Gathin23/cleanyourtv

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Start here

You have	Go to
An Android TV or Google TV	Quick start: a coding assistant does the work in about fifteen minutes.
A Samsung, LG, Roku, Vizio or Hisense VIDAA TV	cleanyour.tv/not-android: CleanYourTV can't run there, but you can turn off the tracking with your remote.
Only an Android phone	The community-built Clean Your TV app: no laptop, no coding agent.
Want to see it first	What you get: screenshots of the new home screen.

Official links: cleanyour.tv and this repo. Other domains using the name, such as cleanyourtv.com, are not run by this project (#1004).

How it works · Quick start · What you get · Supported TVs · Doing it by hand · The launcher · Restoring · Firmware updates · Questions · Contributing

How it works

Android TVs have the same debug bridge as Android phones. Switch on USB debugging in the TV's developer options, allow your computer once, and the rest is standard Android tooling:

Step	What happens
Back up	The list of installed packages and settings.
Disable	The manufacturer's telemetry, ad services, content rows and preloaded junk, with `pm disable-user`. Nothing is uninstalled, so a restore script can undo every step.
Install	A small native launcher, made the default home screen.

No root, no cable, nothing uninstalled, and a one-line restore if you change your mind.

The bloat differs by brand, so the prompt has your coding assistant discover it on your TV and ask before touching anything you might use.

Quick start

You have	Do this
A computer	Use the prompt with a coding assistant: the three steps below.
A computer, no coding assistant	Run the three steps yourself: the commands are in Doing it by hand.
Only an Android phone	Use the community-built Clean Your TV app by @udhaykumarbala: connect, analyse, clean, in about five minutes. No laptop, no coding agent.

The three steps below are written for a coding assistant: the computer needs to be on the same Wi-Fi as the TV, with a shell on it. Without an assistant, Doing it by hand is the same job, run by you.

Any of these work: Claude Code (on 0G Private Computer or an Anthropic plan), Codex, Gemini CLI or Antigravity CLI.

Where	What to do
1. On the TV	Settings → Device Preferences → About → press OK on Build seven times → back → Developer options → USB debugging on. If you see a Network or ADB debugging toggle, turn that on too. Keep the TV on.
2. On your computer	Clone the repo and open that folder in your assistant (`git clone https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv`), then paste `PROMPT.md` and fill in your TV model.
3. Follow along	Accept "Allow USB debugging?" on the TV, then answer the checklist: which apps you use, the dock size and app order, whether to keep the voice assistant, Chromecast and updates.

Cloning matters: the assistant reuses this repo's tools/disable.sh and launcher/build-and-install.sh instead of writing its own, and that is where the backup, the Home guard and the restore record live.

The assistant backs up, debloats, builds and installs the launcher, and checks each step with screenshots pulled from the TV. With this repo as context it takes about fifteen minutes.

What you get

A home screen that looks like an Apple TV and gets out of the way:

Part	What it looks like
A pitch-black home	A dock of your four favourite apps in a rounded band, where Apple TV puts it.
A top shelf	Names the focused app in large type, with an ambient glow in a colour taken from its artwork.
The rest of your apps in a grid	Slides up when you press Down.
One floating glass highlight	Springs from tile to tile. The focused tile lifts and shows its name.
Three frosted buttons	Inputs (HDMI ports under the names you gave them in the TV's settings, AV, Live TV), Wi-Fi or Ethernet with the network name, Settings.
A greeting, a thin clock and the date	In Outfit, and a matching Clock screensaver. Set `show_stats` in config or a theme for one line under the clock: CPU, free memory and free storage. It stays off unless you turn it on, and it refreshes only while Home is on screen.
Themes and module cards	Themes change colours, wallpaper, dock and columns without a rebuild, and module cards let other apps plug a tile in, only with your say-so.

And a TV that stops working against you: no sponsored rows, no "Discover" nags, no analytics phoning home, no apps you never asked for.



Top shelf and ambient glow	Inputs: HDMI with connection state, AV, Live TV

The grid, one glass highlight, the tile's name	Clock screensaver, drifts so nothing burns in

Aurora theme, pushed with `tools/theme.sh`	Six columns and a six-app dock, same launcher

With `tile_menu`, hold OK on a tile, Move: arrows carry it, Back puts it down	App library: one press puts a removed app back on Home

Supported TVs

Anything running Android TV or Google TV.

