AI FounderToday’s finds
← All finds
TV utilityReviewed 2026-10-21 · first published 2026-10-17

CleanYourTV review

Debloat any Android or Google TV over Wi-Fi and get an Apple TV-style home — no root, nothing uninstalled, one-line restore.

What it isDebloat any Android or Google TV over Wi-Fi and get an Apple TV-style home — no root, nothing uninstalled, one-line restore.
DeveloperGathin23
LicenseCustom — see repository
LanguageJava
Popularity15,174 GitHub stars as of 2026-10-21
LinksOfficial repository · Project website

What it is

CleanYourTV is a prompt-plus-toolkit that turns your AI coding assistant into an Android TV service technician. Android TVs ship with the same debug bridge as Android phones; you switch on USB debugging in the TV developer options, allow your computer once, and paste the repository's PROMPT.md into an assistant such as Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI.

The assistant then discovers the TV on your Wi-Fi, asks which apps you actually use, backs up the package list, disables the manufacturer's ad and telemetry packages with Android's own pm disable-user (nothing is uninstalled), and installs a small native launcher as the default home screen. The README says the whole run takes about fifteen minutes.

What it does

  • Backs up the list of installed packages and settings before touching anything.
  • Disables manufacturer telemetry, ad services, sponsored content rows, and preloaded junk — reversible, since nothing is uninstalled.
  • Installs an Apple TV-style launcher: a dark home with a dock of your four favourite apps and a "top shelf" naming the focused app.
  • Brand-aware: bloat differs by TV maker, so the prompt has the assistant discover it on your specific TV and ask before touching anything you might use.
  • One-line restore if you change your mind.

Watch-outs

  • The repository uses a custom license (not a standard open-source one) — read the terms before use.
  • Disabling system packages always carries some risk on TV hardware; keep the generated backup and restore script.
  • You need a computer on the same Wi-Fi as the TV and an AI coding assistant with shell access — the project suggests Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI.
  • The repository was named tv-vibehack until 2026-10-19; old links still redirect.

Our take

Editorial opinion from public facts — not hands-on testing

The design is unusually honest for a debloater: back up first, disable rather than delete, ship a restore script, and have the assistant ask before touching anything you might use. That covers most of the fear of modifying system packages on an expensive TV.

The catch is the prerequisite. You need an AI coding subscription and the patience to follow a fifteen-minute checklist — this is a tinkerer's tool, not a one-click app. The 15,000 stars in four days say how badly TV owners want it anyway: the ad-loaded smart-TV home screen is a genuine pain point.

What to watch: the custom license, and future firmware updates that could close the network-ADB door. If you are not comfortable with a terminal-adjacent flow, wait for the guided wrappers this kind of popularity inevitably spawns.

How we found it

Our tracking flagged this project on 2026-10-21, within days of its first release. What we saw:

  • GitHub4 days old with 14,860 stars when first flagged (2026-10-21) — and it gained roughly 300 more stars during the hours we watched it that same day.
  • Project websitecleanyour.tv was already live, unusual for a repository this young.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to root my TV?

No. The README is explicit: no root, no cable, nothing uninstalled. Disabling via pm disable-user is reversible, and a restore script is generated.

Which TVs does it work on?

Android and Google TVs, since they expose the Android debug bridge in developer options. The package list differs by brand, so the prompt makes the assistant discover and confirm what to disable on your specific model.

Does it cost anything?

The repository is free. You do need your own AI coding assistant subscription or API key, since the assistant is the one executing the steps.

Is it safe?

The flow backs up first, disables rather than deletes, asks before touching apps you might use, and ships a restore path. It is still a system-level change to your TV — follow the checklist honestly about which apps you use.

Sources

All facts on this page were collected on 2026-10-21 from:

More finds