FlamedTV Launcher is a 'replacement' for Amazon's Home/Launcher app which does not show sideloaded apps.
NOTE: Do to a legal request from Amazon, the name of this launcher was recently changed to 'FlamedTV Launcher'
While it's not possible (yet/without root) to actually replace the launcher app, FlamedTV effectively does this by watching for Amazon's launcher being opened, and then immediately launches itself. Because of this, you will see Amazon's home screen flash on the screen very briefly after pressing the home button, before FlamedTV Launcher appears.
First, head over to the Releases Page and get the latest version .apk file.
Once you've downloaded the file, follow these steps:
adb connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
to connect to your FireTV where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of your FireTVadb install /path/to/com.altusapps.firedtvlauncher-1.x.x.apk
to install the app to your deviceTo update to a newer version of this app, first you must uninstall the old version.
You can do this on the FireTV itself (Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications > FireTV Launcher > Uninstall)
Or, you can use adb:
adb connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
to connect to your FireTV where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of your FireTVadb uninstall com.altusapps.firedtvlauncher
Now you can simply reinstall the app following the instructions from the "Installation" process.
If you looked at the source, you may have noticed that there's no Java. That's because this was written entirely in C# using Xamarin! C# is awesome, go use Xamarin!
Obviously this launcher is very simple, and there's not much to it. I'm planning on adding some Settings configuration within the app, so you can do things like hide apps, reorder them, hide labels, change colors, etc.
If you have a feature you really want, open an issue here!
Do you like this project? I'd be ever so grateful if you bought me a beer! Donate now, via PayPal