Platform	What works
Android TV, Google TV	The debloat and the launcher.
Fire TV	The debloat half only, since Fire OS will not hand Home to a third-party launcher. And on the 2015 Fire TV Box (Fire OS 5) even that half fails: every `pm` route is refused.
A few China-market TCL sets	They refuse to install any launcher at all; their lists say so in the header.
Samsung (Tizen), LG (webOS), Roku, Vizio, Hisense VIDAA	Not supported (no ADB). Turn off the tracking instead: cleanyour.tv/not-android. See SHOWCASE.md for four webOS ports, and docs/devices/samsung-tizen.md for what a 2021 Samsung set answers over Wi-Fi (no ADB, so no `pm disable-user`) if you are weighing a Tizen port.

Tested lists from contributors, one folder per model in examples/. The brands with the most lists, each linked to its models on the website:


TCL · 76	Sony · 40	Xiaomi · 34	Philips · 18	Skyworth · 15	Hisense · 11
Amazon Fire TV · 7	Panasonic · 6	SHARP · 6	BenQ · 5	JVC · 4	OnePlus · 4
Thomson · 4	Google · 3	Grundig · 3	Haier · 3	Motorola · 3	NVIDIA Shield · 3
RCA · 3	Redmi · 3	Toshiba · 3	Vu · 3	CHiQ · 2	EKO · 2
FFalcon · 2	Hitachi · 2	Insignia Fire TV · 2	Kalley · 2	Kogan · 2	Nokia · 2

+53 more brands and 14 projector brands

onn 2 · RockTek 2 · Sankey 2 · Sber 2 · Vidda 2 · Acer · AiPro2K · AIWA · AQUA · Artel · ASUS · Beko · BGH · Caxium · Cecotec · Challenger · Compac · Dcolor · Dialog · DYON · Freebox · Home+ · Impex · INCLO · Karbonn · Koryo · KTC · Liberton · Lumio · Master-G · MECOOL · MTC · Next · Noblex · OK. · OPPO · Panavox · PEAQ · Polytron · PPTV · PRISM+ · Prosonic · SANYO · Seleco · Super General · Síragon · Tele System · TiVo · Tornado · Turkcell · Tuvio · Verizon · Vision · Alwtniet, Anker Nebula, BYINTEK, Epson, Formovie, Gadnic, HOTACK, HY320, JMGO, Magcubic, Portronics, Stellamore, Wanbo and XGIMI projectors

Find your TV: search cleanyour.tv/tvs or the full table in examples/README.md.

Your TV not here? The prompt discovers the bloat itself. Add your list afterwards and the next person with your model skips that step: CONTRIBUTING.md.

Doing it by hand

Everything the assistant does, you can run yourself. The tools need Python 3 and nothing else. tools/tv.py talks to network ADB on port 5555. If that port stays closed and the TV offers Wireless debugging with a pairing code (the Chromecast with Google TV and the Google TV Streamer do), pair it once with the stock adb and run adb tcpip 5555 first, as Troubleshooting describes.

python3 -m venv tools/venv && tools/venv/bin/pip install -r tools/requirements.txt
export TV_HOST=192.168.1.50                                   # your TV's IP address

tools/venv/bin/python -I tools/tv.py --probe                 # model, Android version, firmware
tools/venv/bin/python -I tools/tv.py 'pm list packages'      # one shell command on the TV
tools/disable.sh examples/xiaomi-mi-tv-4a/debloat.txt        # apply a debloat list
tools/restore.sh examples/xiaomi-mi-tv-4a/debloat.txt        # undo it, stock launcher back
tools/venv/bin/python -I tools/check.py examples/xiaomi-mi-tv-4a/debloat.txt   # what a firmware update undid
TV_HOST=192.168.1.50 launcher/build-and-install.sh           # build the launcher and make it Home
tools/theme.sh themes/aurora                                 # push a theme; --reset removes it

