Debloat and tune Android TV devices — disable bloat, switch launchers, sideload APKs, tweak HDMI-CEC and frame-rate matching, and pull health reports. Works on Nvidia Shield TV, Onn 4K Pro, Chromecast with Google TV, Google TV Streamer, and other Android TV devices. Every change is reversible.

There are two ways to run it. Pick one — you only need to read that version's section.

Both drive the same adb commands under the hood and share the same feature catalog. v1 isn't going away — it's the supported path if you'd rather stay in a terminal.

Enable ADB on the TV — once, regardless of which version you use:

1. Settings → Device Preferences → About → click Build 7 times (enables Developer Options).
2. Settings → Developer Options → turn on Network Debugging (a.k.a. USB/Network debugging).

The first time the tool connects, your TV shows an "Allow debugging?" prompt — accept it.

Light theme

A native desktop app — no PowerShell, no terminal, no scripting. It bundles its own adb (auto-downloaded on first launch), scans your network for devices on startup, and walks you through everything with a GUI. Dark and light themes with a Light / Dark / Auto toggle.

brew tap bryanroscoe/shield-optimizer
brew install --cask shield-optimizer

Homebrew strips the macOS quarantine flag for you, so the app opens with a normal double-click. Upgrade later with brew upgrade --cask shield-optimizer.

Grab the latest from the Releases page (current builds are tagged v2-… and marked pre-release during the beta):

These builds aren't code-signed yet, so your OS may warn on first launch. One-time dismissal:

• macOS (if you used the .dmg instead of Homebrew): the macOS 15+ dialog only offers Move to Trash / Done. Click Done, then run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Shield Optimizer.app", or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. (Homebrew installs skip this entirely.)
• Windows (SmartScreen): More info → Run anyway.
• Linux: chmod +x Shield*.AppImage before running the AppImage.

1. Launch the app. It scans your network and lists any Android TV devices found. (Or use Connect IP, Scan Network, or Pair PIN for Android 11+ devices.)
2. Accept the debugging prompt on your TV if asked.
3. Click your device to open it. Each tab is a feature:

A curated do-not-disable list blocks brick-tier disables from every path, and Recovery re-enables every disabled package if you ever need a clean slate.

Building from source / contributing? See v2/README.md.

The original cross-platform PowerShell tool. Same features, terminal UI. Requires PowerShell 7+.

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell; winget install --id Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

# Install Homebrew if you don't have it
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install PowerShell
brew install powershell

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y wget apt-transport-https software-properties-common
wget -q "https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -rs)/packages-microsoft-prod.deb"
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y powershell

pwsh ./Shield-Optimizer.ps1

docker run -it --rm --network host mcr.microsoft.com/powershell:latest

# Inside the container:
apt-get update && apt-get install -y iproute2
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://github.com/bryanroscoe/shield_optimizer/raw/refs/heads/main/Shield-Optimizer.ps1 -OutFile Shield-Optimizer.ps1
./Shield-Optimizer.ps1

Get the script: download Source code (zip) from the Releases page, or git clone https://github.com/bryanroscoe/shield_optimizer.git. Run it from the folder it lives in.

pwsh ./Shield-Optimizer.ps1

ADB tools download automatically on first run. A few flags:

pwsh ./Shield-Optimizer.ps1 -ForceAdbDownload   # re-download ADB tools
pwsh ./Shield-Optimizer.ps1 -LightMode          # force light theme
pwsh ./Shield-Optimizer.ps1 -DarkMode           # force dark theme

(Theme auto-detects your system setting; the flags only override it.)

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

• Disable over uninstall — changes are reversible (Restore / Optimize-again).
• Recovery — emergency re-enable of every disabled package.
• A do-not-disable list guards system-critical packages from every code path.

Use at your own risk. Modifying system apps carries some risk, but this tool prioritizes safe, reversible changes.

docs/FEATURES.md is the canonical, language-agnostic spec of every behavior — bloat lists, ADB commands, edge cases. Both versions are built against it; PRs that add or change a feature update it in the same commit.

• Debloat research from community guides including florisse.nl/shield-debloat
• Built with AI assistance (Gemini Pro and Claude) by an actual software engineer, tested on real devices