Skip to content

Updating (OTA)

Leaf can update itself over the air (OTA): it checks GitHub for new releases, downloads and verifies them, and hands off to the device’s installer, all from inside the launcher. You don’t need to swap SD cards or touch a PC.

  • Connect to Wi-Fi. Open Settings → Network and join a network. Updates download over the internet.
  • Charge up. Make sure the battery is reasonably charged; the device reboots to install.
  1. Press the Menu button and choose System Update from the System menu.
  2. Leaf checks the Leaf releases feed and tells you whether a newer version is available.
  3. If there is one, choose to download it. Leaf fetches the release over a secure (HTTPS) connection and verifies its SHA-256 checksum before doing anything with it.
  4. Choose to install. Leaf stages the update and reboots into the device’s installer to apply it, then reboots back into the new version.
  5. After it comes back up, you can confirm the running version under Menu → About.

No account or credentials are required; updates use the public releases feed.

If you would rather not update over Wi-Fi, or you are moving between dev builds, you can update the same way you install:

  1. Download leaf-mlp1-sd-<release_id>.zip from the latest release.
  2. Extract it to the root of an SD card (not into a subfolder).
  3. Boot the device with that card inserted. The stock update screen applies it and reboots into the new version.

A manual update is safe to run over an existing install. It refreshes only the release-managed firmware and never touches your data: your games, saves, states, and app data live at the card’s root (Roms/, Saves/, States/, and the .userdata/ and .umrk/ folders) and are left exactly as they were.

  • Discovery: Leaf reads the public GitHub Releases feed for the Leaf repo and parses the release’s update manifest.
  • Verified download: the artifact is downloaded over HTTPS and checked against a published SHA-256 sum. Leaf ships its own trusted-certificate bundle, so secure downloads work even though it’s running on top of stock.
  • Install handoff: on the MLP1, Leaf stages the update and reuses the stock installer to apply it on the next boot, the same safe path used for a fresh SD install.
  • “Up to date” but you expected a release? Make sure you’re not on a dev/test channel and that the release was actually published.
  • Download fails or network error? Re-check Wi-Fi connectivity (Settings → Network) and try again.
  • A bad release? You can always reinstall a known-good version from an SD card, or restore stock via Recovery.