Tool	What it does
`tools/tv.py`	Pure-Python ADB client: shell, batch, push, pull, reboot, and screenshots, optionally pressing remote keys first. Works where the stock `adb` binary is blocked. Optional paired Google ADB backend for encrypted Wireless debugging.
`tools/b64push.py`	Uploads large files such as APKs in base64 chunks and verifies the checksum.
`tools/relay.py`	Forwards a local port to the TV's ADB port, for assistants whose sandbox can't reach your network. Listens on this computer only. Guide.
`tools/disable.sh`, `restore.sh`	Apply or undo a debloat list, the undo from the state recorded before the change.
`tools/recovery.py`	Writes the record `disable.sh` needs to undo itself, and prints the restore batch.
`tools/check.py`	Compares the TV with the list that was applied, for what a firmware update undid; `--fix` puts it back.
`tools/adb-closed.py`	Checks that the TV's network ADB port is closed once debugging is off: exits 0 when the TV refuses the connection, 1 while it is still open, 2 when nothing answered or the check itself could not run. No `nc` needed.
`tools/privacy.py`	Audits the TV for voice, ACR and telemetry candidates and prints the evidence for each; `--write` turns the findings into a list `disable.sh` and `restore.sh` already understand.
`tools/theme.sh`, `theme_restart.py`	Push a folder from `themes/` to the launcher and restart Home.
`tools/manage.py`	List every add-on, theme and switch with its screenshot, see what is on the TV, and install, update or remove one by running its creator's own script.
`tools/bench.py`	Measures the launcher that answers HOME: key latency, how far the focus moved, janky frames, cold start, return to Home, and the idle CPU and PSS it costs. Changes nothing on the TV and writes the raw per-key numbers to JSON; no extra install.
`tools/trace.py`, `trace_report.py`	Records Perfetto traces of the launcher (return to Home, cold start, D-pad) and reports where its time goes, per run and before against after. Optional: needs `requirements-perf.txt`. Guide.
`tools/flamechart.py`	Draws a before/after flame chart from those traces, for a pull request: one lane per thread on a shared time scale, the work a change targets in magenta with its total. Optional, like the trace tools. Guide.
`tools/screendiff.py`	Compares a before and an after screenshot pixel by pixel, leaving out the clock or anything you mask, and writes the pair with your Wi-Fi name blurred. Optional, like the trace tools. Guide.
`tools/race_calendar.py`	Writes this season's F1 calendar into a theme for race-weekend mode, from the free Jolpica API.
`launcher/build-and-install.sh`	Builds a shrunk release (about 532 KB), installs it, switches Home, and rolls back if Home does not land on it.

The scripts never leave the TV without a Home app: they only disable a stock launcher they recognise, and skip the Home app in a list until another launcher answers HOME. Your own lists can live outside the repository: list paths are relative to the directory you run from, and absolute paths work too.

Windows (PowerShell)

Every script has a PowerShell twin next to it. On Windows with Android Studio installed nothing else is needed:

python -m venv tools\venv; tools\venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r tools\requirements.txt
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File launcher\build-and-install.ps1 -TvHost 192.168.1.50
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\disable.ps1 -TvHost 192.168.1.50 examples\xiaomi-mi-tv-4a\debloat.txt
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\restore.ps1 -TvHost 192.168.1.50 examples\xiaomi-mi-tv-4a\debloat.txt
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\theme.ps1 -TvHost 192.168.1.50 themes\aurora

The last two are the undo and a theme push, the tools/restore.sh and tools/theme.sh lines the sections above give in bash. On Google TV the undo takes the stock launcher as well: -Stock com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx.

How the scripts protect Home

The install scripts ask the TV which launcher owns Home and only disable one they recognise, the four in KNOWN_STOCK_LAUNCHERS: com.google.android.tvlauncher, com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx, com.google.android.leanbacklauncher and Xiaomi's com.mitv.tvhome (PatchWall). Pass STOCK_LAUNCHER=<package> (-StockLauncher) to override, or none to leave it alone.

tools/disable.sh (disable.ps1) applies the same rule before it disables anything:

If the list contains the app that owns Home and no other app on the TV answers HOME, it skips that entry, says why, and disables the rest of the list. So a list applied before the launcher handover cannot leave the TV with nothing to start.
The setup wizard, the settings apps, a vendor FallbackHome and factory-test apps (Xiaomi's com.duokan.factorytest) answer HOME too and don't count.
On Google TV it also keeps the owner while setupwraith answers HOME and stays enabled (not listed, or kept for the Wi-Fi network): setupwraith answers ahead of an installed launcher that is not Home yet, so it would take Home.

Run the same list again once launcher/build-and-install.sh has made the new launcher Home and the entry is applied; FORCE_HOME=1 ($env:FORCE_HOME) disables it anyway.

The microphone, and what can be said about it

"Which of these packages is listening?" has no honest one-line answer: a permission scan shows fifty system packages with RECORD_AUDIO that record nothing, and ACR clients see the screen with no audio permission at all. tools/privacy.py reports what the TV actually says, with the evidence for each voice, ACR and telemetry candidate: TV_HOST=192.168.1.50 tools/venv/bin/python -I tools/privacy.py, and --write turns them into a normal debloat list. What the audit cannot do is prove intent: docs/privacy.md explains why.

