# Momentum Firmware for Flipper Zero: Install, Asset Packs and Trade-offs

> Momentum is a GPL-3.0 custom firmware for the Flipper Zero, built on the official firmware and most of Unleashed, with its own settings app and Asset Pack theming. Here is how it installs, what it adds, and where it gets in the way.

**Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware** — 🐬 Feature-rich, stable and customizable Flipper Firmware

- Repository: https://github.com/Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware
- Website: https://momentum-fw.dev
- Stars: 9,189 · Forks: 589
- Language: C
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/next-flip-momentum-firmware

## What Momentum Firmware changes on a Flipper Zero

Momentum is a custom firmware image for the Flipper Zero, a device whose stock firmware comes from flipperdevices/flipperzero-firmware. The project describes itself as based on that official firmware and as including most of the features from Unleashed, and as a direct continuation of the Xtreme firmware built by the same developers. So the audience is narrow and specific: people who already own a Flipper Zero and want more on-device control than the stock firmware exposes, without giving up the apps that stock and Unleashed provide.

The stated goal is to keep pushing what the hardware can do while keeping the user experience customizable. The README breaks that into three claims: feature-rich, stable, customizable. The customization claim is the most concrete one. The README says you can add or remove apps from the menu, change animations, replace icon graphics, rename the Flipper, change the main menu layout and set keybinds, all on-device with no separate configuration tool. That on-device constraint is the interesting part. Most firmware forks ask you to edit files on an SD card or rebuild from source; Momentum puts the switches in a menu.

A second audience is people coming from Xtreme. The README positions Momentum as that project's continuation, which means anyone tracking Xtreme features has a reason to look here. The README also credits Unleashed and the official firmware for their additions, and says the repo is kept updated with work from both. That matters for evaluation: a large part of what you get is not Momentum's own code.

## How the Momentum App, Asset Packs and Bad-Keyboard fit together

The architecture visible from the repository is a fork layout. The top level holds applications/, lib/, furi/, targets/, assets/, documentation/ and the fbt build entry point, which is the same structure the official firmware uses. Momentum's own work sits on top of that tree rather than beside it, which is why the README can promise backwards and inter-compatibility: the fork tracks upstream instead of diverging into a separate codebase.

The user-facing mechanism is the Momentum App, described as an application tailor-made for the firmware. It is split into Interface, Protocols and Misc. Interface covers desktop animations, the main menu, lockscreen behavior and the file browser. Protocols covers Sub-GHz settings, custom frequencies, extended frequency ranges (281-361, 378-481 and 749-962 MHz) and which GPIO pins external modules use. Misc covers the device name, XP level, screen options and RGB backlight configuration, with a link to a third-party RGB backlight project.

Asset Packs are the second mechanism, and they are a file-layout system rather than a code path. A pack is a directory that can carry its own Anims, Icons and Fonts. You copy packs into SD/asset_packs, so a correct install shows paths like SD/asset_packs/PackName/Anims and SD/asset_packs/PackName/Icons. Switching packs happens in Momentum Settings > Interface > Graphics, and the README says you exit the app to reboot and see the result. The reboot requirement is worth noting: this is not a live theme switch.

Bad-Keyboard is the third notable addition and the one with the clearest technical boundary. The README says BadUSB lacks options, so Bad-KB exposes USB and Bluetooth parameters. In Bluetooth mode it can spoof the display name and MAC address; in USB mode it adds manufacturer and product name spoofing plus vendor and product IDs (VID/PID). Those are two different transports with different spoofing surfaces, and the README treats them separately rather than pretending one setting covers both.

## Installing Momentum Firmware and loading your first Asset Pack

The README's header links to an Install section, and the project homepage is momentum-fw.dev, which the README also points to for asset packs and a feature comparison with other firmwares. The README does not reproduce flashing commands in the text available here, so the install path is the project's own installer or site rather than a command line you can copy from the repository front page. Treat that as a documentation gap: if you want a scripted, reproducible flash, the README as written does not give you one.

The part the README does document precisely is the asset pack layout. Create a directory on the SD card, and inside it the Anims and Icons folders. The README's own example of a correct result is this shape:

```bash
SD/asset_packs/PackName/Anims
SD/asset_packs/PackName/Icons
```

If those two paths exist after you copy files over, the pack is placed correctly. If you only see SD/asset_packs/PackName with loose files inside, the pack will not be picked up, because the firmware looks for the Anims and Icons subfolders.

Once the pack is on the card, the selection step is on-device. The README gives the exact navigation: press the Arrow Up button on the main menu, then go to Momentum Settings > Interface > Graphics, choose the asset pack and adjust the other settings. Exit the app to reboot. The reboot is what applies the graphics, so a pack that appears not to work may simply not have been applied yet.

For building a pack from scratch rather than downloading one, the README points to documentation/file_formats/AssetPacks.md in the repository, which it calls a tutorial for creating your own. That file is the reference to read before hand-authoring icons or fonts, because the README itself only describes the folder contract.

## The dev branch is the default, and that is a real constraint

The repository's default branch is dev, not a release branch. That is a deliberate choice for a project that wants to track upstream quickly, but it changes what a GitHub link gives you. Anyone who clones the repository or downloads the default branch archive gets development state, not the firmware that corresponds to the newest tag. The releases listed are mntm-012 from 2025-12-31, mntm-011 from 2025-07-04 and mntm-010 from 2026-04-30. The last push to the repository was on 2026-08-18, so there is roughly seven and a half months of commits between the newest release tag and the current tip. If you want the tested artifact, you have to go to the releases page on purpose.

