Test Android apps for cars

Testing your car app helps ensure that users don't get unexpected results or have a poor experience. How you test your app depends on whether your app runs on Android Auto or Android Automotive OS.

See one of the following sections to get started:

• Test your app for Android Auto
• Test your app for Android Automotive OS

Test your app for Android Auto

The Desktop Head Unit (DHU) lets your development machine emulate an Android Auto head unit so that you can run and test Android Auto apps. The DHU runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.

This section describes how to install and run the DHU on your development machine to test your apps. After you've installed the DHU, you can test your Android Auto apps by connecting your mobile device to it using one of the supported connection mechanisms described in Run the DHU.

To report bugs or request features related to the DHU, use the issue tracker.

Install the DHU

Follow these steps to install the DHU on your development machine:

1. Enable developer mode on a mobile device running Android 6.0 (API level 23) or higher, as described in Configure on-device developer options.
2. Compile and install your app on the device.
3. Install Android Auto on the device. If Android Auto is already installed, make sure that you are using the latest version.

4. In Android Studio, open the SDK Manager and navigate to the SDK Tools tab, then download the Android Auto Desktop Head Unit Emulator package.

   

   The DHU is installed in the SDK_LOCATION/extras/google/auto/ directory.

5. On Linux or macOS systems, run the following command in that directory to ensure the DHU binary is executable:

   chmod +x ./desktop-head-unit
   

Additional steps for Linux

If you are running DHU version 2.x on a Linux system, you need to install some additional libraries. The DHU binary depends on GLIBC version 2.32 or above. You can check the GLIBC version of your system by running this command:

ldd --version

If the version is lower than 2.32, update GLIBC to 2.32 or above, which might require you to upgrade the OS to a version that is compatible with GLIBC 2.32 or above.

You must also install the libc++1 and libc++abi1 libraries. The installation procedure varies depending on your Linux distribution. For example, on Debian-derived Linux distributions, you can install the libraries with this command:

sudo apt-get install libc++1 libc++abi1

Install pre-release versions of the DHU

To get access to pre-release versions of the DHU, you can either use a preview version of Android Studio or change the update channel of your existing Android Studio installation to the beta channel.

Run the DHU

After you install the DHU, you can test your Android Auto apps by connecting your mobile device and workstation over USB. Run the DHU by connecting your mobile device to a development machine using either the Accessory Mode (recommended for DHU 2.x), or ADB Tunneling.

Connect using Accessory Mode (DHU 2.x only)

Android Auto supports connecting to DHU version 2.x with the Android Open Accessory (AOA) protocol, using the following command:

./desktop-head-unit --usb

By default, the DHU scans through the list of available USB devices and attempts to connect to the first compatible one. To target a specific device, include the device ID as part of the --usb command, as follows:

./desktop-head-unit --usb=[DEVICE_ID]

Connect using ADB Tunneling

This method requires setting up a connection to the Android Auto head unit server over Android Debug Bridge (adb). Follow these steps to set up tunneling and run the DHU:

1. Do one of the following to open the Android Auto settings, depending on the version of Android running on the device:

   • Android 10 or higher: on the device, tap Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps > Android Auto > Advanced > Additional settings in the app.
   • Android 9 or lower: in the Android Auto app, tap the menu, then tap Settings.

2. Scroll to the About section near the bottom and tap Version to display the version and permission information.

3. Tap the Version and permission info section 10 times.

   The Allow development settings dialog appears.

4. Tap OK.

   Developer mode is now enabled, and you can access developer options in the overflow menu. You only need to enable developer mode once.

5. If the head unit server is not already running, open the overflow menu and select Start head unit server, as shown in figure 1.

   On the device, a foreground service appears in the notification area that indicates that the server is running, as shown in figure 2.

   

   Figure 1. Context menu with developer options.

   

   Figure 2. Notification that the head unit server is running.

6. In the Android Auto app, tap Previously connected cars near the top of the Settings and ensure Add new cars to Android Auto is enabled.

