Repolode
Submit
ephraimduncan

ephraimduncan/hackertube.tv

An Android TV app that browses Hacker News-recommended videos from hackertube.org and plays them in the YouTube app on your TV.

View on GitHubWebsite
Stars
75
Forks
12
Open issues
1
Last commit
6 days ago

What is it?

HackerTube for TV is an Android TV client for hackertube.org, a site that curates videos recommended on Hacker News. It brings the site's pages (Home, Search, Longs, Liked, History, Watch later, Categories and Playlists) to the TV with a similar look. Pressing OK on a video hands the YouTube link to the YouTube app for TV, and the HackerTube screen returns when playback ends or Back is pressed.

Holding OK opens a video's detail page with a summary, the reason Hacker News recommends it, the HN comments and related videos. From there you can like a video, mark it "Not for me", or add it to Watch later. The app stores likes, history and the Watch later list on the TV itself, and the Home feed uses them through the same API the website uses.

The app is written in Kotlin with Compose for TV. It requires Android 8 or later and the YouTube app, and it is installed by sideloading the APK over adb. The project is not affiliated with HackerTube.

Key features

  • 01Browses Home, Search, Longs, Liked, History, Watch later, Categories and Playlists
  • 02Plays selected videos in the YouTube app on the TV
  • 03Detail page with summary, HN recommendation reason and HN comments
  • 04Like, mark as "Not for me" or save to Watch later
  • 05Home feed personalized with your likes and history

Use cases

  • Watching Hacker News-recommended videos on a living-room TV
  • Browsing tech talks and demos from the couch instead of a laptop
  • Sideloading a lightweight HN video viewer onto an Android TV or Google TV

Quick start

  1. 1

    Enable developer options and network debugging on the TV

  2. 2

    Download hackertube-tv.apk from the latest release

  3. 3

    Connect to the TV over ADB

    adb connect <tv-ip>:5555
  4. 4

    Install the app

    adb install hackertube-tv.apk

Things to know

  • Requires an Android TV or Google TV with Android 8 or later and the YouTube app.
  • Videos play in the YouTube app, so the YouTube app must be installed on the TV.
  • Building from source needs JDK 21 and Android SDK platform 37.

In collections

Android apps & phone tools

Topics

#android-tv#kotlin#jetpack-compose#hacker-news#youtube#video

FAQ

What is hackertube.tv?
An Android TV app that browses Hacker News-recommended videos from hackertube.org and plays them in the YouTube app on your TV. HackerTube for TV is an Android TV client for hackertube.org, a site that curates videos recommended on Hacker News. It brings the site's pages (Home, Search, Longs, Liked, History, Watch later, Categories and Playlists) to the TV with a similar look. Pressing OK on a video hands the YouTube link to the YouTube app for TV, and the HackerTube screen returns when playback ends or Back is pressed.
Is hackertube.tv free to use? What license does it have?
hackertube.tv is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is hackertube.tv still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to hackertube.tv was on Nov 1, 2026.
What can I use hackertube.tv for?
Watching Hacker News-recommended videos on a living-room TV Browsing tech talks and demos from the couch instead of a laptop Sideloading a lightweight HN video viewer onto an Android TV or Google TV
How do I install hackertube.tv?
Enable developer options and network debugging on the TV Download hackertube-tv.apk from the latest release Connect to the TV over ADB: adb connect <tv-ip>:5555 Install the app: adb install hackertube-tv.apk
Where can I get hackertube.tv?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/ephraimduncan/hackertube.tv

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

Related projects