Hack your smart TV with Claude Code and add a screensaver with your revenue and calendar
He sent Claude Code the store listing for his TV and asked 'can you hack this?'. The agent walked him through removing ads, bloatware and tracking, sped up the menus and built a custom screensaver showing his revenue, calendar, weather and new Stripe payments.
Source
@doooyle on X · 2026-10-16
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-20.
What they did
He sent Claude Code the store listing for his TV and asked 'can you hack this?'. The agent walked him through removing ads, bloatware and tracking, sped up the menus and built a custom screensaver showing his revenue, calendar, weather and new Stripe payments.
Result (as claimed)
4.4 million views and 7.9k likes; he says it was super easy. TechCrunch featured it in its story on people making smart TVs dumb again.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo; Stripe: free plan, paid from 2.9% + 30¢.
Set it up
Define the job
Say exactly what you want done and what the agent may and may not do on your behalf.
Share only what is needed
Give Claude Code the minimum files or access required. Avoid sharing passwords in chat when a safer login flow exists.
Review the plan
Ask the agent to show its plan or draft before it acts, and approve each step that has real consequences.
Check the result
Confirm the outcome yourself (order placed, request sent, document understood) and keep a record.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Hack your smart TV with Claude Code and add a screensaver with your revenue and calendar What the original author did: He sent Claude Code the store listing for his TV and asked 'can you hack this?'. The agent walked him through removing ads, bloatware and tracking, sped up the menus and built a custom screensaver showing his revenue, calendar, weather and new Stripe payments. Reported result (as claimed by the author): 4.4 million views and 7.9k likes; he says it was super easy. TechCrunch featured it in its story on people making smart TVs dumb again. Source: https://x.com/doooyle/status/2111196679680540724 Tools they used: Claude Code, ADB, Stripe Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Hack your smart TV with Claude Code and add a screensaver with your revenue and calendar What the original author did: He sent Claude Code the store listing for his TV and asked 'can you hack this?'. The agent walked him through removing ads, bloatware and tracking, sped up the menus and built a custom screensaver showing his revenue, calendar, weather and new Stripe payments. Reported result (as claimed by the author): 4.4 million views and 7.9k likes; he says it was super easy. TechCrunch featured it in its story on people making smart TVs dumb again. Source: https://x.com/doooyle/status/2111196679680540724 Tools they used: Claude Code, ADB, Stripe Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Hack your smart TV with Claude Code and add a screensaver with your revenue and calendar What the original author did: He sent Claude Code the store listing for his TV and asked 'can you hack this?'. The agent walked him through removing ads, bloatware and tracking, sped up the menus and built a custom screensaver showing his revenue, calendar, weather and new Stripe payments. Reported result (as claimed by the author): 4.4 million views and 7.9k likes; he says it was super easy. TechCrunch featured it in its story on people making smart TVs dumb again. Source: https://x.com/doooyle/status/2111196679680540724 Tools they used: Claude Code, ADB, Stripe Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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Guides for this use case
How to build a custom Android TV or Google TV launcher with AI · How to add payments to vibe-coded apps · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code · How to remove ads and bloatware from your smart TV with AI
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