7. Connect the mobile device to the development machine using USB.

8. Make sure the mobile device has its screen unlocked so it can launch the DHU.

9. On the development machine, run the following adb command to forward socket connections from the development machine's port 5277 to the same port number on the Android device. This configuration lets the DHU connect to the head unit server running on the mobile device over a TCP socket.

   adb forward tcp:5277 tcp:5277
   

10. Start the DHU by running the command desktop-head-unit.exe on Windows, or ./desktop-head-unit on macOS or Linux, from the SDK_LOCATION/extras/google/auto/ directory:

    cd SDK_LOCATION/extras/google/auto
    desktop-head-unit.exe # Windows
    ./desktop-head-unit # macOS or Linux
    

    

11. If this is the first time you are connecting the mobile device to the DHU, check the mobile device's screen to accept the terms of service and adjust permission settings as needed.

After the DHU has started, you can use DHU console commands to run and test your app.

Command-line options

By default, the head unit server connects over port 5277. To override the host or port, use the --adb=<[localhost:]port> flag, as shown in the following example:

./desktop-head-unit --adb=5999

By default, the DHU emulates an Android Auto-compatible head unit with a touch screen user interface. Simulate user touches by clicking the DHU with a mouse. To emulate head units that use a rotary controller for input, you can use the -i controller flag, as shown in the following example:

./desktop-head-unit -i controller

When the DHU is in rotary-controller mode, you can use keyboard shortcuts to simulate controller operations. See the Rotary controller section for more details. In rotary controller mode, the DHU ignores mouse clicks. You must operate Android Auto with the simulated rotary-controller operations.

Other command-line options for DHU are listed in the following table:

Option	Description
-c, --config=FILE	Use the specified configuration .ini file. Refer to the Configure the DHU section for more details.
-i, --input=INPUT	Use specified input mode, one of: touch, rotary, or hybrid.
-a, --adb=HOSTPORT	Use ADB transport. Optional host:port or port. Defaults to port 5277.
-a, --usb=DEVICE_ID	Use USB AOA transport. Optional DEVICE_ID.
-v, --version	Show version information.
-l, --licenses	Show open source licenses.
-h, --headless	Run in headless mode, with no UI.
-t, --always_show_window_on_top	Show DHU windows on top of other windows (off by default)
-?, --help	Show help listing.

DHU user guide

This section describes the features supported by the DHU and how to use them.

Commands are entered in the terminal window where you started DHU. Multiple commands can be run on the same line by separating them with ;.

System

Command	Key	Description
help [command]		Show full command set. If a command name is specified, show help for that command.
quit exit	Alt+Q	Quit the head unit.
sleep [seconds]		Sleep for one second. If a delay is specified, sleep that many seconds. This can be used for scripting the head unit with ./desktop-head-unit < script.txt in, for example, a CI environment.
screenshot filename.png		Save a screenshot to filename.png.
licenses		Display licenses of libraries used in the DHU.
keycode keycode		Send keycode, one of the names listed in the Keycodes section.

Touch and touchpad

When touch or touchpad is enabled, clicking in the display window, for touch, or touchpad window, for touchpad, registers as a touch event.

For touch, simulate multi-touch by right-clicking the first finger location, then clicking and holding the right button for the second finger. The centerpoint of the two fingers remains fixed; moving the mouse lets you rotate them around the center, pinch in and out, or both.

For touchpad, click and hold the left button to scroll between different UI elements on the screen. Clicking the right button selects the element that currently has focus.

Command	Key	Description
tap x y		Simulate a touch event at the specified coordinates.

Rotary controller

The DHU has rotary controller support. When it is enabled, the following actions are supported:

• Clicking up, down, left, and right on the D-pad
• Rotating clockwise and counterclockwise
• Performing a rotation flick (five steps at once)
• Clicking down and back on the controller

The commands and key bindings are listed in the following table.

A scroll wheel on a mouse sends dpad rotate commands, and the middle mouse button click, usually the scroll wheel, sends dpad click commands.

Note that most cars have touch screens. Some cars have only rotary controllers, and some have a hybrid touch and controller. Cars can also support a touchpad, which can be used for map panning and text entry. Be mindful of these different configurations when simulating different vehicle head units.

