# CleanYourTV, a debloated Android TV launcher

A repo that strips preloaded apps and ad rows from Android TV and Google TV sets over Wi-Fi, then installs a small native launcher styled after Apple TV's home screen.

- Category: Interface (mod)
- Device: [Fire TV Edition television](https://afterware.xyz/d/fire-tv-edition-television)
- Made by: [Gathin23](https://github.com/Gathin23) on GitHub
- Original: https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/cleanyourtv-a-debloated-android-tv-launcher

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Beginner
- AI-buildability: 5/5 (Everything is software run over ADB from a computer, so an AI assistant with shell access can discover the TV, disable packages and write the launcher app.)
- Time: An evening
- Cost: $0
- Tools: computer on the same Wi-Fi as the TV, ADB (Android Debug Bridge), coding assistant with shell access

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Build sheet

- Method: ADB over Wi-Fi
- Launcher: Native Android TV app
- Supported: Android TV, Google TV
- Restore: One-line script

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "CleanYourTV, a debloated Android TV launcher" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/cleanyourtv-a-debloated-android-tv-launcher

You are helping me debloat an Android TV over ADB on my local Wi-Fi. First, enable network debugging on the TV and connect with adb. List installed packages, back them up, and propose a list of manufacturer telemetry and ad packages to disable with pm disable-user. Ask me before disabling anything I might use, and write a restore script that re-enables everything. Then build and install a simple native launcher with a dock and a grid of apps, and set it as the default home.
```

## Story

The project started when its author set a parent's TV to debloat it. A sponsored ad sat above the apps on the home screen. The author gave Claude Code the TV model number, the assistant found the set over Wi-Fi, disabled 25 Xiaomi packages with pm disable-user, and wrote a replacement launcher.

The method uses the same debug bridge as Android phones. Nothing is uninstalled and nothing is rooted. The prompt has the assistant discover the bloat on each TV and ask before touching apps the owner might use, and a backup script allows a one-line restore. The README lists tested package lists for more than 100 TV models across many brands.

The launcher is a pitch-black home with a dock of four apps, a top shelf that names the focused app over a glow taken from its artwork, and a grid that slides up. Fire TV gets the debloat part only, since Fire OS does not allow a third-party home screen.

## Resources

- [Repository](https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv)
- [Project site](https://cleanyour.tv/)
- [Launch on Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/products/cleanyourtv)

Tags: android tv, google tv, launcher, adb, debloat, claude code, vibe-coded

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