There are generally two camps in this space:
1. The Hardware Modder (The "Clean" use case): These users own 50 physical Switch cartridges but hate carrying them. They dump their own cartridges using a modded Switch (Homebrew) to create legal backups. They use NSWPedia to verify their dump was successful. nswpedia switch roms
2. The Emulator User (The "Gray" area): These users want to play Pokemon Legends: Z-A on their Steam Deck or PC at 4K resolution or 60 FPS. Since you cannot dump a game without special hardware, many simply download pre-dumped ROMs. This is where NSWPedia gets legally complicated. There are generally two camps in this space: 1
To understand NSWPedia, you have to understand the "Scene" — the underground groups that dump cartridges and digital downloads. They use NSWPedia to verify their dump was successful
When a new major game drops (think Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Super Mario Wonder), time is measured in minutes before a "dump" appears online. NSWPedia acts as the historical record for these releases. They list:
Atmosphere is the most popular CFW for running NSWpedia Switch ROMs. It bypasses signature checks, allowing unsigned code (like ROMs) to run.
Only older Switch models (Erista units, pre-2018) have the hardware vulnerability (Tegra X1 bug) that allows custom firmware installation. Newer models (Mariko, Lite, OLED) require a modchip.