Clean Up Your Android TV Home Screen

CleanYourTV is a free, open-source project that turns off the preloaded apps, ad services, and sponsored rows on an Android TV or Google TV, then swaps in a clean home screen. Claude Code does the work from your computer and asks before it changes anything.

What this helps you do

Your TV's home screen fills up with apps you never installed and rows you never asked for. This setup switches those apps off (nothing gets deleted), installs a small launcher with a dock of your favorite apps, and saves a record so one command puts everything back.

It takes about fifteen minutes with a coding assistant. You will answer a short checklist about which apps you use before anything changes.

Before you start

• A TV running Android TV or Google TV. Samsung, LG, Roku, Vizio, and Hisense VIDAA TVs can't use this. Fire TV sets get the cleanup but keep their own home screen.
• A computer on the same Wi-Fi as the TV.
• Claude Code on a Claude plan. Codex or Gemini CLI also work. The Claude Code docs cover setup.
• Python 3, a JDK version 17 through 22, and Android SDK platform 34 with build-tools 34 on the computer. The assistant uses these to build the launcher. The install commands are in the repo's Doing it by hand section, and Claude Code can run them for you after you approve.
• Your exact TV model, usually under Settings, then About on the TV.
• The TV remote, to accept one prompt on screen.

Terms to know

• Developer options: a hidden TV settings menu that appears after you press OK on the Build entry seven times.
• ADB debugging: short for Android Debug Bridge. It's the setting that lets your computer send commands to the TV over Wi-Fi. Some TVs label it USB debugging, Network debugging, or ADB debugging.
• Launcher: the app that draws your home screen.
• Debloat: switching off preloaded apps you don't use. Here they are disabled, not uninstalled, so they can come back.
• Restore script: a command that re-enables everything the cleanup turned off and returns your original home screen.

Step-by-step

On the TV

1. Open Settings, then Device Preferences, then About. Menu names vary a little by brand, so look for the Build entry.
2. Highlight Build and press OK seven times. You should see a message that you are now a developer.
3. Go back and open Developer options. Turn on USB debugging. If you also see a Network debugging or ADB debugging toggle, turn that on too. Leave the TV on.

On your computer

4. Open a terminal and clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv

5. Open the cleanyourtv folder in Claude Code. Working inside this folder matters. Claude Code reuses the repo's own scripts, which hold the backup and the restore record.
6. Paste the prompt from Copy this, with your TV model and apps filled in.
7. When the TV shows "Allow USB debugging?", select allow.
8. Answer Claude's checklist: which apps you use, how many go in the dock and in what order, and whether to keep the voice assistant, Chromecast, and updates.
9. Review the list of apps it plans to turn off and approve it. Claude backs up the TV, turns those apps off, builds and installs the new launcher, and checks each step with screenshots from the TV.
10. Press Home on your remote. You should see the new home screen with your dock.

When you're done

11. Turn off USB debugging and any Network, ADB, or Wireless debugging toggles in Developer options. Restart the TV. The new launcher keeps working with debugging off.

Copy this

Paste this into Claude Code with the cleanyourtv folder open. Replace the bracketed parts.

Read PROMPT.md in this folder and follow it, using this repo's tools/ and launcher/ scripts rather than writing your own.
My TV model is: [EXACT TV MODEL]
Apps I use and want to keep: [LIST YOUR APPS]
Dock apps, in order: [UP TO 4 APPS]
Keep the voice assistant: [YES/NO]
Keep Chromecast: [YES/NO]
Keep system updates: [YES/NO]
Before you change anything, show me where the backup is saved, the full list of packages you plan to disable, and the exact restore command for my TV. Wait for my approval. When we finish, remind me to turn debugging off and confirm the TV's ADB port is closed.

If you ever want the original TV back, run this from the cleanyourtv folder. Use your TV's IP address and the list that was applied (Claude can tell you both):

TV_HOST=[TV IP ADDRESS] tools/restore.sh [PATH TO YOUR debloat.txt]

On a Google TV, add the stock launcher name at the end:

TV_HOST=[TV IP ADDRESS] tools/restore.sh [PATH TO YOUR debloat.txt] com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx

Things to know

• Nothing is deleted. Apps are switched off with Android's own disable setting, the same one in Settings, then Apps. Your streaming apps still update through the Play Store.
• Keep the list that was applied. The restore command needs it. The backup record is saved in ~/.cleanyourtv/ on your computer.
• Firmware updates can bring apps back. After an update, turn debugging on again and ask Claude to run the repo's check against your list. Its --fix option turns them back off.
• Close debugging when you finish. Network ADB is unencrypted, and on some TVs any device on your Wi-Fi could connect while it's on.
• USB ports can lose power. Some TV boxes cut power to their USB port while USB debugging is on, so plan to finish in one sitting.
• Your warranty. The project notes that changing a TV's software may affect its warranty or support. You run it on a TV you own.
• No coding setup? The project links a community-built phone app for Android that does the same cleanup over Wi-Fi.

If something goes wrong

• Your computer can't reach the TV: confirm both are on the same Wi-Fi and the TV is awake. On a Mac, "No route to host" means macOS Local Network privacy blocked the connection. The repo's own Python tool works around it, so ask Claude to use tools/tv.py.
• The connection port stays closed: some Google TV models only offer Wireless debugging with a pairing code. Tell Claude, and it will walk you through pairing.
• An app you need disappeared: open Settings, then Apps on the TV and re-enable it, or run the restore command.
• Home screen problems on Google TV: ask Claude to follow the setup wizard notes in the repo's Troubleshooting guide before disabling anything else.
• You want the old TV back: run the restore command above. The new launcher stays installed until you remove it in Settings, then Apps.

Final check

You pass when Home opens the clean launcher with your chosen dock, every app you use still opens, you know where your restore command and list are saved, and debugging is turned off on the TV.