Redesigning Your Smart TV with Claude Code: Removing Ads and the Options for Fire TV

You switch on your television and are immediately shown advertisements, recommendations and apps you do not actually want to use. Sound familiar? You are not alone. The home screen can quickly feel overloaded, especially on older smart TVs. Since October 2026, a new open-source project has demonstrated how an AI coding assistant can change the appearance of your Android TV. But is it really that straightforward? And what about Amazon’s Fire TV?

What is CleanYourTV?

On 17 October 2026, developer Gathin T. demonstrated how he had used Claude Code to tidy up his parents’ Android television. Instead of the previous interface, it displayed a streamlined home screen with a clock and a few app tiles. The experiment became the open-source project CleanYourTV. It provides instructions, tools and its own launcher: the interface that appears when you press the Home button on your remote control.

The idea is to let a coding assistant carry out the technical inventory instead of finding and painstakingly configuring every application individually. You decide which apps should remain. The project is free to use, although a paid AI service may incur separate costs.

Importantly, Claude Code is not itself a new television operating system. The assistant runs commands through familiar developer tools, helps with the selection process and can create or install the alternative home screen. According to the project, other coding assistants with command-line access are also suitable.

How does AI change the interface?

On Android TV and Google TV, the project uses the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This interface allows a computer to communicate with a television once its owner has enabled the developer features and authorised the connection.

The usual process has three parts:

1. Inventory and backup: The project records installed apps and settings so that changes remain traceable.
2. Targeted cleanup: Unnecessary preinstalled packages and certain advertising or telemetry services are disabled rather than permanently deleted, where the device permits it.
3. A new home screen: A small launcher mainly shows the apps you have selected. Colours, arrangement and, in some cases, background images can be customised.

This can make everyday television use more pleasant. Whether the device actually becomes faster depends on its hardware, firmware and the services disabled. A blanket promise of improved performance would not be responsible.

Does it also work with Amazon Fire TV?

This is where things become interesting, but also more complicated. Not all Fire TV devices are the same. Many older models and certain current devices use the Android-based Fire OS. Amazon, however, protects its own home screen more tightly than conventional Android TV manufacturers.

The original CleanYourTV project therefore lists only the cleanup functions as regularly supported for Fire TV. It does not promise a complete replacement of the default home screen.

There is a further development, however: fire-tv-cleanup, by developer Andrew Saad. The fork describes tests including a Hisense Fire TV Edition running Fire OS 8 and a Fire TV device running Fire OS 7. It uses a form of redirection: when the Amazon home screen appears, it opens the custom interface where possible. Amazon’s interface remains in the system and may briefly become visible. This is a technical workaround, not a complete replacement for Fire OS.

The developers’ reports describe an interesting approach, but do not prove that it works reliably on every Fire TV Stick. Amazon updates, the device model and the system version can change its behaviour.

Caution: New Fire TV Sticks with Vega OS are different

Amazon now uses Vega OS, which is not based on Android, on some newer Fire TV Sticks. According to Amazon’s device list, examples include the Fire TV Stick 4K Select (2025), the Fire TV Stick HD (2026) and the third-generation Fire TV Stick 4K (2026).

This distinction is essential here: the Android tools and launchers used by CleanYourTV cannot simply be transferred to Vega OS. Anyone with a current Fire TV Stick should first check the exact model name and operating system, rather than blindly following instructions for Fire OS.

Is it safe? Points to consider

A custom launcher sounds appealing. Nevertheless, the project makes relatively deep changes to the television’s configuration. Disabling the wrong packages can break important functions, including voice control, streaming apps, input sources or system settings. Updates can also undo modifications that previously worked.

Before attempting it, I would therefore check the following:

• Identify the exact model and operating system. “Fire TV” or “Google TV” alone is not specific enough.
• Use only the official project code. Do not download unknown APKs or package collections from third-party sites.
• Back up first and understand recovery. The project provides ways to reverse changes, but recovery is not guaranteed in every failure scenario.
• Do not disable anything blindly. Pay particular attention to the launcher, settings, keyboard, networking, voice assistant and update functions.
• Turn ADB off again after setup. A debugging interface should not remain unnecessarily accessible on the network.

A simplified home screen also does not automatically mean that no data is transmitted at all. Streaming apps, operating system components and connected services may continue to process data.

Practical example: A television for your four main apps

Imagine using your Android TV almost exclusively for YouTube, Netflix, a catch-up TV service and music. Instead of navigating through advertising panels and rows of recommendations each time, you want to see only those four apps after switching it on.

On a compatible Android TV device, CleanYourTV can set up a custom home screen for this. The coding assistant helps review existing packages and arrange the apps. What matters is that you understand and approve every proposed change. On a Fire TV device, the first step would instead be to establish whether only cleanup is possible or whether the experimental redirection approach works.

If you are unfamiliar with developer options, you do not need to turn to AI immediately. It is often worth checking the television’s normal settings first: limit recommendations, hide unused apps, turn off automatic previews and move the most important apps to the front. This is less flexible, but usually involves considerably less risk.

Conclusion: An interesting AI project with clear limits

CleanYourTV offers a clear example of how AI assistants can help in everyday life. They can do more than write text; they can also help customise existing devices. On compatible Android TV and Google TV devices, the project can produce a pleasantly simple home screen.

The situation is more complicated with Fire TV. Early adaptations exist for Android-based Fire OS, but complete replacement of Amazon’s launcher is not reliably possible. The Android method is unsuitable for Vega OS. Anyone wishing to try it should therefore check their model first, create backups and avoid approving automatic changes without reviewing them.

Perhaps that is the most interesting aspect of this development: AI alone does not improve the television. It makes tools that have technically existed for some time more accessible, while still demanding responsible use.

Sources and further reading

• CleanYourTV – original project and instructions
• CleanYourTV – project website
• fire-tv-cleanup – experimental Fire OS extension
• Amazon Developer: Fire OS and model overview

Editorial information current as of 27 October 2026. The device modifications described may change following system or project updates.