media3-android-auto-media-surface

Trigger

Use for Android Auto media playback, car-compatible browse trees, transport controls, or Media3 session/service integration for car surfaces.

Rules

• Start with media3-background-playback-service; Auto depends on a correct session/service boundary.
• Pin Media3 to 1.10.1 through the version catalog.
• Prefer Media3 session and controller APIs; avoid legacy session compat unless the host app already requires it.
• Expose browsable media, stable IDs, metadata, artwork, and transport actions through the media session layer.
• Respect Auto UX restrictions: no custom phone-style playback screen, unsafe gestures, or dense interaction.
• Keep auth, entitlement, and network failures visible through safe playback/browser state.
• Verify current Android Auto media app requirements before release.

Example

media3-session = { module = "androidx.media3:media3-session", version.ref = "media3" }

<service
    android:name=".playback.PlaybackService"
    android:exported="true"
    android:foregroundServiceType="mediaPlayback">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="androidx.media3.session.MediaSessionService" />
        <action android:name="android.media.browse.MediaBrowserService" />
    </intent-filter>
</service>

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

The intent-filter actions let Auto discover and bind the service for both Media3 and legacy browser clients. The automotive_app_desc meta-data (an XML resource declaring <uses name="media"/>) marks the app as an Auto media app; without it Auto will not surface the app.

Do Not

• Do not build a custom in-car UI as if Auto were a tablet.
• Do not let Activity lifecycle own car playback.
• Do not expose unstable media IDs in the browse tree.

Related

• media3-background-playback-service
• media3-audio-playback
• media3-lifecycle-state