AI vibe coding tools that debloat your smart TV
Your smart TV is a great device wrapped in a bad software experience. Sponsored videos on the home screen, preloaded apps you never asked for, Alexa baked in whether you want it or not, and background data collection you probably never opted into. A small corner of the developer community has decided to fix this themselves, and AI coding agents are making it faster than ever to build the fix.
️ Tools Already Built
Two open source projects are worth bookmarking if you want to strip your TV back to basics.
- dumbtv: Targets ads, tracking features, experiments, Alexa, and selected preinstalled apps. Billed as a way to give users more control over what runs on the device. Changes are reversible.
- Cleanyourtv: Works with Android TV and Google TV devices over Wi-Fi. Removes unnecessary software and swaps the default home screen for a cleaner layout inspired by Apple TV. Also reversible.
Developer Cretezy has taken this further with a full ad-free Android TV setup that replaces several parts of the default experience. It includes a clean home screen, a YouTube alternative, a media manager, and the ability to remap buttons on the TV remote. An AI agent can handle installation and tune the setup for a specific TV model.
Claude Code as a Custom Solution
Beyond prebuilt tools, users are prompting AI coding agents directly. One user asked Claude Code to remove advertisements, unnecessary applications, and tracking software from their specific TV. The agent walked them through the entire process step by step.
This is the vibe coding pattern applied to consumer hardware: describe the outcome you want, let the agent figure out the implementation. Tasks that used to take days or weeks of manual research are reportedly compressing to hours.
The Operator Takeaway
If you manage devices for a household, a rental property, or an office, this pattern is worth watching. The tooling is still rough and project-specific, but the direction is clear: AI is lowering the skill floor for hardware customization the same way it has for software development.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
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