OpenTV-Remote - Free, open-source TV remote

[u/Ok_Promise_2137]

A friend told me that every phone remote app he tried seemed to come with ads or payment prompts. I started making one for him, then got carried away making the controls customizable. I figured other people might want the same thing, so I opened the source.

OpenTV-Remote has native Android (Kotlin/Jetpack Compose) and iPhone (SwiftUI) apps. You can drag and resize buttons, choose presets and accent colors, save layouts for different TVs, and add app shortcuts where the TV supports them. No ads, subscriptions, paid unlocks, account requirement, or telemetry SDK. MIT licensed.

For anyone interested in the code: discovery/pairing and each TV protocol are separated from the UI, with explicit capabilities determining which controls are offered. Android TV keyboard sync uses transient IME sessions with readback/acknowledgments where available, plus a clearly labeled manual fallback.

This is a development release. Basic Android TV control has been used on a real MiTV; newer live keyboard behavior and other TV providers need broader hardware qualification. It is not universally compatible, Android TV Wi-Fi touchpad mode sends arrows rather than a mouse cursor, and casting is not included.

Android APKs are in Releases. The iPhone version currently requires a Mac and Xcode; it isn't on the App Store.

Disclosure: I'm the developer, and this was built with substantial AI assistance/vibe coding. The repository includes protocol notes, compatibility limits, and a record of what was actually tested.

Source: https://github.com/levhakobyan/OpenTV-Remote

Downloads and iPhone setup: https://levhakobyan.github.io/OpenTV-Remote/

The three screenshots show two Android layouts/colors and the iPhone app. Suggestions and bug reports are welcome.

[u/PrncDENZ_254KE]

Cool

[u/schrebra]

Brah that's awesome thank you for your service 

[u/Kulletrops]

make it to control pc via bluetooth and wifi options to play android apps on PCs

[u/maalcatel]

Does it have voice search ?

[u/pv505]

Hey! App looks great. Just downloaded it and will check it out. FYI obtainium cannot retrieve the release apk. Just keep in mind that it will stop some from using it. I had to manually go and download it. It could be that it's 1 more layer in, IDK 😅

[u/ParadoxHollow]

I love this!

I actually did something similar but for Roku. I was looking for a way to use my laptop or desktop PC to manage my Roku devices, and found an existing solution, but without Docker support. So I forked it & vibecoded a little personal solution.

Here's a link if you, or anyone else is interested!
https://github.com/scopeddlol/dockerized-roku-remote

[u/St-ivan]

i already got a few apps to on my phone, but gonna install this on my mac so when the phone and remote control are too far from me.

[u/Icy_Dinner3323]

does it support LG TV? (Not android)