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!

Telegram channel.

Demo

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.
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.
Screensaver	Image slideshow overlay with optional clock display; configurable activation delay and slide interval; dismisses automatically when motion is detected.
MJPEG Streaming	Streams the front camera as MJPEG over HTTP (/stream.mjpg, /snapshot.jpg). The stream URL is auto-published to Home Assistant via MQTT Discovery — no credentials or manual YAML required.
Auto-Reboot	Scheduled device reboots on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly interval at a configured time; keeps long-running kiosk deployments healthy.
Periodic WebView Refresh	Automatically reloads the dashboard at a configurable interval.
Reduce Motion	Disables Android animations globally for smoother performance on low-end hardware.
MQTT Remote Control	Bidirectional MQTT: control brightness, volume, FAB visibility, and receive device telemetry.
Analytics	Pluggable analytics provider (console logging; Firebase Crashlytics in GMS flavor).

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.
• Camera: CameraX — Luma analysis for motion detection; MJPEG streaming server at 640×480.
• MQTT: kmqtt-client-jvm with bidirectional telemetry and Home Assistant Discovery.
• Analytics: Pluggable provider pattern — console in FOSS, Firebase Crashlytics in GMS.
• Build System: Gradle Convention Plugins for centralized build logic.
• Build Flavors: foss (no GMS/Firebase) and gms (full Firebase suite).

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

The full roadmap is tracked in ROADMAP.md. Highlights currently in progress:

• Companion HA Entities — expose uptime, app version, IP address, and current URL as Home Assistant sensors.
• Inactivity Page Reset — navigate back to the home URL after a configurable idle period.
• Volume Button Gesture — open the control drawer by pressing a physical volume button N times.
• Time-Based Sleep / Wake Scheduler — define daily on/off rules without requiring Home Assistant automations.
• Remote MQTT Commands — accept inbound commands to control WebView navigation remotely.

Community-sourced items and votes live in GitHub Issues.

Community

Join the Telegram channel @kite_aos for:

• Feature discussions — suggest and vote on new capabilities
• Troubleshooting — get help from the community and maintainer
• Tips & tricks — share setups, automations, and HA integrations
• Release announcements — be the first to know about updates

Feedback & Feature Requests

For bug reports and tracked feature requests, open an issue on GitHub. For open-ended discussions and quick questions, use the Telegram channel.

Troubleshooting

Check out the troubleshooting section for common problems and solutions. For community support, join the Telegram channel @kite_aos — someone has likely seen your issue before.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide covering branch naming, code style, module structure, and the PR process.

This project started as a personal tool to cover my specific use cases. If you need functionality that isn't currently supported, open an issue first so we can align on scope before you invest time in a PR.

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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.