A VPN Client Built in 20 Minutes and a Broken Plex App Fixed: Claude Rescued His Chromecast at an Airbnb
- Level Advanced
- Setup1–3 hrs (estimated)
- Evidence Some evidence
- CostNot stated in source
- No-codeNo
What they did
A Plex update broke the UI on his Chromecast, with overlapping titles that made it unusable. He asked Claude to fetch the latest APK and fix it, and it did, checking with screenshots from the Chromecast. At an Airbnb, his Chromecast wouldn't connect to his IKEv2 home VPN. Claude found no existing client would work, so it wrote a new VPN client in about 20 minutes; he only supplied his certificates.
How it went
A working Plex UI and a working home VPN connection from the Chromecast, done in about 20 minutes for the VPN.
Worth knowing
- Hacker News comment by leptons (Oct 19, 2026 Denver time) on 'An ad-free Android TV': Claude patched a broken Plex APK and wrote a working IKEv2 VPN client for his Chromecast.
- Sideloaded or patched APKs don't auto-update and can carry risk; keep the originals and only install what you or the agent built.
Prompt
Cleaned version rewritten from the source — not a direct quote.
My [Chromecast/Android TV] has a problem: [describe]. Connect over ADB at [IP] and diagnose it. If an app is broken, try the latest official version first. If you need to patch or build anything, tell me the plan, keep a backup of the original APK, and verify with screenshots from the device. Don't change system settings without asking.
Recommended
Try it in Grok Bot
Grok Bot can hand a device fix like this to a coding agent on your computer and report back.
- Copy the prompt (button below).
- Open Grok Bot chat and paste it. Replace any [bracketed] placeholders.
- Connect the listed tools (as needed) as connectors when Grok Bot asks.
- If the task repeats, ask: "Make this a daily routine."
Alternatives: the same prompt works in Claude, ChatGPT Agent, OpenClaw.
Set it up
Stack: Claude + Chromecast with Google TV + ADB
- Read the original source for full context.
- Connect the tools your agent needs.
- Paste the prompt and replace [bracketed] placeholders.
- Run once manually and check the output before scheduling it.
Generic suggested steps, not from the source.
Evidence
Hacker News comment by leptons (Oct 19, 2026 Denver time) on 'An ad-free Android TV': Claude patched a broken Plex APK and wrote a working IKEv2 VPN client for his Chromecast. Sideloaded or patched APKs don't auto-update and can carry risk; keep the originals and only install what you or the agent built
Source: HN · 2026-10-19 · Verified by us: not yet · Report broken or outdated