pico-launcher/docs/Customization.md

Customization

Pico Launcher supports custom icons and banners for files and folders by placing files in the right locations on the SD card. Icons and banners follow the same folder structure: nds and gba files by game code, user files by filename, and folder-level overrides.

Icons

Custom icons are .bmp files. DS roms already show the icon from their internal banner, so custom icons are mainly useful for GBA roms and other file types.

Icons by game code

Place a <gamecode>.bmp file under /_pico/icons/nds/ or /_pico/icons/gba/. For example:

• /_pico/icons/gba/ABCD.bmp - icon for the GBA game with game code ABCD
• /_pico/icons/nds/EFGH.bmp - icon for the NDS game with game code EFGH (overrides the built-in banner icon)

User icons (by filename)

Place a <filename>.bmp file under /_pico/icons/user/. For example, myGame.gba.bmp will be used for any file named myGame.gba. This takes precedence over a game code based icon and over the internal banner icon of DS roms.

Folder icons

Place a file named icon.bmp directly inside the folder you want to customise. For example:

• /GBA Games/icon.bmp - icon for the GBA Games folder
• /GBA Games/Racing/icon.bmp - icon for the Racing subfolder

Each folder's icon.bmp is independent - two folders with the same name can have different icons. Since .bmp files are not a recognised ROM type, icon.bmp is never shown in the rom browser.

A folder can also use a banner.bnr file (see Folder banners) for its icon, in the same location. If both banner.bnr and icon.bmp exist, banner.bnr takes priority.

Icon priority

User icon (/_pico/icons/user/) > game code based icon (/_pico/icons/nds/ or /_pico/icons/gba/) > internal banner > theme default. Folder icons are looked up independently and do not participate in the above priority chain: banner.bnr > icon.bmp > theme default.

Icon format

Icons must be 32×32 pixels, 4 bpp (16 colors), uncompressed .bmp files, with the first palette color treated as transparent.

Banners

Custom banners are .bnr files containing custom game titles, subtitles and (animated) icons. This is especially useful for adding custom titles and (animated) icons to GBA ROMs or other systems.

Banners by game code

Place a <gamecode>.bnr file under /_pico/banners/nds/ or /_pico/banners/gba/. For example:

• /_pico/banners/gba/ABCD.bnr - banner for the GBA game with game code ABCD
• /_pico/banners/nds/EFGH.bnr - banner for the NDS game with game code EFGH (overrides the built-in banner)

User banners (by filename)

Place a <filename>.bnr file under /_pico/banners/user/. For example, myGame.gba.bnr will be used for any file named myGame.gba.

Folder banners

Place a file named banner.bnr directly inside the folder you want to customise. For example:

• /GBA Games/banner.bnr - custom banner for the GBA Games folder

This gives the folder a custom icon (static or animated) and replaces its displayed name with the banner's title, anywhere the folder's name is shown. The folder's actual name on the SD card (used for navigation) is unchanged. Folder banners do not affect the folder's cover image.

Banner priority

User banner (/_pico/banners/user/) > game code based banner (/_pico/banners/nds/ or /_pico/banners/gba/) > built-in ROM banner. Folder banners (banner.bnr) are looked up independently and do not participate in the above priority chain.

Banner format

Banners must be standard Nintendo DS(i) banner files (usually named .bnr or banner.bin). Both static icons and animated DSi-style icons are supported.