SmartTube: sideloading only, a VegaOS dead end, and a build machine that was infected
Browse media content with your own rules on Android TV
At a glance
- What is it?
- SmartTube is a free and open-source media client for Android TVs and TV boxes that is published on no app store, so it is installed by sideloading an APK. Its README opens with a security disclosure about infected build machines, and it will not run on Fire Stick 4k Select or newer hardware that has moved to Amazon's VegaOS.
- Who is it for?
- Use SmartTube if you have an Android TV or TV box, you are willing to sideload an APK and keep it current with its built-in updater, and the features you want, adjustable playback speed, 8K, 60fps, HDR, SponsorBlock, live chat, are worth the maintenance. Do not use it on a phone, a tablet, a Samsung Tizen or LG webOS set, or a Fire Stick 4k Select or newer, since those are excluded by the project itself.
- Can I use it commercially?
- Yes. MIT is a permissive licence: you can use, modify and sell software built on it, as long as you keep its copyright and licence notices.
- Is it still maintained?
- Yes. The repository last received commits 2 days ago.
- What is it written in?
- Mainly Java, according to GitHub's language statistics.
Answers come from the project's GitHub data, last synced on November 12, 2026, and from our analysis. They are not legal advice.
Star history
- yuliskov/SmartTube36,241 ★ · +2,858
| Repository | 2026-09-13 | 2026-11-12 |
|---|---|---|
| yuliskov/SmartTube | 33.4k | 36.2k |
2,858 Stars in the last 60 days, measured from the daily GitHub snapshot. Compare with other projects
Editorial analysis
The readme opens by disclosing an infection on the build machine
Before any feature list, the README carries an announcement about the app's own security history, and it deserves to be read in full rather than skimmed. The development environment was infected by unknown malicious software, as a result of which a few builds may have been affected. Once detected, the author secured everything with a full disk wipe, restored a clean setup, and states that all builds are now scanned with VirusTotal, with the F-Droid version verified before release. Public keys may have been compromised, which is the stated reason for telling the public at all.
The mitigation offered is proportionate rather than hand-wavy. A new version and a new public key are published, with instructions for restoring backups, and the author notes that no extra action is required because the app uses one-time connection codes with very limited permissions, for example they cannot change your password, and that they can still be revoked for full peace of mind.
The revocation procedure is four steps at myaccount.google.com/security: find the section for connections to third-party apps and services, tap see all connection, locate YouTube TV or Google Drive, and remove access. The closing instruction is to keep built-in security features enabled.
There is no app store version, and the project names what to avoid
The installation section carries a warning in bold: do not download SmartTube from any app store, APK website or blog, because those copies were uploaded by other people and may contain malware or ads. The project states plainly that it is not officially published on any app store. It is also distributed through F-Droid, linked from the top of the README.
There are two channels, a beta release described as recommended because it gets new features and bug fixes faster, and a stable release. Four install routes are offered. The easiest is Downloader by AFTVnews on the TV, into which you enter the short link `kutt.to/stn_beta` or `kutt.to/stn_stable` and then confirm the security prompts, or the numeric codes 79015 for beta and 28544 for stable, which need an extra addon step. The others are a file transfer app, a USB stick with a file manager from Google Play or the Amazon Appstore such as FX File Explorer or X-plore, and ADB for advanced users.
Two warnings attach to those routes. Android's preinstalled file manager does not work, and the README names FileCommander as ad-infested and tells you not to use it.
Fire Stick 4k Select and newer cannot run it at all
There is a hard device boundary and it is a hardware one rather than a settings one. Starting in October 2025, new Amazon FireTV devices no longer run Android under the hood, and SmartTube will not be compatible with the Fire Stick 4k Select and newer devices, which run Amazon's own VegaOS.
The supported list draws the line in time rather than in model name: all FireTV devices released before October 2025, all Android TVs and TV boxes including the NVIDIA Shield and Chromecast with Google TV, and even older sets running Android 4.3 KitKat. So the newer Fire Stick hardware cannot run it, and nothing in the app can change that, because there is no Android underneath to run it on.
The unsupported list is equally explicit: smartphones, and non-Android platforms such as Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Apple TV. That answers a large share of what people search for, because a phone install is something this project says it does not support, and the Limitations list says the same of tablets.
Chromecast with Google TV needs two settings turned off by default
On Chromecast with Google TV, app installation is blocked by default, so the project documents a two-step unlock. First, developer options: open the side menu, go to Settings, then System, then About, scroll to the Android TV OS build entry and click it repeatedly until the toast message appears telling you that you are a few steps away from being a developer. Second, go back to the main Settings page, choose Apps, then Security and Restrictions, then Unknown sources, and turn on the toggle for Downloader by AFTVnews or whichever file browser you decided to use.
After that, the general installation guide applies.
Worth being clear about what those two steps are. The unknown-sources toggle is turned on for Downloader by AFTVnews or whichever file browser you chose, not for SmartTube itself.
