Overview

Kite AOS is a modern, open-source Android kiosk application designed to transform tablets into dedicated smart home dashboards. While optimized for Home Assistant, it is designed for any use case requiring a persistent, locked-down web-view interface (e.g., industrial panels, information kiosks, or dedicated web-resource controllers).

Originally developed to solve my personal smart home setup needs, the platform is highly modular. I'm always open to discussions and feature requests to expand its capabilities. Feel free to open an issue!

Core Features

• Versatile Web Kiosk: Display any web-based interface in a full-screen, locked-down environment. Choose between Android WebView and GeckoView (Firefox) engines.
• Motion-Aware Intelligence: Automatic display wake-up via CameraX (Luma analysis), eliminating external hardware requirements.
• MQTT & HA Discovery: Seamless integration with Home Assistant. Device state, battery, and motion data are exposed automatically.
• Clean Architecture: A modular system comprising 40+ independent modules for maximum scalability.
• Kiosk Lockdown: Full restriction of navigation gestures, status bars, and system notifications.

Functional Capabilities

Feature	Description
Browser Engine	Switchable engine: Android WebView (default) or GeckoView (Firefox) for better WebRTC/camera support.
Control Drawer	Side panel (Haze blur) for WebView navigation control and a launcher for whitelisted apps.
Hardware Management	Automated screen dimming and forced locking after periods of inactivity.
Onboarding Wizard	Step-by-step configuration for system permissions and MQTT connectivity.
Custom Launcher	Set Kite as the default Android launcher to prevent users from leaving the kiosk.
Auto-Return to Kiosk	Automatically returns to the dashboard 30 s after leaving to an external app.
Watchdog & Auto-Reload	Monitors the dashboard URL with a 45 s HTTP ping loop; reloads the WebView on detected failures.
Network Recovery	Detects connectivity loss and automatically reloads the dashboard on restoration.
Config Import / Export	Back up and restore all settings as a JSON file via the system file picker.
HA Auto-Discovery	Scans the local network for Home Assistant instances and populates the dashboard URL automatically.

Technical Specifications

• Framework: Jetpack Compose for the native UI layer.
• State Management: Orbit MVI.
• Persistence: Proto DataStore for atomic, thread-safe configuration.
• Dependency Injection: Koin.
• Image Processing: Background-threaded Luma analysis for motion detection.
• Build System: Gradle Convention Plugins for centralized build logic.

Installation & Deployment

Quick Install

Download the latest APK directly from GitHub Releases — no build step required.

1. Download kite-*.apk from the latest release.
2. Enable "Install from unknown sources" on your device.
3. Install the APK and follow the onboarding wizard.

Build from Source

Prerequisites

• Android Studio Ladybug or newer
• JDK 21
• Android Device (API level 26+)

Build Instructions

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/andrew-malitchuk/kite-aos.git

# Generate debug APK
./gradlew assembleDebug

Setup

1. Deploy the APK to the target device.
2. Complete the initial configuration wizard to grant system-level permissions.
3. Configure the dashboard URL and MQTT broker credentials.

Roadmap

JTBD:

Feedback & Feature Requests

If you have ideas for new features or encounter issues, please open an issue in the repository to suggest improvements.

Troubleshooting

Check out the troubleshooting section for common problems and solutions. If you still need assistance, feel free to reach out support.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please follow the standard pull request process:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch.
3. Submit a PR with a detailed description of changes.

This project started as a personal tool to cover my specific use cases. If you need functionality that isn't currently supported, let's discuss it in the Issues section before submitting a PR.

---

Built with Jetpack Compose, Koin, and Orbit MVI.

License

Apache 2.0 License

Copyright (c) [2026] [Andrew Malitchuk]

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.