That gap is the honest failure mode. A user who follows a link to the repository, builds from source, and then hits a bug has no way to know whether the bug exists in mntm-012. The README does not document rollback, and it does not document a downgrade path from a dev build to a tagged release. On a device where a bad flash means recovery through DFU, the absence of a written rollback procedure is a gap you should account for before flashing anything, not after.

The second limitation is scope by design. Momentum includes third-party features and apps, but the README sets a filter: only if they fulfill a useful purpose and work correctly. That is a judgement call made by the maintainers, not a policy you can predict. If your workflow depends on a specific community app that Momentum has decided not to carry, the firmware is the wrong layer for you and you would be better off with a firmware that ships it or with running the app from applications_user/.

The third is the dependency on upstream. Because Momentum tracks Unleashed and the official firmware, upstream changes arrive in the tree whether or not they help your use case. That is the cost of staying compatible, and it is the same cost every fork in this family pays.

## Momentum against Unleashed and the official firmware

The README is explicit about the relationship: Momentum includes most of Unleashed's features and is based on the official firmware. So the comparison is not Momentum versus a stranger, it is Momentum versus the two projects it descends from.

The official firmware is the conservative choice. It is maintained by the hardware vendor, it is what the device ships with, and its feature set is the baseline that every custom firmware has to stay compatible with. If you want the smallest surface area and you do not need menu customization, extended Sub-GHz ranges or asset packs, the official firmware is the correct answer and Momentum adds risk without adding capability you asked for.

Unleashed is the closer comparison. Momentum inherits most of its features, which means the practical difference is Momentum's own additions: the Momentum App for on-device configuration, the Asset Pack system, Bad-Keyboard, BLE Spam, FindMy Flipper, NFC Maker, Wardriver, file search across the SD card, additional NFC parsers, NFC Type 4 and NTAG4xx support, Subdriving for saving GPS coordinates with Sub-GHz captures, and the extended RGB backlight modes. The README also points to a feature comparison on momentum-fw.dev, which is the right place to check if a specific capability matters to you, since the README's list is described as non-comprehensive.

The Xtreme comparison is different in kind. Momentum is the continuation of Xtreme by the same developers, so this is not a fork rivalry but a rename and a handover. If you are still on Xtreme, the question is not which is better but whether you want the current line of development.

## Licence, upgrade cost and what a fork obliges you to do

Momentum is GPL-3.0, and the repository carries a LICENSE file at the top level. The practical consequence for a user is limited: you can flash it, use it and modify it. The consequence for anyone distributing a modified build is larger, because GPL-3.0 requires source availability for distributed binaries and carries the usual copyleft obligations. If you are a vendor bundling Momentum on hardware you sell, or you are shipping a patched image to a community, read the licence text itself rather than a summary. Nothing here is legal advice.

The upgrade cost is the part the README does not quantify. There is no documented migration note for moving from one release tag to the next, and no statement about whether asset packs survive a firmware upgrade. The folder contract under SD/asset_packs suggests packs are data on the card rather than firmware content, which would mean they persist, but the README does not say so directly. Verify that on your own card before you rely on it.

The build side has a real cost too. The repository ships an SConstruct, fbt and fbt.cmd, a targets/ directory and Python build configuration in fbt_options.py and site_scons/. Building from source is a supported path, and it is the path that puts you on dev rather than on a release. If you do not want to maintain a toolchain, use the project's installer and stay on tags.

## Conclusion

Adopt Momentum if you want on-device control over menu layout, animations, Sub-GHz frequency ranges and asset packs, and you accept that the dev branch is the default branch and the newest release tag, mntm-012, was published on 2025-12-31. Do not adopt it if you need a vendor-supported firmware with a published rollback path, or if your only goal is to run stock apps: the official firmware is the narrower target. Before flashing, verify three things: that the release you intend to use exists as a tag, that your SD card is backed up because asset packs live under SD/asset_packs, and that the AssetPacks.md document under documentation/file_formats/ actually describes the pack layout you plan to ship.

## FAQ

### What does Momentum Firmware do?

It is a custom firmware for the Flipper Zero based on the official firmware, and it includes most of the features from Unleashed. Its own additions include the Momentum App for on-device configuration, Asset Packs for animations, icons and fonts, and Bad-Keyboard for USB and Bluetooth parameter spoofing.

### How do I install Momentum Firmware on a Flipper Zero?

The README links to an Install section and the project homepage is momentum-fw.dev, which the README also points to for asset packs. The README text does not reproduce flashing commands, so the install path is the project's own installer or site rather than a command copied from the repository front page.

### How do I use Momentum Firmware on a Flipper Zero?

Configuration happens on the device through the Momentum App, split into Interface, Protocols and Misc. For theming, copy an asset pack to SD/asset_packs so that SD/asset_packs/PackName/Anims and SD/asset_packs/PackName/Icons exist, then press Arrow Up on the main menu and go to Momentum Settings > Interface > Graphics, choose the pack and exit the app to reboot.

### What is the latest Momentum Firmware version?

The most recent release listed for the repository is mntm-012, published on 2025-12-31, following mntm-011 on 2025-07-04 and mntm-010 on 2026-04-30. The repository's default branch is dev, and the last push to it was on 2026-08-18, so the branch tip is ahead of the newest tag.

### Is Momentum Firmware the same as Xtreme?

The README describes Momentum as a direct continuation of the Xtreme firmware, built by the same developers who made that project. It is based on the official firmware and includes most of the features from Unleashed.

## Sources

- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware/blob/dev/LICENSE)
- [Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware on GitHub](https://github.com/Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware)
- [Project website](https://momentum-fw.dev)
- [README](https://github.com/Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware/blob/dev/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/Next-Flip/Momentum-Firmware/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/next-flip-momentum-firmware