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Moat or Bloat

HLSWebViewPlayer

A library for playing HLS streams in Android with Compose

Library Rated 7 Oct 2026Dormant

Link
github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer
Built by
Yohannes Posts

Bloat

91/500

Where it landed on the scale

Bloat
0
Float
300
Moat
400

Summary

A small open-source library that came out of one developer's own HLS playback problem. It works as a workaround and has a single release, a project page and a GitHub repo, but all the work happened in one day and nothing has followed. It has no payment path, no support channel, and little that would stop someone from rebuilding it.

Bloat · Not much here works or looks likely to last, yet.

Breakdown

Five measures, 100 points each. Open the receipts under any of them to see the posts and pages behind the points.

Viability

Is there a real problem, someone who would pay, and a market this builder can actually reach?

It solves a real developer problem with HLS playback in Compose, but it's a free library with no pricing, no payment path and no stated user base beyond the author's own need.

18/100

Rubric 0–20No clear problem or user. A toy, a practice clone, or a solution looking for a problem.

Receipts (2)

  1. The author built it after struggling to play an HLS URL with ExoPlayer, so the problem is real but personal.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

  2. The repo has no license and no pricing, and describes a lightweight WebView wrapper with no business model.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

Moat

What stops someone copying it?

It's a thin wrapper around hls.js in a WebView with a JS bridge, which any Android developer could rebuild in a day or two.

8/100

Rubric 0–20A thin wrapper or a clone that anyone here could rebuild in a weekend.

Receipts (2)

  1. The author describes the approach as a JS implementation, a bridge, and an AndroidView wrapper, which is simple to replicate.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

  2. The README describes it as a lightweight library leveraging hls.js, so the core playback tech belongs to someone else.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

Momentum

Did the updates keep coming?

All the work landed in one day in December 2025, with one release and nothing in the roughly ten months since.

0/100

  • Sustained shipping0/60

    Worked on across 1 days.

  • Consistency0/40

    Updates in 1 of 1 month.

  • Quiet

    No update for 304 days, so scaled to 27%.

Receipts (1)

  1. Earliest post about it.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

Infrastructure

Does a real, working product exist?

A working library exists with a release and a docs page, but it's a thin WebView wrapper around hls.js with no backend or other platforms.

53/100

  • It's live20/20

    https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer responded when checked.

  • HTTPS5/5

    Hosted on a platform (store, GitHub or Telegram), so HTTPS is the platform's.

  • Real product25/35

    The library works as a published, released package with a project page, but it's a thin wrapper with a single day of commits and no sign of testing or breadth.

  • Own home0/10

    No home found.

  • Maintained0/15

    Last sign of shipping 2025-12-06.

  • Operations3/15

    There's a GitHub Pages homepage and a release, but no backend, API, status page or multiple platforms.

Receipts (4)

  1. https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer responded when checked.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

  2. There's a live repo with one versioned release and a homepage on GitHub Pages.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

  3. The author says it solved their own playback problem and packaged it for others.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

  4. The homepage points to a GitHub Pages site, and there's one release.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

Sustainability

Is it being set up to last?

It has a GitHub release as distribution but no revenue, no pricing, no license, no support contact and no team, and the author hasn't touched it since launch day.

12/100

  • Distribution10/30

    Versioned downloadable releases (1 on GitHub).

  • Payments0/15

    No payment provider found.

  • Pricing0/10

    No pricing found on the site.

  • Revenue0/5

    The post mentions no customers, payments or revenue, and the library is a free open-source package.

  • Privacy policy0/7

    No privacy policy found.

  • Terms0/5

    No terms of service found.

  • Support0/8

    No support contact found.

  • Commitment2/20

    It's a solo project with a single day of activity, no roadmap, no dedicated community and no updates for about ten months.

Receipts (4)

  1. Versioned downloadable releases (1 on GitHub).

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

  2. The post only shares the library for others to use, with no mention of money.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)

  3. Created and last pushed on 2025-12-06, with one commit day and one release.

    Checked 7 Oct 2026 · github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer (opens in a new tab)

  4. It's a single post with no follow-up or plan for future work.

    “Anyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player አፈር ድሜ አበላኝ. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer”

    In EnglishAnyways... I wanted to play an HLS stream from a url for a project. and exo player was not working for me. I worked around this by implementing it in Javascript and making a JS bridge. then wrapping it with an AndroidView for compose. I made it into a library so yall don't have to suffer. check it out at https://github.com/YohannesTz/HLSWebViewPlayer

    Post · @brojects_and_resources · 7 Dec 2025 · open on Telegram (opens in a new tab)