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PS Vita Version: VitaDB Downloader 2.0

Posted on by darion

Developer Rinnegatamante has released a significant update for VitaDB Downloader. VitaDB Downloader is a homebrew “appstore” application for the PS Vita that can be considered the official client for the popular VitaDB homebrew repository. Version 2.0 adds a number of quality of life changes for end users and migrates the application to the new VitaDB web host. Due to a change in the backend, you will need to update to this new version.

What is VitaDB Downloader for PS Vita

VitaDB is the most widely used Vita app repository for PS Vita owners with homebrew enabled. The database contains thousands of pieces of software and games, as well as a site where people can manually download homebrew to manually install on their console. It also provides an API, allowing developers to access the database programmatically. This specifically means that there are several “homebrew stores” for Vita apps that allow you to install games directly from your Vita using this repository.

There are many “homebrew installers” that use VitaDB, such as Vita Homebrew Browser (VHBB), Easy VPK, Better homebrew Browser, and others. However, at this point it’s safe to say that VitaDB Downloader is the best.

VitaDB Downloader – Features

Rinne warns that the focus is on solidity, not ease (with that in mind, VitaDB Downloader has received additional theme customization features with subsequent versions). Some installers really try to look pretty, so ultimately, once again, it’s going to come down to personal preference.

Characteristics

  • Search by homebrew author/name.
  • Filtering apps by category.
  • View all available app screenshots.
  • Sorting apps by various criteria (newest, oldest, most downloaded, least downloaded, alphabetically, etc.)
  • Displaying some metadata for the application.
  • Download and install vpk+data or just vpk files at your discretion. (No more need to re-download data files every time you want to update homebrew for which the data files are unchanged)
  • ImGui-based graphical interface, providing a solid user experience while maintaining elegance and high customization possibilities.
  • Fast boot time (Only the first boot will take a little longer due to app icon download. Subsequent boot will be almost instantaneous)
  • Low storage usage (Screenshots are provided on request, the only data stored in storage are app icons, which total storage usage is less than 10MB.)
  • Tracks installed applications and their status (outdated/updated), even if they were not installed via VitaDB Downloader.
  • Background Music (You can customize it by changing ux0:data/VitaDB/bg.ogg with your own favorite song).
  • Background Image/Video (You can customize it, changing ux0:data/VitaDB/bg.mp4 Or ux0:data/VitaDB/bg.png).
  • Theme support (Customize GUI elements via ux0:data/VitaDB/themes.ini) with built-in file download and management program.
  • Support for home versions of PSP.
  • Daemon support for Homebrews updates happens in the background during normal console use.


Controls

  • Left analog stick or up/down arrows = move selection
  • Circle = Cancel selection
  • Left arrow (after deselecting) = return to search text field (at the top of the list)
  • Home = Show/Hide screenshots for selected homebrew
  • L/R = Change homebrews sorting
  • X = Install homebrew

VitaDB Downloader – What’s New in Version 2.0

  • Updated to the latest vitaGL commit.
  • Now the app’s UI will respect the operating system’s confirmation/cancel (O/X) button settings.
  • Added TitleID information displayed for home PSVita versions.
  • Added security checks for single theme installations.
  • Smoothed the SharkF00D installation progress bar.
  • Allowed to cancel app download/installation by pressing the Cancel (O/X) button.
  • This has been done so that if the application installation fails, the ultimately downloaded data files will also be deleted.
  • Migrated to new hosting.

Download VitaDB Downloader 2.0

You can download VitaDB Downloader here.

Note
To run VitaDB Downloader, you need libshacccg.suprx. If you don’t have it installed yet, the tool should download it automatically. If for some reason that doesn’t work, you can install it by following an older guide: https://samilops2.gitbook.io/vita-troubleshooting-guide/shader-compiler/extract-libshacccg.suprx

Install like any other VPK (reminder, you need a hacked PS Vita!). Once installed, you should be able to install any other homebrew (i.e. those present on VitaDB) from the VitaDB Downloader interface!

Source: VitaDB

Personal note: Many of you have shared your concerns about the lack of updates on the site over the past few months. I’ve just been feeling a bit down lately, but I think I’m back 🙂