, marks, your own consoles, apps in full screen and so much more. Thank you for testing every beta and for every idea. This update is yours! 🎉

✨ What's new

🎨 One CosmoU, and a Switch that feels like a Switch

• 🎮 The Switch has its own interface – with the Switch on screen, CosmoU looks and works like a Switch: Home with your last played games in one row (A starts the first one right away), round buttons below (All Software, Play Activity, Themes, Controllers, Consoles, System Settings, Power), All Software with sorting (Y) and search (/), a page for each game (+), Quick Settings on the Home button (or Q), Basic White and Basic Black, its own clicks. No Wii U Home, no Plaza, no buddies there. With a Wii U as well: the circles at the top left (or L / R) switch the whole window. Settings → Appearance → Switch → Its own interface turns it off.
• 🎯 Nintendo controllers – A is the button with the A on it (on the right, like on a Switch), everywhere in CosmoU. PlayStation controllers show ✕ ○ □ △ in the legend.
• 🧭 One dock – Library · Favorites · Recently played | Themes · Settings (keys L, *, R, T, ,). Favorites and the themes are one click away.
• 🕹️ Controller legend – while you use a controller, a small line above the dock shows what A, Y, X, LB / RB and Home do right now.
• 🪟 The same rules in every window – the same corners, buttons and rows everywhere, headings without capitals, calmer shadows. Details: Play, Favorite, Mark and ⋯ More side by side, the tools as one list, Quick quality as one switch.
• ⚙️ Settings in two groups – Games & Consoles (was “Cemu & Games”), Appearance, Sound & Music, Controllers & TV, Saves & Data – then Wii U · Cemu: Graphics, Overlay, Buddies & Plaza. Without a Wii U they are not shown.
• Buddies live on the Wii U – the other consoles start without the buddy greeting.

🧰 Also new

• 🎮 Pictures and music in the Quick Menu – Quick Menu (Home / Guide button, or Q) → Sound → Pictures · … and Music · … for the console you're on: add, change or remove them with the controller.

• 🖼️ A new picture on every visit – add several pictures to a console (up to 30); every time you go to that console (and at every start of CosmoU) the next one shows up. Settings → Appearance has Add picture…, Next and Remove this one too.

• ↔ Your own order – press RT on a game (or M, or “Move” in its menu), move it with the D-pad, put it down with A or RT. Sort: “Your order”, kept for each console.

• 🧹 Clean view – hold LT + RT (or press H, or Quick Menu → Look): in Covers only the games stay, small at the bottom with the name above them – your background is free.

• ➕ Add an app right from the Quick Menu (Sound column).

• The pictures menu stays open on Next / Previous picture, so you can skip through to your favourite.

• 🪟 Apps in full screen (Windows) – Edit app → Window: Maximized or Full screen. For PC ports and games that always open in a small window: CosmoU makes the game's window full screen (also when a launcher starts the game, and for a shortcut (.lnk) to the game – its launch options work then too).

• 🌐 Every console on one page – the last card when choosing a console (or Sort & filter → Every console): the games of all your consoles together, in the look of the console you're on. Favorites now show the favorites of every console.

• 🎮 Back to CosmoU – when a game ends, CosmoU comes to the front again. L + D-pad Down + Select closes the game you're playing and brings you back (on Windows also while the game has the focus).

• 🏷️ Marks – click the left stick to make a game a favorite; hold it for a wheel of colours and signs (⚙ system app, ?, !). The colour lines the game's cover in every view. Also with K or “Mark…” in a game's menu.

• 🧩 Your own console – Settings → Games & Consoles → Add another console → Your own console (apps)…: a console with your name (Mods, Tools, PC ports …) in the look of a real one, for apps only.

• 📂 Click “CosmoU” at the top left to open the CosmoU folder (settings, covers, music, pictures, themes – CosmoU-data next to the portable .exe).

