Nar Shaddaa, nicknamed the "Smuggler's Moon," was the notorious moon of the planet Nal Hutta, homeworld of the Hutt species. It was home to a large criminal underworld dominated by bounty hunters and Hutt crime lords. An ecumenopolis, the entire surface of Nar Shaddaa was covered in urban sprawl. It was the homeworld of the Palliduvan bounty hunter Aurra Sing, the Zabrak Jedi Master Eeth Koth, and the Jablogian enslaver Azmorigan.
Nar Shaddaa was the largest moon of the planet Nal Hutta, which was located in the Hutt Space region of the Outer Rim Territories. An ecumenopolis, its surface was covered entirely in urban sprawl. Its city lights were visible from space. The capital of Nar Shaddaa was Hutta Town, which was made up of huge tower blocks with a patchwork of shanty town structures called skyslums filling every available space between the towers. It was ruled by Grakkus the Hutt. Other settlements included Wormstew Town, and the Corellian Sector. Some known locations on Nar Shaddaa including the Palace of Grakkus the Hutt, which hosted a gladiatorial arena, a seedy bar owned by an unscrupulous Zabrak bartender, and Wormstew Town hospital.
By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Nar Shaddaa had a reputation as a haven for pirates and outlaws. Seen as a negative version of the ecumenopolis Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa was known for being polluted and possibly one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy, as its inhabitants embraced almost every sort of illegal activity with almost no interference from law enforcement or officials of any galactic government. The Rebel Alliance considered the moon so dangerous that they regarded even sending a covert team there as suicide.
The Hutt Clan controlled Nar Shaddaa, but maintained only the lightest touch in governing the residence, ensuring only that they got a cut from a deal or transaction on the moon. The majority of beings on the moon understood that staying on the good side of the Hutts was essential to surviving on Nar Shaddaa, although it far from guaranteed safety. Unofficially, the different territories on the moon were divided between various Hutt crime lords as well as other criminal cartels or gangs. The Hutts of Nal Hutta conducted almost all of their offworld dealings on Nar Shaddaa, meaning there were few visitors to the planet itself.
Gangs of droids also roamed the streets of Nar Shaddaa, accosting other droids such as C-3PO for scrap metal. Some forms of entertainment on Nar Shaddaa included bars and an arena run by Grakkus the Hutt which pitted Wookiees, "lizard men," pirates, and other prisoners against various wild beasts.
At some point, Jedi Master Crucitorn participated in the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. Though the Jedi's opponents in the battle, the Flame-Wielders, greatly injured Crucitorn, the Jedi Master fought on. Thus, Crucitorn's actions on Nar Shaddaa were immortalized by the Jedi Order, with Dooku telling his Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, of the Master's actions.
During the High Republic Era, Nihil Tempest Runner Lourna Dee knew a poisoner on Nar Shaddaa who formulated a special nerve toxin for her.
Darth Maul arrives on Nar Shaddaa
In 33 BBY, the Sith apprentice Darth Maul went to a bar on Nar Shaddaa. There, he tried to get information on Xev Xrexus's Cartel's auction of Padawan Eldra Kaitis. Maul, however, got into a brawl when the patrons thought he was a Jedi, but he was soon aided by a group of bounty hunters led by Cad Bane.
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi carried the newborn Luke Skywalker onboard the late General Grievous's starfighter, the Soulless One, and flew to Nar Shaddaa, where he sold it for passage to the planet Tatooine.
Following the Great Jedi Purge, the Hutt crime lord Grakkus amassed a collection of Jedi relics including holocrons, lightsabers, statues, and a Jedi starfighter at his palace in Hutta Town. Grakkus also made a living forcing captured Wookiees, lizard men, and pirates to fight in his gladiatorial arena against various wild beasts including the roggwart Kongo. The slaves were trained by the enigmatic Gamemaster, an undercover Imperial spy named Sergeant Kreel who monitored Grakkus' Jedi collection.
During the Galactic Civil War in 0 ABY, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 traveled to Nar Shaddaa seeking a means to enter the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He visited a seedy bar owned by a Zabrak bartender, who attempted to take his lightsaber and kill him. However, Skywalker's lightsaber was stolen by an alien thief, who served the crime lord Grakkus.
Skywalker pursued the thief but was captured by Grakkus, who forced him to take part in gladiatorial combat. R2-D2 alerted the Rebel Alliance, who dispatched Chewbacca and C-3PO to rescue him. Grakkus intended to force Skywalker to fight to the death in his arena and tasked Gamemaster with training him. Meanwhile, Chewbacca and C-3PO traced Skywalker's footsteps, roughing up and questioning the Zabrak bartender and his customers. The bartender revealed that Skywalker was a prisoner of Grakkus.
Before Chewbacca and C-3PO could rescue Skywalker, they were ambushed by Dengar, who wanted to collect Jabba's bounty on Solo and Chewbacca. Meanwhile, Skywalker was forced to fight against Kongo the Dissolver. Seeking to bring Skywalker into Imperial custody, Gamemaster secretly contacted a squadron of TIE fighter pilots. Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa rescued Chewbacca and C-3PO with the help of Solo's partner in crime Sana Starros.
Meanwhile, Kreel and his TIE fighter pilots incapacitated Kongo and arrested Grakkus. Before they could take Grakkus and Skywalker into custody, Grakkus activated an electromagnetic pulse bomb and attacked the Imperials. The EMP bomb also disabled Kongo's shock collar, sending the roggwart on a rampage. Armed with lightsabers, Solo, Leia, and Chewbacca rescued Skywalker. Together with Starros, they then escaped Nar Shaddaa in the Falcon and Volt Cobra. Imperial reinforcemnts arrived in the form of stormtroopers and arrested Grakkus. Darth Vader then questioned Kreel about everything he knew about the "boy."
In 5 ABY, the bounty hunter Jas Emari and the New Republic soldier Jom Barell traveled to Nar Shaddaa as part of their mission to search for Han Solo. While on the moon, the two were ambushed by Underboss Rynscar, who wanted to capture Emari for debts that she owed to Boss Gyuti, the leader of Black Sun. Jas managed to convince Gyuti to let them go in return for paying twice the amount of debts that she owed. Rynscar also provided the two with information that Solo was on the Wild Space world of Irudiru.
Decades after the Battle of Jakku, surviving Imperial remnants reformed into the First Order. Nar Shaddaa was a planet that First Order officers could take shore leave on.
Nar Shaddaa was first canonically mentioned in the eighth chapter of the video game Star Wars: Commander. Though it was spelled correctly there, a later released campaign titled Echoes of the Force spells the moon as Nar'Shada.