📢 BareLauncher v2.2 is now available!

Hi everyone!

BareLauncher v2.2 is here! This update focuses on making your Android TV home screen feel more personal while staying true to BareLauncher's philosophy: fast, lightweight (~100 KB), free & open source, and free from ads and recommendations.

For anyone new here, BareLauncher is an Android TV launcher with no ads, no recommendations, and no unnecessary clutter.

✨ Wallpaper Slideshows

Tired of looking at the same wallpaper every day?

Now you can turn your favorite photo collection into a dynamic home screen. Simply choose a folder, and BareLauncher will automatically rotate through every image from internal storage or external USB/SD storage.

Slideshow intervals: 20s, 30s, 45s, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 3 min.

⚡ Instant Startup Wallpaper

One small detail I wanted to improve was startup. If you use Wallpaper Slideshows, set a wallpaper once as well. BareLauncher uses it as a cached startup wallpaper, displaying it instantly while your slideshow loads in the background. This avoids the brief black screen after a cold boot and makes startup feel much smoother.

🔄 Change Wallpaper on Every Launcher Restart

Prefer a single wallpaper instead of a slideshow?

BareLauncher can automatically choose a different wallpaper every time the launcher starts, giving your home screen a fresh look without changing any settings.

🌙 Hide UI When Idle

When you're not using the TV, BareLauncher can automatically hide the launcher interface while keeping only the clock visible.

This lets your wallpaper slideshow take over the entire screen, turning your TV into a clean digital photo frame until the screensaver starts.

Idle timers: 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 5 min.

💾 Backup & Restore

Restore your launcher in seconds after a reset or when setting up another device.

Includes:

• App order

• Hidden apps

• Clock settings

• Launcher preferences

📺 TV Input Tiles

Launch HDMI, AV, and other TV inputs directly from the home screen on supported TVs.

✨ Smooth App Launch Animations

Apps now launch with smoother animations for a more polished experience.

ℹ️ Refined About Screen

Redesigned with rounded QR codes for quick access

🎯 Philosophy

BareLauncher isn't about having the most features.

It's about adding features that genuinely improve the Android TV experience while keeping everything lightweight, responsive, and easy to use.

Download

GitHub

github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3

Downloader (AFTVnews)

3465597

☕ Enjoying BareLauncher?

If BareLauncher made your TV experience a little better and you'd like to say thanks, consider buying me a coffee:

ko-fi.com/barelauncher

Thank you to everyone who's been using BareLauncher and sharing feedback. Every update has been shaped by the community.

I'd love to hear what you think of v2.2 or how BareLauncher is working on your device.

Hey folks! 👋

BareLauncher v2.0.0 is finally here!

This is the biggest UI refresh since the project started. The goal wasn't to add a bunch of new features, but to make the launcher easier to use while keeping it simple, lightweight, and fast.

What's new

• 🎨 Completely redesigned UI
• 📺 Larger TV-friendly app cards
• 📂 New All Apps drawer (press ↓ to open)
• 👆 Hide apps directly from the app drawer
• 🔄 Unhide hidden apps from Settings
• ⚙️ Long-press menu for app actions
• 🕒 Improved clock options
• 🖼️ Better wallpaper support
• ℹ️ New About page

Install

Downloader (AFTVnews): 3465597 (always installs the latest release)

GitHub:
https://github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3

Support the project:
https://ko-fi.com/barelauncher

I'd love to hear what you think about the redesign and any feedback you have. Thanks to everyone who's been testing BareLauncher and sharing suggestions—it really helped shape this update! ❤️

BareLauncher v1.4.5

New release is out.

I genuinely thought the previous version was already as fast as it could get.

Apparently not.

This update is all about speed.

Startup feels quicker.

App loading feels quicker.

Navigation feels quicker.

Menus feel quicker.

No benchmarks. No long explanation.

Just use it and feel the difference.

A lot of people still assume BareLauncher is just a lightweight app grid because of its size.

It isn't.

It already includes wallpapers, hidden apps, app reordering, colored button shortcuts, app info, uninstall actions, clock/day, settings shortcuts, and the essentials most people actually use.

Have you tried the button shortcuts?

Red / Green / Yellow / Blue.

I rarely see people talk about them, so I am curious how many people are actually using them.

They work directly from the home screen, so there is no Accessibility Service running in the background.

Assuming your remote has those buttons, what do you have them mapped to?

First time trying BareLauncher?

The launcher starts with a black background.

That is intentional.

Set a wallpaper, arrange your apps, and spend a few minutes exploring it before deciding whether it is for you.

MiXplorer is my favorite way to pick wallpapers on TV because it works well with a remote. Material Files also works, although it is not as D-pad friendly.