Command	Key	Description
dpad {up|down|left|right}	Arrow keys	Move the rotary controller.
dpad {ur|dl|ul|dr}		Move the rotary controller.
dpad soft {left|right}	Shift+Arrow keys	Press side buttons available on some rotary controllers.
dpad click	Return	Press the rotary controller.
dpad back	Backspace	Press back button available below some rotary controllers.
dpad rotate left	1	Spin rotary controller counter-clockwise (left).
dpad rotate right	2	Spin rotary controller clockwise (right).
dpad flick left	Shift+1	Spin rotary controller counter-clockwise fast.
dpad flick right	Shift+2	Spin rotary controller clockwise fast.
dpad 0-9*#+	Num pad

Microphone

The DHU supports using a microphone for voice input or to play a pre-recorded voice track. For convenience, the following sound files for common voice commands are included with the DHU. These sound files are located in the SDK_LOCATION/extras/google/auto/voice/ directory.

Filename	Text
navhome.wav	Navigate to home.
navwork.wav	Navigate to work.
navsoh.wav	Navigate to Sydney Opera House.
navgoogle.wav	Navigate to 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, California, USA.
exitnav.wav	Exit navigation.
howlong.wav	How long until I get there?
showtraffic.wav	Show traffic.
showalternateroute.wav	Show alternate routes.
pause.wav	Pause music.
nextturn.wav	When is my next turn?

To run an individual .wav file in the DHU prompt, use the following command:

mic play /path/to/filename.wav

The following table lists other microphone-related commands:

Command	Key	Description
mic begin	M	Activate the microphone, simulating a click of the steering-wheel button, and wait for input from the computer microphone.
mic play filename.wav		Activate the microphone and play the specified WAV file recording. Note: You don't hear the WAV file being played, but you do hear the response from Android Auto.
mic repeat		Repeat the last recording used with mic play.
mic reject {on|off}		Activate or deactivate rejection of microphone requests. When on, all microphone requests are rejected.

Sensors

The DHU supports simulating changes in the vehicle's sensor data with the following commands. To mock sensor data and send it to Android Auto, the corresponding sensors must be enabled with the configuration .ini file when starting the DHU.

Command	Description
fuel [percentage]	Set the fuel level to the specified percent or (with no value passed in) deactivate fuel level.
range [km]	Set the range to the specified kilometers or (with no value passed in) deactivate range data.
lowfuel [{on|off}]	Set the low fuel warning sensor or (with no value passed in) deactivate the sensor.
accel [x] [y] [z]	Set the accelerometer to the specified x, y, and z values (m/s^2) or (with no parameters passed in) unset the accelerometer data. Pass in NAN to skip optional parameters if needed.
compass bearing [pitch] [roll]	Set the compass to the specified bearing, pitch, and roll values (degrees). Pass in NAN to skip optional parameters if needed.
gyro [x] [y] [z]	Set the gyroscope to the specified x, y, and z rotation speed (rad/s) or (with no parameters passed in) unset the gyroscope data. Pass in NAN to skip optional parameters if needed.
location lat long [accuracy] [altitude] [speed] [bearing]	Set the location to the specified lat and long values along with the optional accuracy (m), altitude (m), speed (m/s), and bearing (degrees). Pass in NAN to skip optional parameters if needed.
odometer km [current_trip_km]	Set the odometer to the specified kilometers along with an optional current trip km value.
speed [speed]	Set the vehicle speed to the specified value (m/s) or (with no value passed in) deactivate the sensor.
tollcard {insert|remove}	Insert or remove a toll card.

Day and night modes

The DHU supports simulating changing between day and night mode with the following commands and key bindings:

Command	Key	Description
day	Shift+N	Activate day mode—high-brightness, full color.
night	Ctrl+N	Activate night mode—low-brightness, high-contrast.
daynight nightday	N	Toggle day or night mode.

