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README leads with the car screen and a table of what works

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The screenshot of Vela navigating comes first, then one warning and a short table. Install
steps, the GrapheneOS note and the download check sit together, and the longer notes move
lower.
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README.md
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An Android Auto alternative built for everyone. An Android Auto alternative built for everyone.
[<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ImranR98/Obtainium/main/assets/graphics/badge_obtainium.png" alt="Get it on Obtainium" height="80">](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect?r=obtainium://add/https://github.com/twinksoftware/gearslip)
[![forthebadge](https://forthebadge.com/badges/compatibility-club-penguin.svg)](https://forthebadge.com) [![forthebadge](https://forthebadge.com/badges/compatibility-club-penguin.svg)](https://forthebadge.com)
[<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ImranR98/Obtainium/main/assets/graphics/badge_obtainium.png" alt="Get it on Obtainium" height="80">](https://apps.obtainium.imranr.dev/redirect?r=obtainium://add/https://github.com/twinksoftware/gearslip) ![Vela Maps navigating on the car screen, with the music player beside the map](docs/screenshots/navigation.png)
[Fix or add your language on Weblate](https://hosted.weblate.org/engage/gearslip/). Gearslip speaks the Android Auto protocol straight to your car, over USB or wireless, with no
Translations go through Weblate only; pull requests that edit them get closed. Google software in the path. Map, music, and messaging apps draw their car screens through
Gearslip, and it adds a player, calls, voice, and a web browser of its own.
[![Translation status by language](https://hosted.weblate.org/widget/gearslip/app/multi-auto.svg)](https://hosted.weblate.org/engage/gearslip/)
Questions, ideas?
[Join the discussion on Matrix](https://matrix.to/#/!mf0_mgBd5KqKpc9FfX_wHp1jFCcwAtPrndIn_oGIyMk?via=matrix.org).
> [!WARNING] > [!WARNING]
> Gearslip is **alpha software**. It can drop the connection, freeze the car screen, or fail > Gearslip is **alpha software**. It can drop the connection, freeze the car screen, or fail
> to start, and a new release can break a car that worked before. Set it up while parked, and > to start, and a new release can break a car that worked before. Set it up while parked, and
> keep another way to navigate. > keep another way to navigate.
> [!WARNING] Questions, ideas? [Join the discussion on Matrix](https://matrix.to/#/!mf0_mgBd5KqKpc9FfX_wHp1jFCcwAtPrndIn_oGIyMk?via=matrix.org).
> On GrapheneOS, make sure **USB-C port control** isn't set to **Charging-only**. That setting
> blocks USB data, so the car never sees the phone, even with a data cable. Set it to allow
> data transfer.
## Which cars work ## What works
Most cars work. Starting around 2020, some cars added newer security checks that reject
the aasdk certificate, and in those cars Gearslip needs a certificate of your own. [CARS.md](CARS.md) lists the
cars drivers have confirmed.
## 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 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.
| | | | | |
|---|---| |---|---|
| ![The launcher, with every car app on the phone](docs/screenshots/launcher.png) | ![Vela Maps showing the route, with the music player beside the map](docs/screenshots/navigation.png) | | **Cars** | Most cars, over USB or wireless. Some cars from about 2020 on need a certificate of your own. [CARS.md](CARS.md) lists the cars drivers have confirmed. |
| Your car apps in one place. | Vela Maps navigating, with the player beside it. | | **Maps** | Organic Maps, Vela, OsmAnd, Waze, Flitsmeister, MAPS.ME, and MapQuest on the car screen, alerts included. Turns from Google Maps or Waze on the phone show in the nav bar and on the instrument cluster. |
| ![Metrolist's song, art, and controls in Gearslip's player](docs/screenshots/music.png) | ![A new message card over Vela Maps](docs/screenshots/message.png) | | **Music** | Any app built for car screens, with Now Playing, Up Next, search, and lyrics. Spotify plays through Gearslip's own player. |
| Metrolist in Gearslip's player. | A new message, read aloud at a tap, over the map. | | **Calls** | Dial or search contacts, and answer or decline on the car screen. Calls use the car's Bluetooth. |
| ![Synced lyrics beside the player, lit up to the word being sung](docs/screenshots/lyrics.png) | ![DuckDuckGo open in Gearslip's web browser](docs/screenshots/web.png) | | **Messages** | Read aloud on arrival, with a reply by voice or a quick reply. |
