A new trend has people using Claude Code to clean up the smart TV in their living room. Developers and hobbyists are pointing AI coding agents at their TVs over Wi-Fi to remove sponsored ads, delete bloatware, turn off tracking and build simpler home screens. A few open projects shared on GitHub have spread quickly, and thousands of people have tried them on their own sets.
How the Claude Code Smart TV Trick Works
Most of these hacks target TVs that run Android TV, Google TV or Amazon’s Fire TV software. You give an AI agent your TV’s model number, and it connects to the set on your home network. From there, it can disable unwanted apps and install a lighter launcher, which is the home screen you see when you turn the TV on.
One project, called cleanyourtv, started when its creator, Gathin T., got tired of a sponsored ad showing up before his parents could even open Netflix. He had Claude Code find the Xiaomi TV on Wi-Fi, remove 25 Xiaomi packages and write a new launcher that looks a bit like Apple TV. After he posted the prompt and before-and-after photos, he says a few thousand people did the same over the next two days.
No root access required
The cleanyourtv approach does not require rooting the TV, which is a riskier way of unlocking full control. It also leaves the door open to reset the set to its factory state later. That makes it feel less scary than older TV hacks.
The Main Smart TV Debloat Projects
Two community projects are getting most of the attention, though many people are also just asking an agent to do the job from scratch.
| Project or example | What it does | Tested on |
|---|---|---|
| cleanyourtv | Removes bloat over Wi-Fi and swaps in an Apple TV style launcher | Any Android TV or Google TV, per its creator; users report Xiaomi, TCL, Sony, Fire TV and LG |
| dumbtv | Blocks TV ads and watch tracking, stops unwanted updates, fully customizable | Fire TV Edition sets and Android/Google TV models from Sony, TCL, Philips, Hisense, Xiaomi and Shield |
| Mihir Gupta’s setup | Disabled 25 bloat apps and replaced a 192 MB launcher with an 83 MB one | His own TV, in one afternoon |
The dumbtv project describes its goal as letting your TV run your apps and HDMI inputs and nothing else. To use it, you simply point your preferred AI agent at its GitHub repository and let the agent follow the steps.
Others skip the projects entirely. One viral post came from Ryan Doyle, who says he sent Claude Code his TV’s product listing and asked if it could hack it. He says the agent walked him through removing ads and bloatware, speeding up the laggy menus and customizing his screensaver.
Why People Want Dumber TVs
Frustration with smart TVs has been building for years. Many sets now show ads on the home screen, and most ship with Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR. ACR identifies what you are watching using screenshots, audio clips or other digital fingerprints, which many viewers see as surveillance.
Hacking gadgets is not new, but AI agents lower the bar a lot. Tasks that once took command-line skills and patience now take a plain English prompt. It is the same shift that is driving the rise of personal vibe-coded apps and even a vibe-coded game launcher.
The appeal is easy to understand: you paid for the TV, so you should decide what runs on it. AI agents just made that possible for people who never learned to code.
What This Means for You
If your TV feels slow and cluttered, this approach may be tempting. Just know that these tools are still works in progress, and results vary by brand and model.
- Some users found that Claude would not respond to a simple “hack my TV” request, so more detailed prompts were needed.
- AI agents can make mistakes and disable packages the TV actually needs.
- One person said they bricked their Android TV, and another got stuck halfway through on a Fire TV.
- Changes like these could affect warranty support or future software updates.
Before you try it, write down your TV model, back up anything important and read the project notes carefully. If you are new to the tool, our Claude coding guide explains the basics. You can also learn how to manage Claude Code permissions, though for a TV hack it is smart to approve each step yourself.
If you would rather not let an AI agent near your TV, there are safer options. Home screen replacement apps such as ATV Launcher, Projectivity Launcher and FLauncher already let you customize Android-based TVs. For more on the assistant behind this trend, see our Claude AI overview or browse the latest on our AI news hub.
Sources
This report is based on coverage from TechCrunch, which gathered details from the cleanyourtv and dumbtv projects and posts by users who tried them.
Conclusion
Smart TVs keep adding ads and tracking, and some owners are now fighting back with AI. Using Claude Code and similar agents, people are removing bloat, blocking ACR tracking and building clean home screens in an afternoon. The results can be impressive, but the risks are real, from broken menus to a bricked TV. If you try it, go slowly, approve each change and keep the factory reset option in mind.