Focus management

The DHU supports simulating whether or not Android Auto has focus on the head unit using the following commands:

Command	Description
focus video {on|off|toggle}	Activate or deactivate video focus on the head unit. Turning off video focus simulates the head unit going into native mode.
focus audio {on|off|toggle}	Activate or deactivate audio focus on the head unit. Turning off audio focus simulates the head unit playing its own audio source.
focus nav {on|off|toggle}	Activate or deactivate navigation focus on the head unit. Turning off navigation focus simulates the head unit running its own navigation system.

Restrictions and driving status

The DHU supports simulating certain restrictions when the vehicle is moving, such as disabling the keyboard and disallowing phone configurations, using the following commands:

Command	Key	Description
restrict none	U	Disable all restrictions.
restrict all	Shift+U	Enable all restrictions, such as to simulate driving.

Instrument cluster

The DHU supports emulating an instrument cluster. This cluster is usually behind the steering wheel, and it shows basic information during navigation about the next turn—such as the next road name or a turn arrow—distance, or time. It also displays information about ongoing phone calls.

This can be enabled using the instrumentcluster entry in the [general] section of the configuration file, or by the navcluster or phonecluster entries to control each feature separately.

[general]
...
instrumentcluster = true

Cluster Display

Some vehicles have cluster displays capable of displaying rich visual information such as map tiles. Starting with version 2.1 of the DHU (currently available via the Android Studio Beta update channel ), you can emulate such a display on your development machine.

This can be done using a configuration file with a cluster [display] section. [display] sections support the same video configuration options as the main display configured in the [general] section of the file.

...

# The display name following the colon can be whatever you like.
[display:cluster]
# Setting the displaytype as cluster is what lets the DHU know how to handle it.
displaytype = cluster
resolution = 800x480
dpi = 160
...

This configuration can either be added directly to an existing .ini file or you can reuse it by putting it in a separate file and passing multiple configuration files when launching the DHU. When using multiple configuration files, later definitions of a given value override earlier ones.

# Launch your landscape configuration with your cluster display configuration
./desktop-head-unit -c landscape.ini -c cluster.ini

# Launch the portait configuration with the same cluster display configuration
./desktop-head-unit -c portrait.ini -c cluster.ini

Media Playback Status

The DHU supports an additional information display to show media playback status, such as what track is playing.

This can be enabled using the playbackstatus entry in the [general] section.

[general]
...
playbackstatus = true

Keycodes

The DHU provides a set of default keycodes that simulates the set of shortcut buttons that are commonly available in vehicles. For example, the home keycode can be triggered in the DHU prompt as follows:

keycode home

The following table lists other available keycodes:

Keycode	Description
home	Go to the home screen.
back	Go back.
call endcall	Make or end a call.
search	Trigger search.
media_play_pause media_play media_pause	Play or pause media.
media_next media_previous	Go to the next or previous media track.
media	Go to the default media app.
navigation	Go to the default navigation app.
tel	Go to the default telephone app.

Configure the DHU

The DHU supports a configuration .ini file to change the input modes between touch and rotary controller and to set the frame rate, resolution, and DPI the head unit requests from the phone.

The default location for the configuration file is ~/.android/headunit.ini. To change the configuration of the head unit on your system, you can modify this file.

You can also specify a configuration file to load using the -c flag:

./desktop-head-unit -c /path/to/config.ini

The following snippet shows a sample configuration:

[general]
touch = true
touchpad = false
controller = false
instrumentcluster = false
resolution = 800x480
dpi = 160
framerate = 30
fueltypes = unleaded,electric,hydrogen
evconnectors = supercharger

Sample configuration files that demonstrate different head unit settings you can test against are under the SDK_LOCATION/extras/google/auto/config/ folder. For more advanced use cases, please refer to the following supported settings.

Input configuration

The following table lists input configuration options:

Name	Default	Type	Description
inputmode	default	String	Define the input mode. The options touch, rotary, and hybrid activate and deactivate touchscreen and rotary support and set default keycodes, as appropriate. default defers to the touch and controller options.
controller	false	Boolean	Enable rotary controller input. Ignored unless inputmode is default.
touch	true	Boolean	Activate touchscreen. Ignored unless inputmode is default.
touchpad	false	Boolean	Enable touchpad.
touchpadnavigation	false	Boolean	Enable touchpad to be used for UI navigation.
touchpadtapasselect	false	Boolean	When true, a tap on the touchpad is a select event.
touchpaduiabsolute	false	Boolean	When touchpadnavigation is true, set whether the touches should be treated as absolute or as gestures.

