ATV Desktop Remote

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A simple menubar app that allows you to control an Apple TV from your desktop

Download

macOS, Windows & Linux releases are available here: Releases

Python 3.9+ is required, and can be downloaded from python.org

Minimum Requirements: macOS 11 (Big Sur), Windows 10, Ubuntu 18.04, Fedora 32, Debian 10

Usage

1. All of the keys are mapped to the keyboard when the application is open (pressing return or enter on the keyboard for select, delete for Menu, etc).
2. To see what the characters are mapped to when the application is open, click the question mark icon.

FAQ

1. Apple TV will not pair
   • Make sure the Apple TV is on the same network as the computer running the application
   • Make sure Settings -> AirPlay and HomeKit -> Allow Access is set to either Everyone or Anyone on the Same Network and not Only People Sharing This Home
2. I don't see an option for entering text
   • You may need to pair with your ATV again
   • You have to enter 2 codes instead of 1 because sending text to search fields uses a different protocol
3. The application cannot be opened (“ATV Remote.app” is damaged and can’t be opened)
   • This is an artifact of the macOS quarantine of unsigned applications
   • You can bypass it by running xattr -c /Applications/ATV\ Remote.app
4. Where is the application's data stored?
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application\ Support/ATV\ Remote/
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\ATV Remote
   • Linux:~/.local/share/ATV\ Remote/

Running

1. Run npm install or yarn
2. Run npm start or yarn start
3. The application runs in the menubar. Look for a tiny remote icon and click on it. Right-click for more options.
4. The first time the app runs it will need to pair with an Apple TV. You can pair with more than one.
5. Press CmdOrCtrl+Shift+0 to open the application from anywhere.
   • Can be customized: Menubar -> ATV Icon (right click) -> Change hotkey/accelerator
   • A valid accelerator pattern will be stored in hotkey.txt

Building

1. electron-builder is used to create a standalone application
2. npm run build builds your local environment
   • npm run build -- --mac --win --linux builds macOS, Windows, & Linux
3. Packages are stored in dist/
4. Pushing a new release tag (v1.x.x) also triggers a build & release with GitHub Actions
5. To update the application's screenshot: python generate_screenshot.py
6. To increment the semvar version number: python fixversion.py 1.2.3
   • This will prompt you to update package locks in both . and app/

Notes

This is a fork of the original project: bsharper/atv-desktop-remote

This project is built using pyatv.

Support the original author bsharper: