A command-center home screen for Android TV

Difficulty

Beginner

AI-buildability

5/5

It's entirely a software project: a Java Android launcher drawn in code and sideloaded over adb, so AI can write nearly all of it and the reader only runs a few commands.

Time

A weekend

Cost

$0

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

KIDŌ (起動, "start up") replaces the stock Android TV home screen with a command-center layout: a seven-segment clock, big Mincho kanji, five favorite apps as large cards, and the rest of your apps in a honeycomb. Each card carries a live readout of channel, Wi-Fi strength and update time. Plug in an HDMI source and an INPUT DETECTED panel drops in. The status block changes color to match whatever you're watching.

It's a sideloaded APK, installed over adb with network debugging enabled on the TV. You then point the Home button at it with one adb command. If the TV keeps sending Home to the stock launcher, you disable that launcher with pm disable-user, which removes nothing. The app is 222 KB, asks only for the two Wi-Fi state permissions, and has no internet permission, so it can't phone home. It was tested on a Sharp AQUOS 4K running Android TV 11.

Worth stealing: the whole interface is drawn in code on a 1920x1080 grid that scales to the screen, and a screensaver that slides its block every 20 seconds to protect OLED panels from burn-in. Start from the repo if you want a skin for a TV you already own.