[Feature Request]Support Custom Buttons on “Now Playing” Screen

[biner88]

Currently, custom buttons on the “Now Playing” screen are not supported.

I would like to request support for adding custom action buttons to the Now Playing interface in CarPlay, for example:

• Like / Favorite
• Dislike
• Repeat
• Shuffle
• Custom app-specific actions

This feature would allow developers to provide a richer and more interactive user experience, especially for music and podcast apps.

Use Case

In my application:

• CarPlay is used only for UI and control
• Actual playback is handled on the iPhone
• Users expect to be able to perform quick actions directly from the Now Playing screen without navigating back to menus

Having customizable buttons on the Now Playing screen would significantly improve usability and safety while driving.

Expected Behavior

Provide an API to:

• Add custom buttons to the Now Playing template
• Handle button click callbacks

Additional Context

This feature would be very helpful for building modern media apps with CarPlay support and aligns well with real-world usage scenarios.

Thank you for considering this request!

[oguzhnatly]

Thanks for the feature request! This is definitely something that can be added.

Apple's CarPlay API supports custom buttons on the Now Playing screen via the nowPlayingButtons property on CPNowPlayingTemplate. The available button types are:

Built-in buttons:

• CPNowPlayingRepeatButton (cycles through repeat modes)
• CPNowPlayingShuffleButton (toggle shuffle)
• CPNowPlayingPlaybackRateButton (playback speed: 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x, 2x)
• CPNowPlayingAddToLibraryButton (add to library action)
• CPNowPlayingMoreButton (triggers a callback for custom menu)

Custom buttons:

• CPNowPlayingImageButton (custom image with handler callback)

The plugin currently uses CPNowPlayingTemplate.shared but doesn't expose button configuration to Dart. Adding support would involve:

1. Creating Dart models for each button type
2. Exposing a method to configure the buttons
3. Handling button tap callbacks through the existing MethodChannel

I'll add this to the roadmap. Contributions are also welcome if someone wants to take a crack at implementing it.

For reference: Apple's CPNowPlayingButton docs

[EArminjon]

Can bring support for that after #94 will be merged.