How to utilize Android Car API inside an app

Question

I want to test and (if possible) utilize Android Car API functionalities inside my Android app. Specifically, I need to be able to import classes under android.car.*

Answer 1

There's no prebuilt binary for android.car, but you can build it yourself by running mm in packages/services/Car/car-lib: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/services/Car/+/refs/heads/master/car-lib/Android.bp#50

If your app has an .mk or .bp file, you can include the library like CarService does here: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/services/Car/+/master/service/Android.mk#42

The library is mostly meant for OEMs though and not so much for third parties.

Answer 2

The library is now released as part of Android Q SDK in Android Studio. You need to

1. update the SDK 29 to minor version 5 using SDK manager

2. Update app module build.gradle include car-lib

   android {
        compileSdkVersion 29
        buildToolsVersion "29.0.3"
        ...
        useLibrary 'android.car'
   }
   

3. API documentation is available here