Video configuration

Android Auto supports three video resolutions:

• 480p (800x480, the default)
• 720p (1280x720)
• 1080p (1920x1080)

To support other aspect ratios, the head unit can specify a margin to letterbox (pillarbox) as necessary. For example, if you want a 1000x600 screen, set the resolution to 720p (1280x720) and a marginwidth of 280 and marginheight of 120. This has the effect of adding a 140 px margin on the left and right edges and a 60 px margin on the top and bottom.

The following example configuration emulates a typical 6-inch screen (750x450):

[general]
...
resolution = 800x480
marginwidth = 50
marginheight = 30

And the following example configuration emulates a very wide screen:

[general]
...
resolution = 1280x720
marginwidth = 0
marginheight = 220

The following table lists other video configuration options:

Name	Default	Type	Description
resolution	800x480	String	One of: 800x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080.
dpi	160	Integer
normalizedpi	false	Boolean	When true, reduce DHU window size to account for larger DPI values. When false, larger DPI values result in larger windows, which does not mimic real displays but does help with inspecting visual content.
realdpi	160	Integer	Used in video configuration.
framerate	30	Integer	Used in video configuration.
marginheight	0	Integer	Used in video configuration.
marginwidth	0	Integer	Used in video configuration.
margins	0,0,0,0	String	Used in video configuration. Overrides marginwidth and marginheight if present. Format is top, bottom, left, right.
contentinsets	0,0,0,0	String	Used in video configuration. Format is top, bottom, left, right.
stablecontentinsets	0,0,0,0	String	Used in video configuration. Defaults to the value of contentinsets. Format is top, bottom, left, right.
cropmargins	false	Boolean	If margins, marginheight, or marginwidth is specified, a true value for this setting removes those margins from the displayed video. This reflects more closely what the end user sees.
pixelaspectratio	1.0	Float	Used in video configuration.

Sensor configuration

To mock sensor data and send it to Android Auto, the corresponding sensors must be enabled using the following options. If a sensor is not enabled, any data sent for that sensor using the DHU commands is ignored.

Name	Default	Type	Description
accelerometer	false	Boolean	Enable accelerometer sensor data.
compass	false	Boolean	Enable compass sensor data.
driving_status	false	Boolean	Enable driving status sensor data.
fuel	false	Boolean	Enable fuel sensor data.
gyroscope	false	Boolean	Enable gyroscope sensor data.
location	false	Boolean	Enable vehicle location sensor data.
night_mode	false	Boolean	Enable night mode sensor data.
odometer	false	Boolean	Enable odometer sensor data.
speed	false	Boolean	Enable speed sensor data.
toll_card	false	Boolean	Enable toll card sensor data.

Miscellaneous configuration options

The following table lists other configuration options:

Name	Default	Type	Description
instrumentcluster	false	Boolean	Enable instrument cluster. Adds a window to the UI to display navigation and phone status.
navcluster	false	Boolean	Enable instrument cluster. Adds a window to the UI to display navigation status.
phonecluster	false	Boolean	Enable instrument cluster. Adds a window to the UI to display phone status.
playbackstatus	false	Boolean	Enable playback status. Adds a window to the UI to display playback status messages.
driverposition	left	String	One of: left, center, or right.
windowleft		Integer	Set the left position of the main window.
windowtop		Integer	Set the top position of the main window.
fueltypes	unleaded	Strings	One or more of the following, in a comma-separated list: unleaded leaded diesel-1 diesel-2 biodiesel e85 lpg cng lng hydrogen electric other unknown
evconnectors		Strings	Zero or more of the following, in a comma-separated list: j1772 mennekes chademo combo-1 combo-2 roadster hpwc gbt supercharger other unknown Only set if fueltypes contains electric.