🛠️ Fixed

• Wii U Look (Home Menu layout) shows your picture behind the tiles now.
• Apps on every console: a new app now goes only to the console you're on (Edit app → Console to move it, or Every console). Apps added before keep showing everywhere until you choose a console for them.
• Changing an app's cover: the new cover shows right away – no more deleting the old one in the covers folder.
• Background pictures from a slow drive: switching consoles no longer flashes black – the old picture stays until the new one is loaded, and the next pictures load ahead.
• Grid: the big banner stays at the top while you scroll down with the controller – only the games scroll.
• Long names in the Grid: no half-cut third line any more; the chosen (or pointed at) game's long name rolls through on one line.
• DS covers (Grid and DS Menu) show the whole box instead of cutting off its edges.
• Ports with a log window (cmd): the game's window comes to the front – keyboard and controller go to the game, the log window steps aside, and Window: Full screen works for them too.
• Box art after adding or changing a cover: shows right away on the 3D case too (it needed a restart before).
• 🕹️ Right stick scrolls Settings and every other window (and the Grid), like in Nintendo's menus.
• Drop-down lists (like “Add another console”) are readable in every theme.
• Mouse: the arrow stays an arrow over text (the text cursor only shows where you can type).
• Covers for N64, Wii, NES … come from libretro's archive on GitHub when their server is down.
• Grid: moving with the controller or the arrow keys no longer makes the whole grid blink like a reloaded page – and up / down go a row.

Downloads

Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.13.3.exe or the portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Apple silicon and Intel)
Linux	.AppImage, .deb, .tar.gz
Android	.apk
iPhone / iPad	.ipa for sideloading

The files appear here a few minutes after the release is published.

🎮 CosmoU for Wii U

CosmoU-WiiU-0.13.0.wuhb is CosmoU as an app on the Wii U itself. It shows the games installed on your Wii U (system memory, USB drive and disc) in CosmoU's look, with Covers and Grid views and themes with their music, and starts them, on the TV and the GamePad.

🛍️ Shop: press + (or tap Shop) to install things right on the Wii U:

• Emulators: RetroArch (NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance in one app), NooDS (Nintendo DS) and other emulators
• Apps: the whole Homebrew App Store catalog by ForTheUsers (apps installed in CosmoU also show up as installed there, and the other way round)
• Themes: the 17 other CosmoU themes with their music (Classic Wii, Plaza, Switch 2, DS, DSi, 3DS, GameCube, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, SNES, NES, Game & Watch, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, GBA, GBA SP, Game Boy Micro)
• Fonts: Rounded, Soft, Pixel, Arcade and Condensed

The shop only has homebrew, themes and fonts: no games, ROMs, BIOS files or keys.

Install: you need a Wii U with the Aroma homebrew environment.

1. Copy CosmoU-WiiU-0.13.0.wuhb to your SD card into wiiu/apps/.
2. Put the SD card back into the Wii U and start CosmoU from the Wii U Menu.

Controls: D-pad or stick to move · A start · Y Covers / Grid · X theme · + shop · − music on/off · the touch screen works too. In the shop: L / R tabs · A install / use · X remove · B back.

This Wii U version belongs to 0.13.0 and has no update check.

CosmoU 0.13.1

💙 Thank you, Eduard!

Everything in CosmoU 0.13.1 comes from ideas and bug reports by Eduard in the CosmoU Discord. Thank you for testing so much and for all the great ideas – this update is yours! 🎉

✨ What's new

🏝️ Your own picture and music for each console

Settings → Appearance has two new rows: Background picture for … and Music for ….

• Switch to a console (Wii U, Switch, 3DS …), choose any picture and any music file from your computer or phone – done.
• Every console keeps its own: your Zelda picture on the Wii U, something else on the Switch, another one on the 3DS.
• The picture lies behind the glass with a soft veil, so everything stays readable – it looks best with Liquid Glass.
• Remove brings back the theme's look and music.

