readme: wireless, voice, the Bluetooth or USB audio choice, and updates

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Seb3thehacker committed 2026-10-13 16:13:02 -07:00
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@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ Gearslip's certificate, and Gearslip can't run in those cars.
## What Gearslip is
Gearslip is an Android Auto client for the phone. It speaks the Android Auto protocol
directly to a car head unit over USB, with no Google software in the path. Gearslip acts
as a Car App Library host: an app that ships a car interface hands Gearslip a template,
and Gearslip renders that template natively on the car screen. Nothing is mirrored from
the phone. For apps without a car interface, Gearslip offers a separate screen-sharing
mode.
directly to a car head unit, over USB or wirelessly, with no Google software in the path.
Gearslip acts as a Car App Library host: an app that ships a car interface hands Gearslip
a template, and Gearslip renders that template natively on the car screen. Nothing is
mirrored from the phone. For apps without a car interface, Gearslip offers a separate
screen-sharing mode.
| | |
|---|---|
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ mode.
## Features
- **Phone calls.** Dial from a keypad, or search your contacts, then confirm before the
call goes out.
call goes out. When a call comes in, answer or decline it on the car screen.
- **Navigation.** Gearslip hosts real Car App Library map apps on the car screen.
Organic Maps, OsmAnd, and Flitsmeister work today. Vela runs, with rough
edges.
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ mode.
doesn't ship a car interface of its own.
- **Weather and the day ahead.** A dashboard screen shows the week's calendar next to
the current and coming weather.
- **Voice.** Tap the mic, or press the talk button on the wheel, and say "navigate to the
nearest gas station", "play Daft Punk", or "call Mom". Say "help" for the full list.
Speech turns into text on the phone, and nothing you say leaves it.
- **Messages.** New messages appear as a small card on the car screen. Gearslip reads
each one aloud, and you reply by voice or with a quick reply. Music pauses while
Gearslip speaks or listens. Speech runs on the phone, so it needs no Google account.
@@ -55,8 +58,9 @@ mode.
## Status
- **The connection is wired only, for now.** Plug the phone into the head unit's USB port;
Gearslip does not yet offer a wireless option.
- **Wired or wireless.** Plug the phone into the car's USB port, or, in a car with wireless
Android Auto, tap Connect wirelessly and pick the car. Pair the phone with the car over
Bluetooth first.
- **Setup walks you through it.** First launch asks for the Android Auto certificate,
then one permission at a time, each with a plain reason and an Allow or Skip. A help
screen inside the car answers anything setup didn't cover.
@@ -70,14 +74,19 @@ mode.
Gearslip's own player.
- **Calls use the car's Bluetooth,** as they do in Android Auto. Pair the phone with the
car to hear calls through its speakers.
- **Audio reaches the car by capturing playback, not by mirroring the screen.** Android
shows a screen-share consent dialog for this, even though Gearslip never reads the
screen; it is the only way an ordinary app can capture another app's audio. The dialog
appears once per drive.
- **Music reaches the car over Bluetooth or USB.** Setup asks which. Bluetooth is the
default: Android never asks for permission, and your map app's voice reaches the car
too. USB sounds a little clearer, with no delay, but Android shows a screen-share
consent dialog once per drive. Gearslip never reads the screen; capturing playback is
the only way an ordinary app can pass another app's audio along.
- **Gearslip needs no adb, root, or Shizuku.** Every feature relies on an ordinary
Android permission or an on-device consent dialog. The setup guide offers two optional
adb commands: one removes the audio dialog for good, and the other keeps notifications
visible while audio plays.
Android permission or an on-device consent dialog. For USB audio, setup offers two
optional adb commands: one removes the audio dialog for good, and the other keeps
notifications visible while audio plays.
- **Updates come from GitHub.** Once a day, Gearslip checks this repository's latest
release. When a new version is out, it downloads the APK, checks it against GitHub's
SHA-256, and installs it through Android's own installer. Turn off automatic checks in
Settings.
## Usage notes
@@ -94,9 +103,8 @@ turn them on, in setup or in Settings.
anything you type or play.
- **How phones are counted.** A random number counts each phone once. The server keeps
only a salted hash of it.
- **Where they go.** To a Cloudflare Worker, whose code is in
[stats-worker/](stats-worker/). Cloudflare sees your IP address in delivering a note,
as it would for any website; the Worker doesn't store it.
- **Where they go.** To a Cloudflare Worker. Cloudflare sees your IP address in
delivering a note, as it would for any website; the Worker doesn't store it.
Turn the notes off, and they stop at once.