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Jarvis322/matinee

A calm, ad-free home screen for Google TV and Android TV that shows only the apps you installed, in your chosen order.

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Last commit
3 days ago

What is it?

Stock TV home screens fill most of the screen with promoted shows and ads. Matinee replaces that with a launcher that lists only your installed apps, in an order you pick, and shows your last played title so you can resume quickly.

Two layouts are available: a Row layout with the focused app's name large on the left, and a Grid layout with a favorites shelf above the full app list. Cards can be moved, renamed, grouped into folders, hidden, or locked behind a 4-digit parental PIN. Wallpapers, a clock, city weather, network name and a speed test are built in.

For TVs with a built-in tuner, Matinee adds a Live TV shortcut, and it shows the name and standby state of each HDMI-CEC device. An optional accessibility service can open Matinee when Home is pressed on TVs whose launcher keeps that button. The app is written in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose, supports seven languages, and has no account or analytics.

Key features

  • 01Shows only installed apps, ordered and grouped by you.
  • 02Row and Grid layouts with a favorites shelf.
  • 03Parental PIN for apps and optionally settings.
  • 04Last played title, artwork and progress from media-session apps.
  • 05HDMI-CEC device names and power state, plus a Live TV shortcut on tuner TVs.
  • 06Optional Home button handling via an accessibility service.

Use cases

  • Replacing a cluttered Google TV or Android TV home screen with a clean app list.
  • Giving children a restricted home screen with PIN-protected apps.
  • Keeping a TV's HDMI sources and last-watched show visible from one screen.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Join the matinee-testers group with your TV's Google account

  2. 2

    Open the test link and choose Become a tester

  3. 3

    Install Matinee on your TV from the Play Store

  4. 4

    Build from source: run the Gradle debug build

    ./gradlew assembleDebug

Things to know

  • Google Play version is in beta testing and requires joining a tester group.
  • The Home button option needs the Google Play version on Android 13 and later.
  • Requires Google TV or Android TV 8 or later.

In collections

Android apps & phone tools

Topics

#android-tv#google-tv#launcher#kotlin#jetpack-compose#home-screen#parental-controls

FAQ

What is matinee?
A calm, ad-free home screen for Google TV and Android TV that shows only the apps you installed, in your chosen order. Stock TV home screens fill most of the screen with promoted shows and ads. Matinee replaces that with a launcher that lists only your installed apps, in an order you pick, and shows your last played title so you can resume quickly.
Is matinee free to use? What license does it have?
matinee is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is matinee still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to matinee was on Nov 3, 2026.
What can I use matinee for?
Replacing a cluttered Google TV or Android TV home screen with a clean app list. Giving children a restricted home screen with PIN-protected apps. Keeping a TV's HDMI sources and last-watched show visible from one screen.
How do I install matinee?
Join the matinee-testers group with your TV's Google account Open the test link and choose Become a tester Install Matinee on your TV from the Play Store Build from source: run the Gradle debug build: ./gradlew assembleDebug
Where can I get matinee?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/Jarvis322/matinee

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