🎨 Theme files with a picture

A .cosmoutheme can now bring a background picture, built on Liquid Glass:

{ "name": "Great Sea", "base": "liquid-glass", "image": "sea.jpg", "music": "song.ogg" }

Share saves the theme with its picture and music. The guide: docs/THEMES.md.

⏭️ Faster pages on the 3DS and Wii home screens

• At the right edge of a row the next page comes (same row, from the left) – at the left edge the page before, like on the console. No more going through every game of a page.
• The right stick turns the pages straight away (Page Up / Page Down on a keyboard). Without pages (Switch, shelves) it jumps six games.

🎮 CosmoU for Wii U: a shop

The Wii U app (CosmoU-WiiU-0.13.0.wuhb, in the 0.13.0 release) got a Shop: RetroArch (NES, SNES, Game Boy, GBA), NooDS (DS) and other emulators, the whole Homebrew App Store catalog, the 17 other CosmoU themes with their music, and fonts – installed right on the Wii U. Games now start reliably from it, too.

Downloads

Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.13.1.exe or the portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Apple silicon and Intel)
Linux	.AppImage, .deb, .tar.gz
Android	.apk
iPhone / iPad	.ipa for sideloading

The files appear here a few minutes after the release is published.

CosmoU 0.13.0

✨ A calmer, clearer CosmoU

CosmoU 0.13 reworks the whole interface. All the features are still there, just sorted better, so every window and every theme feels like one product: easy to understand on the first start, calm with a big library, readable from the sofa.

What changed

• Play is always the strongest button – in Covers, Grid, the Wii U Look and the game details. Details and the other actions are quieter.
• Grid – a calm banner: the cover sharp in front of its own softly blurred colours, instead of a giant pixelated picture.
• Game details – a smaller cover, Play first, Add to favorites as a quiet toggle, one line instead of four empty statistics before the first play, the tools in one row, save data and updates as simple rows.
• Settings – a calmer category bar (only the open category is in colour), a bigger search with its shortcut (Ctrl F / ⌘F).
• Quick Menu – your games first, then three clear groups: Look, Sound and System.
• Theme gallery – big cards with a preview picture of every theme.
• Empty screens lead somewhere – Clear search, Show the library, or the folder button of the console you're looking at.
• TV mode – the button legend sits at the bottom instead of over your games; bigger on a TV, normal size on a Steam Deck.
• Controller and keyboard – in every window the D-pad and the arrow keys move to the button that is really in that direction, in lists, rows and grids alike.
• Calmer motion – no ripple on hover, every window slides in the same way, the cover flow settles instead of bouncing.
• Smaller fixes: readable selected chips in the N64 theme, no Quit entry on iPhone and iPad.

Downloads

Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.13.0.exe or the portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Apple silicon and Intel)
Linux	.AppImage, .deb, .tar.gz
Android	.apk
iPhone / iPad	.ipa for sideloading

The files appear here a few minutes after the release is published.

🎮 CosmoU for Wii U

CosmoU-WiiU-0.13.0.wuhb is CosmoU as an app on the Wii U itself. It shows the games installed on your Wii U (system memory, USB drive and disc) in CosmoU's look, with Covers and Grid views and themes with their music, and starts them, on the TV and the GamePad.

🛍️ Shop: press + (or tap Shop) to install things right on the Wii U:

• Emulators: RetroArch (NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance in one app), NooDS (Nintendo DS) and other emulators
• Apps: the whole Homebrew App Store catalog by ForTheUsers (apps installed in CosmoU also show up as installed there, and the other way round)
• Themes: the 17 other CosmoU themes with their music (Classic Wii, Plaza, Switch 2, DS, DSi, 3DS, GameCube, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, SNES, NES, Game & Watch, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, GBA, GBA SP, Game Boy Micro)
• Fonts: Rounded, Soft, Pixel, Arcade and Condensed

The shop only has homebrew, themes and fonts: no games, ROMs, BIOS files or keys.