The launcher

A small native home screen for Android TV: about 532 KB, plain Java, built for TVs with 1 GB of RAM. No blur, no video, no network permission, no background services. The TV needs Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer, the minSdk in launcher/app/build.gradle; what is left on an older set is in Troubleshooting.

What	How it works
Configure	Dock order, hidden apps, Live TV app, 4 to 7 tiles per row, reduced motion. All in `config.xml`
Settings on the TV	Hold OK on Settings for launcher settings. Optional `launcher_settings_button` makes a normal click open them directly; TV settings remain on the settings page and their app tile.
Themes	Background, wallpaper and layout from a `config.json` pushed over Wi-Fi, no rebuild. ten ship in `themes/`, the built-in `default/` included
29 languages	Follows the TV's language, with a fully mirrored right-to-left layout for Hebrew
App library	Optional: browse every installed app and add or remove Home shortcuts. See the app library guide
Tile menu	Optional (`tile_menu`): hold OK on a tile for Move, Remove from Home and App info. Off, holding OK opens App info
Module cards	Any TV app can offer its own tile; you approve each one once. See `docs/modules.md`
Add-ons	Optional apps that plug in as module cards, kept in `addons/` and never built into the launcher
Clock screensaver	A drifting clock over the glow, so nothing burns in
Remote keys	Keeps the Input, YouTube and gear buttons working after the stock launcher is gone

Themes, switches and add-ons together, with screenshots: cleanyour.tv/addons.

More: docs/launcher.md has the launcher settings page row by row, changing the default home, the languages, remote keys, the Clock screensaver, navigation and building it yourself.

Restoring your TV

Keep the list you applied. One line puts the TV back the way it was:

TV_HOST=192.168.1.50 tools/restore.sh examples/<your tv>/debloat.txt                                    # Android TV
TV_HOST=192.168.1.50 tools/restore.sh examples/<your tv>/debloat.txt com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx  # Google TV

What	How
A record comes first	Before `tools/disable.sh` changes anything it writes down what the TV looked like, in `~/.cleanyourtv/`.
Restore replays it	A package you had disabled yourself stays disabled, and Home goes back to the component that owned it.
The launcher stays installed	Remove it from the TV's Settings → Apps if you want it gone.
No computer?	If the TV is unreachable, its own Settings → Apps page can re-enable packages too.

More: docs/restore.md has what the record holds, when the stock launcher argument counts, and what happens without a record.

After a firmware update

An update installs over the cleaned-up system: the listed packages come back, Home goes to the stock launcher, and new preloads appear that no list mentions. Open ADB again as in Quick start step 1, then compare the TV with the list you applied; --fix puts it back:

TV_HOST=192.168.1.50 tools/venv/bin/python -I tools/check.py examples/<your tv>/debloat.txt

More: docs/firmware-updates.md has the exit codes, a weekly check, what --fix changes, TVs that keep the stock launcher as Home, and lists that disable the updater.

When something goes wrong

The full list of things that bit us is in docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md. The three that matter most:

🍎 macOS blocks adb connect ("No route to host") under Local Network privacy. tools/tv.py avoids the binary.
⚠️ Disable the stock launcher only after the new one is installed and running, or Home lands on a factory test app. The install script orders this for you.
🔁 On Google TV the setup wizard (com.google.android.tungsten.setupwraith) can take Home and crash-loop the system after the stock launcher is disabled. Disable it too, and list it in your debloat.txt so restore brings it back.
- But check dumpsys wifi | grep -o 'cname=[^ ]*' first: if the Wi-Fi network was saved during setup it belongs to setupwraith, and disabling it deletes the network (re-join it in Settings first; tools/disable.sh skips setupwraith until you do).
- On Google's own Chromecast and on the Google TV Streamer it also costs phone casting, see Troubleshooting.
- Stuck already? tools/tv.py 'pm enable --user 0 com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx'.

Questions people ask

I don't code and don't have a laptop. Can I still do this?

Yes. @udhaykumarbala built a free, open-source phone app for Android that does the same cleanup over Wi-Fi: it connects to the TV, shows a plan first, saves a restore point, and only switches apps off, so everything can be put back. It's community-built.

Is this safe? Can it brick the TV?