| Lyrics light up word by word as the song plays. | Browse the web while parked. | | **Voice** | "Navigate to the nearest gas station", "play Daft Punk", "call Mom". Speech stays on the phone. Commands are in English for now. |
| **Controls** | Touch, steering wheel buttons, control knobs, and D-pads. |
| **Languages** | English and 19 more, some only partly translated. |
| **Head units with Android** | Gearslip can be the home screen of an Android head unit, or of a spare phone or tablet on the dash. Turn on Use as launcher in Settings > Connection. |
| **Doesn't work** | Spotify's and Google Messages' own car screens, which accept only Android Auto. TIDAL lets only approved apps browse its library. |
## See it
| | |
|---|---|
| ![The launcher, with every car app on the phone](docs/screenshots/launcher.png) | ![Metrolist's song, art, and controls in Gearslip's player](docs/screenshots/music.png) |
| Your car apps in one place. | Metrolist in Gearslip's player. |
| ![A new message card over Vela Maps](docs/screenshots/message.png) | ![Synced lyrics beside the player, lit up to the word being sung](docs/screenshots/lyrics.png) |
| A new message, read aloud at a tap, over the map. | Lyrics light up word by word as the song plays. |
| ![The voice assistant listening over Vela Maps](docs/screenshots/assistant.png) | ![Three routes to a coffee shop in Vela Maps, each with its time and distance](docs/screenshots/places.png) | | ![The voice assistant listening over Vela Maps](docs/screenshots/assistant.png) | ![Three routes to a coffee shop in Vela Maps, each with its time and distance](docs/screenshots/places.png) |
| Ask for a place, a song, or an app. | Pick a route to a coffee shop. Each one shows its time and distance. | | Ask for a place, a song, or an app. | Pick a route. Each one shows its time and distance. |
| ![DuckDuckGo open in Gearslip's web browser](docs/screenshots/web.png) | |
| Browse the web while parked. | |
## Features ## Features
- **Phone calls.** Dial from a keypad, or search your contacts, then confirm before the - **Navigation.** Gearslip hosts real map apps on the car screen. While you navigate, a big
call goes out. When a call comes in, answer or decline it on the car screen. During a turn card shows the arrow, the distance, and your lane, and the map keeps the rest.
call, the nav bar shows who you're talking to, and you mute or hang up from there. - **Music.** Browse, play, and queue from any car-ready media app. Type a search, and apps
- **Navigation.** Gearslip hosts real Car App Library map apps on the car screen. that accept one play the best match.
Organic Maps, Vela, OsmAnd, Waze, Flitsmeister, MAPS.ME, and MapQuest work today. While you - **Phone calls.** During a call, the nav bar shows who you're talking to, and you mute or
navigate, a big turn card on the left shows the arrow, the distance, and your lane, and hang up from there.
the map keeps the right side. Turns from Google Maps or Waze running on the phone show in - **Messages and notifications.** Only messages, missed calls, alarms, and reminders
the nav bar, and on the instrument cluster in cars with a screen there. interrupt you. The rest wait on the dashboard. Music pauses while Gearslip speaks or
- **Music.** Browse, play, and queue tracks from a car-enabled media app, with a Now listens.
Playing view, an Up Next queue, and lyrics. Type a search, and apps that accept one - **Voice.** Tap the mic or press the talk button on the wheel. Say "help" for the full list.
play the best match. - **The web.** A browser with an address bar, back and forward, and its own keyboard.
- **The web.** A browser with an address bar, back and forward, and its own on-screen - **Weather and the day ahead.** A dashboard shows the week's calendar beside the weather.
keyboard, for anything that doesn't ship a car interface of its own. - **Your apps, your order.** Apps group by kind. Press and hold one to move it, and hide
- **Weather and the day ahead.** A dashboard screen shows the week's calendar next to the ones you don't use from the Apps card on the phone.
the current and coming weather. - **Your look.** The car screen takes your phone's Material You colors. Choose flat
- **Voice.** Tap the mic, or press the talk button on the wheel, and say "navigate to the buttons or ones that look like real keys, and make text bigger on small screens.
nearest gas station", "play Daft Punk", or "call Mom". Say "help" for the full list. - **Settings on the phone.** Set things up before you drive. A change on either screen
Speech turns into text on the phone, and nothing you say leaves it. shows on both.
