ShopStub is a channel intended to properly install Homebrew applications directly to a user's SD card or USB drive. It it intended to be installed as a WAD.
It stems from several needs:
- The Wii Shop Channel does not allow direct file access on the SD card, leaving a requirement to install a bootstrap program to NAND.
- However, we do not want to burden the user with other channels in order to use the Open Shop Channel. Such a bootstrap program must be tailored.
- We need to have a unified codebase for all types of bootstrap programs, allowing us to build once and update universally.
- We want to provide forwarders for Homebrew applications installed, leaving a need for a banner.
A typical usage flow for using this channel might be as follows:
- The user, via the Open Shop Channel, installs this Homebrew title.
- The WAD this bootstrapper has been packaged with contains:
- a modified ticket
- a banner suitable for a forwarder
- a forwarder application - TODO: determine
- the contents of the Homebrew application as a content and is now available on the user's NAND to launch.
- This bootstrapper extracts the contents of said application to SD/USB, depending on what is available.
- The program replaces itself with the above forwarder application, relieving the user's NAND of the size of the application.
TODO: Modify to what is fully implemented eventually.