Troubleshoot

Sometimes the DHU shows a blank screen when first connected. You can work around this by doing the following:

1. Close the DHU.
2. Follow step 5 described in Run the DHU to stop and restart the Head Unit Server.
3. Start the DHU again.
4. Grant any additional permissions requested on the phone screen. The DHU might shut down once more.
5. Restart the DHU if necessary.

Test your app for Android Automotive OS

You can use the Android Emulator to test how your app runs on Android Automotive OS. This section describes how to set up an Android Virtual Device (AVD) to test your app.

Edit your run configurations for media apps

Media apps on Automotive OS apps are different than other Android apps. Android Automotive OS interacts with your media app using explicit intents and by sending calls to your media browser service.

To test your app, verify that your app has no launch activity in its manifest, and then prevent your automotive module from launching with an activity by following these steps:

1. In Android Studio, select Run > Edit Configurations.

   

2. Select your automotive module from the list of modules in your app.

3. Under Launch Options > Launch, select Nothing.

4. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Add system images

Before you can create AVDs that match specific manufacturer hardware, you need to add system images for the devices through the Android Studio SDK Manager. Then, when you're creating an AVD, you can select the downloaded system images to use with the AVD.

Add system images from car manufacturers

You can add OEM-specific system image for the GM, Honda, Polestar, Volvo, and others. Please follow the steps on the OEM developer sites:

In alphabetic order:

1. GM
2. Honda
3. Polestar
4. Volvo

Install generic system images

Android Studio also includes generic system images for Android Automotive OS that you can use to test your app and which you should use when taking screenshots for the Play Store.

Name	API Level	Architecture	Play Store	Google Automotive App Host	android-automotive-video library
Automotive Intel x86 Atom System Image	28	x86	✔
Automotive with Play Store Intel x86 Atom System Image	29	x86	✔	✔
Automotive with Play Store Intel x86 Atom_64 System Image	30	x86	✔	✔	✔
Automotive with Play Store ARM 64 v8a System Image	32	ARM	✔	✔	✔
Automotive with Play Store Intel x86 Atom_64 System Image	32	x86	✔	✔	✔

Follow these steps to install generic system images:

1. In Android Studio, select Tools > SDK Manager.
2. Click the SDK Platforms tab.
3. Click Show Package Details.
4. Select which image(s) to download (see the preceding table for details)

5. Click Apply, then click OK.

   

Create a car AVD and run the emulator

Follow these steps to create an Android Virtual Device (AVD) that represents an Android Automotive OS vehicle and then use that AVD to run the emulator:

1. In Android Studio, select Tools > AVD Manager.
2. Click Create Virtual Device.
3. From the Select Hardware dialog, select Automotive, and then select a device. Click Next.
4. Select a system image that targets Automotive, such as Android 12L (Automotive with Play Store), and click Next.
5. Name your AVD and select any other options that you want to customize, then click Finish.
6. From the tool window bar, select your Android Automotive OS AVD as your deployment target.
7. Click Run .

Additional testing requirements for media apps

If you are testing a media app, test for the scenarios that are covered in this section in addition to testing your app on Android Auto, Android Automotive OS, or both.

Test MediaBrowserService startup scenarios

To help keep drivers and passengers safe, users have additional restrictions on how they can interact with apps while driving. For this reason, Android Auto and Android Automotive OS have some MediaBrowserService startup scenarios that your app must be able to handle so that users can continue to enjoy your content while they're on the road.

Test your app to make sure it can handle each of the following scenarios:

• The MediaBrowserService is run before any Activity is opened.
• The MediaBrowserService is run when no Activity can be shown.
• The MediaBrowserService is run when the user is not signed in.

While testing for these scenarios, be sure to try the following methods:

• Force stop the media app, then launch Android Auto or Android Automotive OS.
• Clear the media app data, then launch Android Auto or Android Automotive OS.

Also make sure to set an appropriate error message when necessary.

Use the Media Controller Test app

The Media Controller Test app lets you test the intricacies of media playback on Android and helps verify your media session implementation. To get started with this tool, see Using the media controller test app.