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wtf is 3dsnickerstream?

samabr85/3dsnickerstream — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

7C#Audience · generalComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

TL;DR

A cross-platform app for Windows, macOS, and Linux that streams a modified Nintendo 3DS's screen to your computer in real time.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((3DSnickerStream))
    What it does
      Streams 3DS to PC
      Uses NTR-HR or HzMod
      Cross platform app
    Tech stack
      C sharp
      Avalonia UI
    Use cases
      Play on big screen
      GPU upscaling
      OCR text copy
    Audience
      3DS homebrew hobbyists
    Requirements
      Modified 3DS
      Same local network
      Tesseract for OCR

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Stream both screens of a homebrew-modified Nintendo 3DS to a PC over the local network.

REASON 2

Upscale and sharpen the small 3DS picture on a big monitor using GPU-based filters.

REASON 3

Copy in-game text off the 3DS screen using built-in optical character recognition.

REASON 4

Automatically find and connect to a 3DS running NTR-HR or HzMod on the same network.

What's in the stack?

C#.NETAvalonia UI

How it stacks up

samabr85/3dsnickerstreamd2phap/happlaboxdrwuu/playsmart-unity-uitoolkit-extensions
Stars777
LanguageC#C#C#
Last pushed2023-03-14
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audiencegeneralgeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a Nintendo 3DS already modified with NTR-HR or HzMod homebrew software.

Wtf does this do

3DSnickerStream lets you stream the picture from your Nintendo 3DS handheld console to your computer screen in real time, over your home network. It works with two different homebrew modifications that need to be installed on the 3DS itself first, called NTR-HR and HzMod, which turn the console into a small wireless video source that this app can connect to and display. The app runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, all built from one shared codebase using a cross-platform interface toolkit called Avalonia, and it is a successor to an older project named Snickerstream. Once connected, the app offers several ways to make the small 3DS screen look better on a modern monitor. It supports different compression methods for the video stream, ranging from a classic compressed format to fully lossless options for perfect color accuracy. It also includes a variety of upscaling filters that run on your computer's graphics card to sharpen and smooth the picture, including an AI-based upscaler, pixel art focused filters, and standard sharpening options. Users can adjust the layout of the two 3DS screens, tweak brightness and color separately for each screen, add an ambient glow effect behind the picture, and even select text directly from the video stream and copy it using built in text recognition. Other convenience features include saving screenshots, scanning the local network to automatically find a connected 3DS, saving favorite connection addresses, and a large set of customizable keyboard shortcuts. On macOS and Linux, the text recognition feature requires installing a separate open source tool called Tesseract, while everything else works without extra setup. This project is aimed at Nintendo 3DS hobbyists who have already modified their console with homebrew software and want a modern, actively maintained way to view and interact with it on a bigger screen. It requires the 3DS and computer to be on the same local network and does not work with an unmodified 3DS. The README references a license file but does not state which license terms apply.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through installing NTR-HR on my Nintendo 3DS so this app can find it on the network.
Prompt 2
Help me pick the right NTR-HR compression format for a smooth, low-bandwidth stream.
Prompt 3
Show me how to install Tesseract on macOS so the OCR text-copy feature works.
Prompt 4
Explain the difference between the FSR, xBR, and Neural RTX upscaling filters in this app.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is 3dsnickerstream?

A cross-platform app for Windows, macOS, and Linux that streams a modified Nintendo 3DS's screen to your computer in real time.

What language is 3dsnickerstream written in?

Mainly C#. The stack also includes C#, .NET, Avalonia UI.

How hard is 3dsnickerstream to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is 3dsnickerstream for?

Mainly general.

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