Nothing is flashed, rooted or deleted; packages are disabled in the user profile. The risk is disabling something the TV leans on, which is why lists are applied in small batches with a restore script ready. The TV's own Settings → Apps page can re-enable packages even without the tools. If the TV no longer starts far enough for that, a factory reset from its recovery menu is usually the way back.

More: docs/faq.md

What about firmware updates?

The updater is left on in most lists, so firmware updates arrive as usual. Some lists disable the TV's own updater, and on those a firmware update arrives only when you re-enable it. When one does land it installs over the cleaned-up system, so a package comes back and you re-run the script: see After a firmware update.

Won't the apps break?

Streaming apps still update through the Play Store, which is left alone. The launcher just lists what is installed and launches it with intents that have been stable for a decade.

Can I do this for someone in another home?

Yes, over a private Tailscale link instead of the same Wi-Fi: either Tailscale on their TV, shared with you, or a computer or Apple TV at their home routing to it. Never by opening the ADB port on their router. Step by step in docs/REMOTE.md.

Isn't ADB access a security hole?

It is one explicit "allow this computer" tap on the TV, the same as developing an Android app. Network ADB is plaintext on port 5555, and on some firmware any device on the LAN gets a shell, so close it when you are done:

On the TV: Developer options → turn USB debugging, Network/ADB debugging and Wireless debugging off, whichever the TV has, and revoke the USB debugging authorisations.
Reboot the TV, then confirm the port is gone from your computer: python3 tools/adb-closed.py <tv ip> must say the port is closed.

The launcher keeps working without debugging. More, including checking Wireless debugging's own port: docs/faq.md

Can it block ads inside apps too?

Partly, with Android's Private DNS (Android 9 and newer). Point it at an ad-blocking resolver such as AdGuard DNS and every app's ad and tracker domains stop resolving, system-wide, surviving reboots. The trade-off: that resolver then sees every DNS query the TV makes, and it does not remove YouTube ads.

More, with the two commands and how to switch back: docs/faq.md

Are there switches in the TV's own Settings worth flipping too?

A few, and they need no ADB: the advertising ID, Location, Usage & diagnostics and Scanning always available, plus Apps only mode where the stock launcher stays. Flip Usage & diagnostics before the debloat; on some TVs its page goes with it.

More, with the paths for Google TV, Android TV and Fire OS: docs/faq.md

AirPlay?

Not from this repo. Chromecast built-in stays for Android phones. For iPhones, jqssun/android-airplay-server works; an install script for it is in PR #84.

Can I just download the APK?

Build it with the one-line script; it takes a minute and you control what goes on your TV. No prebuilt binaries.

The story

On 17 October 2026 I posted a before and after of my parents' TV, cleaned up by Claude Code over Wi-Fi. It reached 7.4M views, people started doing the same to their own TVs, and their replies turned into the lists here: 170+ TV models from 200+ contributors in four days. The repo was called tv-vibehack until the 19th; old links work. The coverage since is in docs/PRESS.md.

Contributing

The most useful contribution is your TV's debloat list, so the next person with that model does not have to rediscover it. CONTRIBUTING.md has the format and the testing we ask for. Contributing through a coding agent? AGENTS.md gives it the same rules.

How to help	What it means
Your TV's debloat list	The most useful one: the next person with that model skips the discovery.
Launcher and prompt	Launcher improvements and sharper prompt wording are welcome too.
Built something on top?	A launcher, a port, a theme: add it to SHOWCASE.md, where a hundred and forty-five projects already live, sorted into home screens, forks, add-ons, tools and other platforms, with an index by TV brand.

The people whose work is in this repo:

Star history

Contact

For	Where
Questions about your TV	GitHub Discussions
Press and queries	hello@itsgathin.com
Security issues	Report them privately through the Security tab, see `SECURITY.md`

Legal

CleanYourTV is an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any TV maker or platform. Brand and model names are used only to say which TV a list was tested on, and remain the trademarks of their owners.
It works only through settings the TV itself offers to its owner: Developer options, ADB debugging and Android's own pm disable-user, the same switch as Settings > Apps > Disable. It does not root the TV, flash firmware, or bypass any lock, DRM or copy protection, and the repo contains no manufacturer software, firmware or APKs.
Nothing is uninstalled, and tools/restore.sh puts everything back. You run it on a TV you own, at your own risk, and changing a TV's software may affect its warranty or support.
Everything here is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, under the MIT licence below.

Licence

MIT, see LICENSE. The Outfit typeface is under the SIL Open Font License, see launcher/FONT-LICENSE-OFL.txt.