Add support for Android Auto to your templated app

Read the following information to learn how to make changes to your app's manifest so that Android Auto can discover and interact with your app's CarAppService.

Declare Android Auto support

The Android Auto host checks whether the app has declared support for Android Auto. To enable this support, include the following entry in your app's manifest:

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

That manifest entry refers to another XML file that you create with the path AppProjectDirectory/app/src/main/res/xml/automotive_app_desc.xml. In that file, you declare what Android Auto capabilities your app supports.

Apps using the Android for Cars App Library must declare the template capability in the automotive_app_desc.xml file:

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