CarPlay Now Playing Reference

How an audio app's Now Playing integration reaches CarPlay: the metadata it reuses, CPNowPlayingTemplate custom buttons and sports mode, the CarPlay audio entitlement, and how to test it all.

When to Use This Reference

Use this reference when:

• Adding CarPlay support to an audio app
• Now Playing metadata doesn't appear in CarPlay
• Custom buttons (shuffle, repeat, playback rate) aren't showing in CarPlay
• Your app doesn't appear in the CarPlay Audio section
• Showing live scores with the Now Playing template's sports mode
• Debugging differences between iPhone and CarPlay Simulator behavior

Example Prompts

Questions you can ask your assistant that will draw from this reference:

• "Why doesn't my app show up in CarPlay at all?"
• "Now Playing works on the Lock Screen, so why is it blank in CarPlay?"
• "How do I add shuffle and repeat buttons to CarPlay?"
• "Why do my custom buttons work on device but not in CarPlay Simulator?"
• "What entitlements do I need for CarPlay audio?"
• "How do I show team scores and a game clock in CarPlay's Now Playing screen?"
• "How do I test my audio app in CarPlay on Xcode 27?"

What's Covered

• CarPlay's relationship to MPNowPlayingInfoCenter and MPRemoteCommandCenter (no CarPlay-specific metadata for the basic case)
• CPNowPlayingTemplate customization with custom buttons (iOS 14+), configured at connection time
• Sports mode (iOS 18.4+): the content schema, clock behavior, and when to use it
• The audio background mode and the com.apple.developer.carplay-audio entitlement, which you request from Apple; the deprecated playable-content entitlement
• CarPlay-specific gotchas table with time-to-fix estimates
• Testing in CarPlay Simulator (built into Xcode 27's Device Hub, or the standalone app; both need a physical iPhone), in Xcode Simulator's CarPlay display on Xcode 26 and earlier, and in real vehicles
• Verification checklist for CarPlay audio integration

Key Insight

CarPlay reads from the same MPNowPlayingInfoCenter and MPRemoteCommandCenter as the Lock Screen and Control Center. If your Now Playing integration works on iOS, it renders in CarPlay with no additional code. The only CarPlay-specific work is the entitlement and optional CPNowPlayingTemplate customization.

Documentation Scope

This page documents the now-playing-carplay skill (in the axiom-media suite), which covers the CarPlay-specific parts of Now Playing.

• For CarPlay design rules, the entitlement request flow, and the full testing guidance, see CarPlay HIG
• For template mechanics beyond Now Playing, see carplay-templates-ref

Related

• now-playing – Core Now Playing patterns, the foundation CarPlay builds on
• now-playing-musickit – Automatic Now Playing for Apple Music content played through MusicKit
• avfoundation-ref – AVAudioSession configuration for background audio

Resources

WWDC: 2018-213, 2020-10635

Docs: /carplay, /mediaplayer/mpnowplayinginfocenter