- **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.
- **Notifications.** Only messages, missed calls, alarms, and reminders interrupt you.
The rest wait on the dashboard.
- **Your apps, your order.** The launcher groups apps by kind: phone, maps, music,
messaging, and the rest. Press and hold an app to move it, and hide the ones you don't
use from the Apps card on the phone.
- **Car controls.** Steering wheel buttons, control knobs, and D-pads all work.
- **Your phone's colors.** The car screen and the phone app take their colors from your
phone's Material You palette, and every card and button matches.
- **Themes.** Choose flat buttons or skeuomorphic ones that look like real keys.
- **Small screens.** Car display density makes text and buttons bigger in car apps.
- **Your language.** Gearslip comes in 19 languages besides English, some only partly
translated. Pick one in Settings. Voice commands understand English only for now.
- **Settings on the phone.** The car's settings sit on the phone's home screen too, so you
can set things up before you drive. A change on either screen shows on both.
## Status ## Install
- **Wired or wireless.** Plug the phone into the car's USB port, or, in a car with wireless 1. Install Gearslip from [the releases page](https://github.com/twinksoftware/Gearslip/releases)
Android Auto, tap Connect wirelessly and pick the car. Pair the phone with the car over or through Obtainium.
Bluetooth first. After the first wireless drive, Android asks once whether Gearslip may 2. Open it. Setup asks where your Android Auto certificate comes from, then for one
watch for that car; from then on, Gearslip connects whenever the car's Bluetooth does. permission at a time, each with a plain reason. A help screen in the car answers the rest.
- **Setup walks you through it.** First launch asks for the Android Auto certificate, 3. Plug the phone into the car's USB port. In a car with wireless Android Auto, pair the
then one permission at a time, each with a plain reason and an Allow or Skip. A help phone with the car over Bluetooth, then tap Connect wirelessly and pick the car.
screen inside the car answers anything setup didn't cover.
- **Templated apps work.** Gearslip renders the Car App Library's templates on the car
screen, and it draws its own keyboard for search, sign-in, and text fields. Alerts, such
as a map app asking whether a hazard is still there, show on the car screen too. It has
been tested against several real navigation and media apps.
- **Gearslip can be a head unit's home screen.** On a head unit that runs Android, or a
spare phone or tablet on the dash, turn on Use as launcher in Settings > Connection. The
car screen fills the display, and an All apps page opens everything else.
- **Gearslip works with [LIVI](https://github.com/f-io/LIVI),** the open-source head unit
used in homemade car dashboards.
- **Some apps refuse Gearslip.** Spotify and Google Messages use a version of
Google's car library that accepts only Android Auto itself. Spotify still plays through
Gearslip's own player. TIDAL lets only approved apps browse its library.
- **Calls use the car's Bluetooth,** as they do in Android Auto. Pair the phone with the
car to hear calls through its speakers.
- **Music reaches the car over Bluetooth or through Gearslip.** Setup asks which.
Bluetooth is the default: Android never asks for permission, and your map app's voice
reaches the car too. Through Gearslip, the sound travels over the car connection, cable
or wireless. It sounds a little clearer, with no delay, but each drive Android asks you
to share your screen, which lets Gearslip send the sound. 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. For audio through Gearslip, 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.
## Verify your download After the first wireless drive, Android asks once whether Gearslip may watch for that car.
From then on, Gearslip connects whenever the car's Bluetooth does.
> [!NOTE]
> On GrapheneOS, make sure **USB-C port control** isn't set to **Charging-only**. That
> setting blocks USB data, so the car never sees the phone, even with a data cable.
Gearslip updates itself from this repository. Once a day it checks the latest release,
downloads the APK, checks it against GitHub's SHA-256, and installs it through Android's
own installer. Turn off automatic checks in Settings.
