Best Open-Source Android TV Launchers for Plex and Kodi

Updated 2026-11-02

Top open‑source Android TV launchers compatible with Plex and Kodi.

Why choose an open-source launcher on Android TV

The default Plex TV app has improved, but it still lacks a slick launcher for browsing media alongside the built-in player. Open-source launchers such as Starmon and Yay give you a blank slate to arrange tiles, add widgets, and launch apps without branding clutter. On a device like the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, a well-curated launcher makes the difference between a functional couch potato remote and a genuine media hub. This guide walks you through three of the most capable options, how they integrate with Plex and Kodi, and what trade-offs to expect.

Starmon: the hands-on media launcher

Starmon is the go-to choice for power users who want total control over the Android TV home screen. It installs via sideloaded APKs from GitHub releases and offers granular tile placement, custom backgrounds, and per-tile shortcut buttons. The launcher supports Android TV remotes and voice input, making it easy to set up without touching a PC.

When it comes to media apps, Starmon can launch Plex Media Players, Kodi, and even custom players like Infuse. Its biggest advantage is that the launcher itself remains minimal: no prettified branding, no extra menus, just the tiles you place. That matters when you want a clean TV experience alongside Plex’s adaptive streaming.

On the downside, the UI is less polished than commercial alternatives, and some feature tweaks feel experimental. You may need to update the launcher manually to pick up new Android TV API changes. In testing on a Shield TV Pro, battery drain from background services can be noticeable if you keep many tiles alive simultaneously.

YAY Launcher: the flexible alternative

YAY Launcher is newer than Starmon but quickly gains traction because it balances polish with open-source transparency. It ships with a drag-and-drop tile editor, built-in support for Plex’s web playlist sync, and a settings menu that exposes network preferences for each tile.

For Plex specifically, YAY integrates nicely: it can read your library tags, show live playback status, and let you pin the Plex app tile directly to the home screen without a separate widget layer. With Kodi, the integration is similar—both run as native Android TV apps, though Kodi’s Android TV build currently runs only on the TV and tablet form factors.

Trade-offs to consider: YAY uses a fair amount of memory when you have dozens of tiles, and its animation choices sometimes freeze briefly on low-end hardware. If your Shield TV Pro has a dedicated GPU, the impact is reduced. The community forum is active, and the source code is open, so feature requests are responsive.

Setting up and keeping media tidy

Both launchers require you to install the Plex and Kodi APKs yourself because the stock launcher won’t auto-add them in a clean setup. Start by downloading the latest Starmon or YAY APK from the official GitHub release page. Apply the installer, reboot into the new home screen, and then use the built-in tile wizard to add Plex as a media player and Kodi as a tile app.

One practical pattern is to keep Plex and Kodi in separate rows: Plex tile in the top-left for quick access to your library, Kodi in a bottom row for deeper library browsing. Add a third row of utility tiles—Weather, Calendar, or a Google Search shortcut—so the media tiles stay large and usable. Avoid cramming too many tiles onto a small remote-friendly screen; a 55-inch TV with a D-pad remote benefits from generous spacing.

Key things to remember during setup:

Pin both Plex and Kodi to the home screen; otherwise, navigation back and forth becomes a chore.
Set each app to use “open in recent view” so tiles feel familiar over time.
Configure the launcher’s tile size for your remote: smaller tiles load faster on legacy Bluetooth remotes.
Test a quick buffer of both apps before committing to a full screen layout.

Which launcher fits your workflow?

If you value absolute control and plan to wire every tile by hand, Starmon is the stronger option. Its lack of marketing overhead means fewer hidden data calls and a simpler security surface. If you prefer a more guided setup with built-in Plex tag support and smoother animations, YAY is the better pick.

Neither launcher replaces the core Plex or Kodi apps—they augment the home screen they do. Choose based on how much manual arrangement you want versus how much polish you want out of the box. Both projects are open-source, so you can also tweak the source code if a specific bug keeps popping up.

PLEX KODI side-by-side: a quick run-down

Plex: great for direct streaming, works well with both launchers for tile placement; treat the Plex app as the primary library index.
Kodi: best added via the launcher’s “Add media library” flow; both launchers can pin Kodi tiles and expose playback info on the home screen.
Common gotcha: both launchers can struggle with background rendering when both Plex and Kodi trigger simultaneous transcoding; using a single transcoder app alongside the launcher avoids duplicate encoding.

With either launcher in place, your Android TV feels less like a TV box and more like a unified media center. Start with Starmon for pure customization, switch to YAY if you want smoother defaults, and test both against your actual Plex playlists before locking in the final layout.