Add support for Android Auto to your media app

You need to make a few changes to your app's manifest so that Android Auto can discover and interact with your app's media browser service.

Set your app's targetSdkVersion

Android Auto requires your app to target Android 5.0 (API level 21) or higher.

To specify this value in your project, set the targetSdkVersion attribute in uses-sdk element to 21 or higher in your phone app module's AndroidManifest.xml file, as shown in the following example:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" ... >
    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="4" android:targetSdkVersion="21" />
    ...
</manifest>

Declare media support for Android Auto

Use the following manifest entry to declare that your phone app supports Android Auto:

<application>
    ...
    <meta-data android:name="com.google.android.gms.car.application"
        android:resource="@xml/automotive_app_desc"/>
    ...
<application>

This manifest entry refers to an XML file that declares what automotive capabilities your app supports. To indicate that you have a media app, add an XML file named automotive_app_desc.xml to the res/xml/ directory in your project. This file should include the following content:

<automotiveApp>
    <uses name="media"/>
</automotiveApp>

Report an Android Auto Media issue

If you run into an issue while developing your media app for Android Auto, you can report it using the Google Issue Tracker. Be sure to fill out all the requested information in the issue template.

Create a new issue

Before filing a new issue, please check if it is already reported in the issues list. You can subscribe and vote for issues by clicking the star for an issue in the tracker. For more information, see Subscribing to an Issue.