### Verify your download
Check that your copy of Gearslip is genuine with Check that your copy of Gearslip is genuine with
[AppVerifier](https://github.com/soupslurpr/AppVerifier): share this block to it, or compare it [AppVerifier](https://github.com/soupslurpr/AppVerifier): share this block to it, or compare it
@@ -141,6 +100,24 @@ app.seb3thehacker.gearslip
4C:C5:6E:BD:D1:3A:54:D2:60:EC:A9:B7:E2:B2:AE:6B:30:E2:F2:25:BF:DA:8F:50:8F:07:09:ED:F0:84:94:8B 4C:C5:6E:BD:D1:3A:54:D2:60:EC:A9:B7:E2:B2:AE:6B:30:E2:F2:25:BF:DA:8F:50:8F:07:09:ED:F0:84:94:8B
``` ```
## Good to know
- **Music reaches the car over Bluetooth or through Gearslip.** Setup asks which.
Bluetooth is the default. Android never asks for permission, and your map app's voice
reaches the car too. Through Gearslip, the sound travels over the car connection, cable
or wireless. It sounds a little clearer, with no delay, but each drive Android asks you
to share your screen, which lets Gearslip send the sound. 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. For audio through Gearslip, setup
offers two optional adb commands. One removes the audio dialog for good, and the other
keeps notifications visible while audio plays.
- **Apps without a car screen** can still reach the car through a separate screen-sharing
mode.
- **Gearslip works with [LIVI](https://github.com/f-io/LIVI),** the open-source head unit
used in homemade car dashboards.
## Usage notes ## Usage notes
Gearslip can send short notes that show which cars it works in. They stay off unless you Gearslip can send short notes that show which cars it works in. They stay off unless you
@@ -152,9 +129,9 @@ turn them on, in setup or in Settings.
those boxes cover: the Android version and whether the phone runs GrapheneOS, the phone those boxes cover: the Android version and whether the phone runs GrapheneOS, the phone
model, whether a car connected that day, and each car's head unit, model, year, screen model, whether a car connected that day, and each car's head unit, model, year, screen
size, and connection result, with whether that drive used the cable or wireless and size, and connection result, with whether that drive used the cable or wireless and
whether music went through Gearslip or over Bluetooth. If you tick it, how each drive went: how far whether music went through Gearslip or over Bluetooth. If you tick it, how each drive
the connection got, how long it lasted, and how it ended. Settings shows the exact note. Untick a phone detail, and went: how far the connection got, how long it lasted, and how it ended. Settings shows
the server drops the copy it kept. the exact note. Untick a phone detail, and the server drops the copy it kept.
- **What they leave out.** Your name, accounts, location, contacts, messages, and - **What they leave out.** Your name, accounts, location, contacts, messages, and
anything you type or play. anything you type or play.
- **How phones are counted.** A random number counts each phone once. The server keeps - **How phones are counted.** A random number counts each phone once. The server keeps
@@ -164,6 +141,19 @@ turn them on, in setup or in Settings.
Turn the notes off, and they stop at once. Turn the notes off, and they stop at once.
## Help out
Bug reports from real cars help most, and pull requests are welcome.
[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) explains what to put in a report, which branch to work
on, and the one-time agreement you sign before your first pull request merges.
To translate Gearslip into your language, join
[Gearslip on Weblate](https://hosted.weblate.org/engage/gearslip/). No coding needed.
Translations go through Weblate only, since it holds its own copy of every language and
changes made in git collide with it.
[![Translation status by language](https://hosted.weblate.org/widget/gearslip/app/multi-auto.svg)](https://hosted.weblate.org/engage/gearslip/)
## How Gearslip is made ## How Gearslip is made
Gearslip is my beloved child. I decide what it does and how it looks, and Claude writes nearly Gearslip is my beloved child. I decide what it does and how it looks, and Claude writes nearly
@@ -173,17 +163,6 @@ open-source head unit software. I watch the phone's temperature too, so a new fe
cook it. Then I beg my friends to try it in their cars, so it works in as many makes, models, cook it. Then I beg my friends to try it in their cars, so it works in as many makes, models,
and years as possible. If something breaks, that's on me, so please open an issue. and years as possible. If something breaks, that's on me, so please open an issue.
## Contributing
Bug reports from real cars help most, and pull requests are welcome.
[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) explains what to put in a report, which branch to work
on, and the one-time agreement you sign before your first pull request merges.
To help translate Gearslip into your language, join
[Gearslip on Weblate](https://hosted.weblate.org/engage/gearslip/). No coding needed. Please
don't send translations as pull requests: Weblate holds its own copy of every language, and
changes made in git collide with it.
## Building ## Building
``` ```