Chinese Xiaomi firmware blocks the beta, and the answer is the stable build
Regional firmware turns out to decide which channel you can use. Xiaomi's Chinese firmware might block the installation of the beta version, while the international firmware is not affected. The project offers solutions in order, and the first one is to use SmartTube's stable version instead, which is marked as the recommended route. The second is to use the international firmware for the device.
This is worth understanding as a class of problem rather than a Xiaomi quirk. An APK that installs on international firmware and refuses to install on regional firmware is not broken; it is being blocked before it runs, and no amount of troubleshooting inside the app will help. If a sideloaded app will not appear on a device, the firmware region is a faster thing to check than the APK itself.
A crash on launch is usually the SD card, and a failed install is usually disk space
The troubleshooting section is short and concrete, and it covers two failures. If installation fails, the cause is either that your disk space is full or that the APK file did not download correctly, so the advice is to clear up space and download again. If the app installed but crashes when opening, the advice is to make sure it is installed to internal memory rather than an SD card or other external storage.
The README's advice for a crash on opening is to install to internal memory, not to an SD card or external storage.
Updates are handled by a built-in updater that carries its own changelog, so the app can keep itself current once it is running. The full changelog is also published on a Telegram channel that is readable without an account, and on the GitHub releases page, which is also where the two direct download links live.
The tree carries its own ExoPlayer fork and the Leanback TV libraries
The repository layout explains a few things about how the app is built. The application module is smarttubetv/, and beside it sit MediaServiceCore and SharedModules for the shared service and utility code, chatkit/ for the live chat feature, and a set of player related modules including doubletapplayerview/ and slidableactivity/.
Two entries are vendored dependencies rather than application code. exoplayer-amzn-2.10.6/ is a copy of the ExoPlayer media stack from Amazon at that version, and fragment-1.1.0/ is a copy of the AndroidX fragment library.. leanback-1.0.0/ and leanbackassistant/ are the Android TV Leanback libraries, which are the UI toolkit a television app is expected to use and which is part of why the interface is described as TV optimised.
The rest is release and translation plumbing: fastlane/ for store and release automation, crowdin.yml for the community translations the README invites, gradlew and gradlew.bat with a settings.gradle and a build.gradle, a PRIVACY.md, and a .reuse/ directory for licence metadata.
Editorial conclusion
Use SmartTube if you have an Android TV or TV box, you are willing to sideload an APK and keep it current with its built-in updater, and the features you want, adjustable playback speed, 8K, 60fps, HDR, SponsorBlock, live chat, are worth the maintenance. Do not use it on a phone, a tablet, a Samsung Tizen or LG webOS set, or a Fire Stick 4k Select or newer, since those are excluded by the project itself. Before you install anything: read the security notice at the top of the README, take the APK from the project's own releases page or F-Droid rather than an app store or an APK site, keep the built-in security features on, and check whether you have an old Google account connection to revoke at myaccount.google.com/security.
Frequently asked questions
Is SmartTube still safe?
The project discloses that its development environment was infected by unknown malicious software and that a few builds may have been affected, followed by a full disk wipe and a clean setup. All builds are now scanned with VirusTotal and the F-Droid version is verified before release, and the app uses one-time connection codes with very limited permissions, which cannot change your password and can be revoked from your Google account security page.
Is SmartTube discontinued?
The repository is not archived and the last push was 2026-10-04, with 32.68 Stable published 2026-10-20 and 32.68 Beta on 2026-10-17. The app also has a built-in updater with a changelog, and releases are published on GitHub and on a Telegram channel readable without an account.
How do I install SmartTube on an Android TV?
The easiest route is Downloader by AFTVnews on the TV, entering `kutt.to/stn_beta` for the beta build or `kutt.to/stn_stable` for the stable one, or the numeric codes 79015 and 28544 with the addon step. You can also transfer the APK with a file app, copy it on a USB stick with FX File Explorer or X-plore, or sideload with ADB. Android's preinstalled file manager does not work.
How do I install SmartTube on Google TV?
On Chromecast with Google TV, app installation is blocked by default. Click the Android TV OS build entry in Settings, System, About repeatedly to trigger developer options, then turn on the unknown sources toggle under Apps, Security and Restrictions, Unknown sources for Downloader by AFTVnews or your chosen file browser. After that the normal installation guide applies.
How do I use SmartTube on a Samsung TV?
You cannot. The unsupported list names non-Android platforms explicitly, including Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Apple TV, alongside smartphones. Supported hardware is Android TVs and TV boxes, all FireTV devices released before October 2025, the NVIDIA Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, and sets as old as Android 4.3 KitKat.
How do I use SmartTube on a Fire Stick?
On Fire Stick models released before October 2025, yes, using the sideload route. On the Fire Stick 4k Select and newer devices it will not work, because those run Amazon's own VegaOS rather than Android, and the project states it will not be compatible with them.
Official sources
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