Warning

Catch 2026.11.09 changes the Magisk module. Do not install that APK from Catch Settings before the new module. Install catch-magisk-2026.11.09.zip, reboot, then install the app. The files are on that release page.

Note

Rower testing often installs a local *-dev Magisk zip and APK. Those builds get a versionCode ahead of the next GitHub release (for example 2026.11.09.3-dev at 261109300 vs release 2026.11.09.1 at 261109199). Catch only offers an update when GitHub's versionCode is strictly higher, so Settings can look like "no update" with no error. Fix it by installing a newer release APK by hand, or wait for a release that exceeds the sideload (such as 2026.11.09.3). See Updates and releases.

Your Hydrow, your shows, your family.

An open-source home screen for the Hydrow rower. Row with live metrics while Netflix, Plex, or Disney+ plays right beside them, and turn every session into goals, challenges, and badges the whole household chases together.

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The idea

A Hydrow is a great rower with a big screen attached, and that screen only does one thing. When the membership lapses, or you would rather row through an episode than a class, the screen has nothing for you.

Catch gives the screen back:

Pick who is rowing. Tap Go. Watch whatever you like. Your meters count.

Catch replaces the stock launcher on a rooted Hydrow tablet. It reads the rower's brake directly, so power, split, stroke rate, and distance are live from the first stroke, and it plays streaming apps inside its own frame, so the numbers never leave the screen. Every meter lands on a family board, where a monthly family goal, challenges, streaks, and badges keep everyone coming back.

What it looks like

Screens from the current build, captured on a Hydrow tablet with a demo family.

Session summary. Time, distance, average split, stroke rate, strokes, power, and calories, plus every goal, challenge tier, and badge the row just earned.	Goals and awards. Family monthly meters, monthly bronze, silver, and gold tiers, show-up weeks, and scenic routes. Always on: row and they fill in.
Who is rowing? A profile for everyone in the house, with a photo or an illustrated avatar. Catch remembers each person's headphones and heart rate strap.	Updates. Catch checks for new releases once a day and installs them from Settings in a few seconds, on a stable or beta channel.

What it does today

• Live rower metrics. Power, calories, split, average split, stroke rate, strokes, elapsed time, and distance against your session goal, read straight from the Hydrow brake about 100 times a second. Set the resistance from the profile menu.
• Watch while you row. Netflix, Plex, Paramount+, Disney+, Brave, Prime Video, and Apple TV open inside the Catch frame with touch and Back working, so the metrics and the family board stay on screen.
• No Google required. The Hydrow tablet has no Google Play Store or Google Play services, and Catch doesn't need them. Aurora Store installs and updates the streaming apps from the Play catalog with an anonymous account, so you never sign in to Google on the rower.
• Family profiles. Everyone picks themselves on the "Who is rowing?" screen. Each profile keeps its own history, badges, and Bluetooth devices.
• Heart rate. Pair a Bluetooth heart rate strap once and Catch connects it whenever that person rows, with live heart rate and zone.
• Goals, challenges, and badges. A monthly family leaderboard in meters, with last week's winner, a monthly family goal, tiered challenges, and distance and streak badges.
• Session summary. Finish a row and see the whole session, plus everything it earned, at a glance.
• Your data stays home. Everything lives on the tablet. Export workouts as JSON or CSV, or wipe personal data, from Catch Settings.
• Updates in place. Catch updates itself from GitHub Releases, checks every download's SHA-256, and keeps all of your history.

Get it

Catch runs on a rooted Hydrow rower tablet. It's tested on a Hydrow Origin, whose Android 10 tablet reports model foenix_h (MediaTek MT8167); the install guide shows how to check yours. Rooting needs a computer, about an hour, and some comfort with the Android command line.

1. Follow Install Catch to root the tablet with Magisk.
2. Download catch-magisk-<version>.zip from the latest release and install it with Magisk.
3. Reboot. Catch opens as the Home screen and walks you through setup.

After that, Catch updates itself. See Updates and releases.

How it works

            Hydrow brake ──serial──▶ ┌──────────────────────┐ ◀── Bluetooth heart rate
                                     │        Catch         │
                                     │  metrics, profiles,  │
     Streaming app ◀─secure display─ │  goals, badges       │ ◀── GitHub Releases
     (Netflix, Plex, ...)            └──────────────────────┘
                                       privileged Home app
                                       (Magisk module)

• Catch is the Home app. A Magisk module installs it as a privileged system app and turns off the stock Hydrow launcher, including its remote commands, updater, and logging.
• The rower is read directly. Catch speaks the brake controller's serial protocol itself. No cloud and no membership are involved.
• Streaming apps play in a secure virtual display owned by a small system process that ships inside the Catch APK. That is what lets copy-protected video play inside Catch's frame.
• Updates are signed and verified. Releases are built and signed by GitHub Actions, and tablets only accept updates signed with the same key.

The details are in How Catch works.

Documentation

• Install Catch
• How Catch works
• Updates and releases
• Develop Catch
• Changelog
• Security policy

Help build Catch

Issues and pull requests are welcome, and questions about installing or setting up Catch go in Discussions. The most useful things right now:

1. Tell us whether Catch works on your Hydrow. A hardware report shows which rowers the install guide fits, even if you only check your tablet's details.
2. Report what breaks. A bug report asks for everything needed to fix it.
3. Try other streaming apps in the pane and file a streaming app report.
4. Send a pull request for a bug you can reproduce or a small, well-scoped feature. For anything larger, open an issue first so we can agree on the shape.

CONTRIBUTING.md has the ground rules, and Develop Catch has the toolchain.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Hydrow is a trademark of Hydrow, Inc. Catch is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Hydrow. Rooting your rower is at your own risk. Netflix, Plex, Paramount+, Disney+, Brave, Prime Video, and Apple TV are trademarks of their respective owners.