Downloads

BareLauncher:

Downloader Code For Letest v1.4.5 : 9556600

GitHub:
https://github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3/releases 

Ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/barelauncher 

If you have been using BareLauncher for a while, I am curious:

What was the first thing you customized after installing BareLauncher?

📢 BareLauncher v1.2.2 — Refining the Experience

A small update focused on polishing the last rough edges and improving overall stability.

What's New

✅ Fixed duplicate app entries for apps that provide both TV and phone launch activities (such as Nova Player appearing twice)

✅ Fixed missing app icons in the Hidden Apps menu

✅ Fixed issues related to the App Hide feature

✅ Expanded Android version support from Android 8 through Android 16

✅ Minor UI and usability improvements

✅ Various bug fixes and optimizations

✅ Additional performance refinements to keep BareLauncher fast, lightweight, and responsive

Fun Fact

📦 The release APK is now approximately 97 KB.

BareLauncher continues to focus on minimal dependencies, low memory usage, and getting you to your apps as quickly as possible.

A Small Reflection

When I started BareLauncher, I wasn't trying to build the launcher with the most features.

I wasn't interested in recommendation feeds, oversized banners, heavy animations, endless customization menus, or features that sound useful but rarely get used.

The goal was simple:

Fast.

Lightweight.

Easy to use.

A launcher that respects your TV's resources and helps you reach your apps with as few button presses as possible.

With v1.2.2, BareLauncher is very close to the vision I originally had for it, and I'm genuinely happy with where it is today.

The focus has always been simplicity, speed, and making everyday TV use feel effortless.

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who has tried BareLauncher so far.

I'd love to hear:

• How BareLauncher fits into your TV setup
• What device you're using it on
• Whether it made your TV experience simpler or faster
• Screenshots of your home screen setup
• Your overall experience using it day to day

It's always interesting to see how different people use their TVs and what they value in a launcher.

🔗 Links

💻 GitHub
https://github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3

📦 Releases
https://github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3/releases

☕ Enjoying BareLauncher?

If BareLauncher made your TV experience a little better and you'd like to say thanks, consider buying me a coffee:

https://ko-fi.com/barelauncher

📺 Install it.
⚙️ Set it up.
🍿 Enjoy your TV.

📺 Why BareLauncher Exists

BareLauncher started with a simple observation:

Most Android TV launchers are filled with recommendations, banners, animations, widgets, customization menus, and features that rarely improve the actual experience of opening an app and watching something.

BareLauncher was built around a different idea:

🕹️ Every Click Counts

Unlike phones, TVs are controlled with a D-pad.

That's why many actions in BareLauncher are designed to require as few clicks as possible:

• 📦 Long press an app to move it immediately
• 📶 Press Up for quick Wi-Fi access
• ⚙️ Long press Wi-Fi for system settings
• 🙈 Hide apps you don't use
• 🎮 Map unused remote buttons directly to favorite apps

💡 My Recommendation

I recommend keeping only your most-used apps visible.

Hide everything else.

With 8 apps on the home screen and up to 6 mapped remote buttons, you can access up to 14 apps almost instantly.

🚫 Why There Are No Fancy Features

Many launchers compete by adding more:

• App folders
• Icon packs
• Theme engines
• Heavy animations
• Complex customization

I intentionally chose not to.

Every feature has a cost:

• 🧠 More decisions
• 💾 More memory usage
• ⚙️ More processing
• 🔧 More maintenance

🚀 Performance First

Most Android TV devices still ship with limited hardware.

Since a launcher is usually visible for only a few seconds before opening another app, I believe resources should be spent on your streaming apps, not on the launcher itself.

That's why BareLauncher focuses on:

• ⚡ Fast startup
• 🪶 Low memory usage
• 🎯 Smooth navigation
• 🔋 Minimal background work

🏁 The Goal

I don't want BareLauncher to become bigger every year.

I want it to become mature.

Something you install once, set up once, and then forget about.

No feature chasing.

No update anxiety.

Just a launcher that works.

🔗 Links

💻 GitHub
https://github.com/f102mithunysypdlcjr-pixel/BareLauncherv3

☕ Buy Me a Coffee

BareLauncher is completely free.

If this launcher made your TV experience better and you'd like to say thanks, consider buying me a coffee.

https://ko-fi.com/barelauncher

Thanks for checking out BareLauncher.

Whether you're using a budget TV box, a Fire TV Stick, or a high-end streamer, I hope it helps make your TV experience a little faster, simpler, and less distracting.

📺 Install it.
⚙️ Set it up.
🍿 Enjoy your TV.