Install: you need a Wii U with the Aroma homebrew environment.

1. Copy CosmoU-WiiU-0.13.0.wuhb to your SD card into wiiu/apps/.
2. Put the SD card back into the Wii U and start CosmoU from the Wii U Menu.

Controls: D-pad or stick to move · A start · Y Covers / Grid · X theme · + shop · − music on/off · the touch screen works too. In the shop: L / R tabs · A install / use · X remove · B back.

This Wii U version belongs to 0.13.0 and has no update check.

CosmoU 0.12.1

A huge thanks to Eduard ❤️

Every fix and idea in this update came from Eduard, who tested CosmoU 0.12 in depth and reported everything on Discord. Thank you so much!

New

• Choose your console on start – with more than one console, CosmoU starts with big console cards. D-pad to choose, A to pick, B to close. The console button at the top opens them too. You can turn this off in Settings → Look.
• Right stick (R3) opens the game menu – same as a right click, so adding favorites is quicker.

Fixed

• The portable Windows version is really portable now – it keeps everything (settings, covers, music, themes, backups and a Cemu that CosmoU downloads) in a CosmoU-data folder next to the .exe instead of %APPDATA%. Your old settings are copied over on the first start.
• Switch Home stopped at the 12th game – the controller now reaches All games after the twelve most recent games: A shows every game, B goes back.
• DS and 3DS covers were cut off on the left – the top screen now shows the whole box.
• Moving with the controller flashed like a page reload on the console home screens – now only the selection moves.
• TV mode – the small "A Start / + Options" hint no longer overlaps the TV mode button legend.

Downloads

Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.12.1.exe or the portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Apple silicon and Intel)
Linux	.AppImage, .deb, .tar.gz
Android	.apk
iPhone / iPad	.ipa for sideloading

The files appear here a few minutes after the release is published.

CosmoU 0.11.3

Every console in its own look

CosmoU now takes on the look of the console you play. Add a console in Settings → Cemu & Games → Other systems (its games folder and its emulator), and switch between consoles at the top or with L/R on a controller.

• Switch – one row of big icons, the last played first
• Wii – pages of channels
• GameCube – mini discs on a carousel
• DS and 3DS – two screens, the chosen game on the top screen
• NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, GBA, Virtual Boy – cartridges on a shelf

Each console has its own theme with music, its own sounds and its own covers (Switch from Nintendo's eShop, the others from the libretro box art).

Controller: down from the games to the round buttons, B back, A starts, L/R changes the console.

Where: Windows, macOS, Linux and Android for all consoles. iPhone and iPad: Wii U (MeloCafe) and Switch (MeloNX).

CosmoU only starts emulators you already have – it never downloads emulators, keys, firmware or games.

Downloads

Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.12.0.exe or the portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Apple silicon and Intel)
Linux	.AppImage, .deb, .tar.gz
Android	.apk
iPhone / iPad	.ipa for sideloading

The files appear here a few minutes after the release is published.

CosmoU 0.11.2

🎉 CosmoU is now official on Windows, Linux, macOS and Android!

From today CosmoU runs on all four systems – and iOS is coming soon.

⬇️ Download

System	File
Windows	CosmoU-Windows-Setup-0.11.2.exe or CosmoU-Windows-Portable-0.11.2.exe
Linux / Steam Deck	CosmoU-Linux-0.11.2.AppImage, .deb or .tar.gz
macOS (Apple silicon & Intel)	CosmoU-macOS-0.11.2.dmg
Android 8+	CosmoU-Android-0.11.2.apk

✨ What's new

• Quick Menu (Q or Home button), favorites, sort & filter and a game menu on right-click
• New game details, Home Menu and one Settings window with search and controller support
• 6 new handheld themes and own themes with music (.cosmoutheme, see docs/THEMES.md)
• Buddies with new hair, glasses and hats – they cheer for your games in the Plaza
• Save backups, TV mode, startup animation, Daily Log and Plaza posts
• Button mapping, Updates & DLC and Add to Steam right inside CosmoU

