How to Move Sideloaded Home Automation Scripts Between Android TV

Updated 2026-10-29

Migration guide moving sideloaded home‑automation scripts from another Android device

Why move sideloaded home automation scripts at all

Home automation on Android TV often lives in scripts stored on the local filesystem of a single box. When that box dies, or you switch providers, those scripts vanish unless you bring them along. CleanYourTV makes the export and import of such scripts practical, but doing it wrong can break scenes, orphan services, or leave stale scripts on the old device.

The migration is especially common among users who flash custom launcher themes, YAY/MaxPro packages, or custom .tvsuite and scriptext bundles onto a stick. Because those entries are not part of the Play Store, Android TV does not track them with the usual app-permission machinery, so a simple copy of the files rarely works.

Preparing your source Android TV for export

Start from a clean state on the old device. Remove any unused custom scripts first; leaving them in risks duplicate actions when the target TV loads the same bundle twice.

Open Settings > Apps & feature blocks. Disable unknown sources except for the source TV and CleanYourTV. This avoids accidental execution of stray files during export.
Record the paths of every script you plan to migrate. Common locations are /sdcard/Android/data/com.myscript.app/files/, /data/data/com.myscript.app/, and the scriptext folder under the app’s private directory.
Export each script individually with CleanYourTV’s “Export Apps & Scripts” tool. Choose Full Package and verify that the export log shows no errors. If an export fails, note the script name and re-run the extraction until success.

Transferring the scripts to the destination Android TV

Copy the exported package via USB or a secure file sync (e.g., Syncthing) to the new device. Do not unpack the package on the destination device before importing it, because the launcher index will reject a nested .tvsuite archive placed manually outside of CleanYourTV’s managed path.

On the target TV, run CleanYourTV’s “Import Scripts” function, point it at the copied folder, and let the import map the bundle IDs. After import, restart the launcher and confirm that each script registers as an active scene. If a script does not activate, check the service status screen: missing scripts usually show up as “disabled” entries rather than disappear.

Trade-offs: keeping the old device versus a full wipe

You can keep both devices running simultaneously and compare script behavior after the migration. That approach costs a bit of storage on the old hardware and keeps two accounts in sync. The simpler route, preferred by most users, is a full wipe of the source device and a fresh install from scratch. It eliminates hidden conflicts but means you lose anything on the old TV that CleanYourTV cannot see, including some native smart TV integrations that rely on the original system partition.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Duplicate scene triggers: this happens when the same script ID is loaded from two different sources. CleanYourTV prevents duplicates by overwriting the first entry, so delete the first installation before importing the second copy.
Orphaned services: if a script references a media stream set that no longer exists on the target TV, playback breaks. Review each migrated script against the target device’s app list.
Permission loss: sideloaded scripts sometimes carry custom permission files (permissions.xml). Copy those alongside the bundle; omitting them silently disables the script.

Final checklist before you call the migration complete

Confirm all scripts report as active in CleanYourTV’s service list.
Run a 48-hour stress test: trigger each script on boot and during evening use.
Back up the new script config, then disable the source device’s power cycle or network to ensure no drift occurs.

With the exported and imported scripts documented, the new Android TV setup mirrors the old one without carrying over the clutter of its previous environment. CleanYourTV gives you a structured way to move custom home automation across devices without losing scenes or breaking the launcher.