3DS Starter Pack Downloader

3DS Starter Pack Downloader
3DS Starter Pack Downloader
General
Author	sthetix
Type	PC Utilities
Version	2.0.0
License	MIT License
Last Updated	2025/10/21
Links
	Download
	Website
	Source
	Support Author

3DS Starter Pack Downloader (3DS-SPDL) is a Python-based GUI application that automatically downloads and organizes the latest versions of core files required for the "Finalizing Setup" step when installing custom firmware on a Nintendo 3DS console. It eliminates the need to manually download individual releases from multiple GitHub repositories and organizes them into the correct SD card file structure.

Description

The tool fetches the latest releases of the following essential components for 3DS custom firmware setup:

Luma3DS - The latest custom firmware (boot.firm).
GodMode9 - The file system access tool (GodMode9.firm) and its scripts.
Finalize - The required helper files for setup completion (x_finalize_helper.firm and finalize.romfs).

All files are automatically placed in the proper SD card directory structure, ready to copy directly to the 3DS.

Features

Graphical user interface - A simple, modern interface with no command line required.
Smart caching - Avoids GitHub API rate limits by caching release info for 24 hours.
Cache management - A "Clear Cache" button allows forcing a fresh download of all files.
GitHub PAT support - Users can add a GitHub Personal Access Token via the Settings > GitHub PAT menu to increase API rate limits. The token is saved in gui_updater_config.json.
Direct-to-SD copy - The "Set Output Directory..." button allows selecting the SD card root. The app automatically copies files to the SD card after downloading.
Clean organization - All files are placed in the correct SD card structure (e.g., /luma/payloads, /gm9) inside a staging folder named "3DS Starter Pack".
Live progress - A full log window and progress bar show download and organization progress.

Requirements

For Executable (Windows)

No additional requirements. Simply download and run the 3DS-SPDL.exe from the Releases page.

For Python Script (All Platforms)

Windows, macOS, or Linux
Python 3.x
The requests and ttkbootstrap Python libraries

Install the required libraries with:

pip install requests ttkbootstrap

Installation

Option 1: Executable (Windows)

Download 3DS-SPDL.exe from the Releases page.
Run the executable.
Click "Start Download".

Option 2: Python Script (All Platforms)

Ensure Python 3.x is installed along with the required libraries (see Requirements above).
Run the script from a terminal:
python 3DS-SPDL.py
Click "Start Download".

User guide

Output

The application first downloads and organizes all files into a local folder named 3DS Starter Pack.

If no Output Directory has been set, copy the contents of the 3DS Starter Pack folder to the root of the SD card manually.
If an Output Directory has been set (such as the SD card root), the app will automatically merge and overwrite all downloaded files into that destination.

Compatibility

Windows (executable and Python script)
macOS (Python script)
Linux (Python script)

Screenshots

Changelog

v2.0.0 2025/10/21

Big Update (GUI overhaul).
Added graphical user interface replacing the previous command-line workflow.
Added "Clear Cache" button (replaces the old --clear-cache command-line argument).
Added GitHub PAT management via Settings menu (replaces the need for environment variables).
Added "Set Output Directory" feature for direct-to-SD card copying.
Core logic retained: fetches latest releases for Luma3DS, GodMode9, and Finalize.
Smart caching retained: uses 3ds_starter_pack_cache.json with 1-day cache duration.
Correct file structure retained: organizes files into luma/payloads, gm9, and root-level structure.

External links

Github - https://github.com/sthetix/3DS-Starterpack