ℹ️ First start

• Windows: SmartScreen warning → More info → Run anyway
• Linux: chmod +x the AppImage (needs libfuse2)
• macOS: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway
• Android: allow installing the APK; games run in Cemu for Android (Android 11+, fast phone)

CosmoU 0.11.1

Fixes

• Covers no longer jump while you hold the mouse down. Holding a cover in the Covers view moved it down and to the right over the title (in every theme). It now just shrinks a little and stays in place. Same for tiles in Grid and the Home Menu.
• The 3D case that appears when you point at a cover now follows the cover and disappears when the view changes or the window is resized, so it can't get stuck in the wrong place.

Everything from 0.11.0 is included (15 themes, each with its own music).

Download: CosmoU-Setup-0.11.1.exe (installer) or CosmoU-Portable-0.11.1.exe (no install). The files appear below a few minutes after this release is published.

CosmoU 0.11.0

15 themes, each with its own music

Settings → Appearance now has a Theme picker. Every theme works with Covers, Grid and Wii U Look, in light and dark.

• Liquid Glass – modern and transparent (default)
• Wii U – bright and glossy (the former "Classic Wii U" style)
• Classic Wii – flat white and light blue, channel-style tiles, curved bar with a clock
• Plaza – warm pastel colors, more buddies, playful motion
• Switch and Switch 2 – clean grey and white with a turquoise selection
• DS, DSi and 3DS – grid paper, rounded panels, corner-bracket selection
• N64 – a starry night sky and grey cartridges
• GameCube – dark indigo glass with a violet glow
• Game Boy – everything in four shades of green, covers too
• Virtual Boy – red on black
• SNES and NES – retro plastic looks

The themes are inspired by these consoles; no logos or original music are included.

Music

• Every theme has its own original menu tune (made for CosmoU) that plays while no own music file is chosen
• The tunes are copied to the music folder (music/themes) on install and on every update; replace a file there with your own under the same name to change a theme's tune

Also

• "Theme" for System / Light / Dark is now called Light or dark
• Your old style choice carries over automatically

Download: CosmoU-Setup-0.11.0.exe (installer) or CosmoU-Portable-0.11.0.exe (no install). The files appear below a few minutes after this release is published.

CosmoU 0.10.0

What's new

• First-time setup – new users are guided through four steps instead of an empty library:
  1. Select Cemu (download it automatically or choose your Cemu.exe)
  2. Select your Wii U games folder – CosmoU shows how many games it found
  3. Choose your menu music (optional: CosmoU music, your own file or no music)
  4. You're ready! → Enter CosmoU
• Settings backup – export your setup as cosmou-settings.json and import it on another PC (Settings → Backup). Only paths and preferences, nothing sensitive.
• Rescan library and Run setup again in Settings
• New notifications – small Liquid Glass notes in the bottom-right corner (for example "✓ 14 games added") that disappear on their own

Existing users keep their setup and won't see the setup screen.

Download

• CosmoU-Setup-0.10.0.exe – installer
• CosmoU-Portable-0.10.0.exe – no install needed

The .exe files are added automatically a few minutes after this release is published. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the app isn't code-signed yet: click More info → Run anyway.

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BZry7jGjr7

CosmoU 0.9.1

Fix

• Dark mode now works everywhere – the Wii U Look (Plaza and Home Menu), the Classic Wii U style and all windows inside them now have a dark version. Before, the Wii U Look always stayed light. Choose it in Settings → Appearance → Theme (System, Light or Dark).

Download

• CosmoU-Setup-0.9.1.exe – installer
• CosmoU-Portable-0.9.1.exe – no install needed

The .exe files are added automatically a few minutes after this release is published. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the app isn't code-signed yet: click More info → Run anyway.

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/BZry7jGjr7