plexora

Plexora

Plexora is a modern, lightweight Plex music client for Android Automotive OS and Android mobile.

Product flavors

Flavor	Target	UI
automotive	Play Store / AAOS head units	System media browser and player (Media3 `MediaLibraryService`)
mobile	Phones and tablets	Full Jetpack Compose app with launcher, browse, and immersive player

On Ford, GM, and other AAOS vehicles, the automotive build appears in the vehicle’s native media app — not as a standalone Compose launcher. Browsing, artwork, shuffle, and playback are driven by PlexMediaLibraryService and the host system’s UI.

The mobile flavor includes MainActivity with the custom Compose interface shown in the screenshots below.

Features

System media integration: Media3 implementation for AAOS media center, steering wheel controls, and instrument cluster metadata.
Expanded browse tree: Artists, Albums, Recently Added, Playlists, plus contextual shuffle at each level.
Artwork via ContentProvider: Plex images are proxied as local content:// URIs for AAOS compatibility.
Contextual shuffle: Library, artist, album, playlist, and section shuffles via Plex play queues.
Search: Artists, albums, and tracks via the system media search UI.
Plex linking: PIN auth at plex.tv/link through Sign In (automotive) or in-app setup (mobile).

Screenshots (mobile flavor)

Server Setup

Linking a Plex server using the secure PIN-based authentication flow.
Music Library

Browsing the artist library in the mobile Compose UI.
Playlist & Shuffle

Playlist track list with contextual shuffle.
Now Playing

Immersive playback screen with large controls and blurred background artwork.

Build

# Automotive (Play Store / AAOS)
./gradlew bundleAutomotiveRelease

# Mobile
./gradlew bundleMobileRelease

Version codes: mobile uses appVersionCode; automotive adds 1_000_000.

Flavor	`versionCode`	`versionName`	`targetSdk`
mobile	10	1.0	36 (Play phone/tablet updates)
automotive	1000010	1.0	35 (AAOS)

Google Play target API levels

Phone and tablet builds (mobile) must target API 36+ for Play updates. automotive stays on API 35, which matches Android Automotive OS requirements. Both flavors share compileSdk = 37 in Gradle; only targetSdk differs by flavor.

Signed release (Android Studio)

Sync Gradle after any version bump (appVersionCode in app/build.gradle.kts).
Select the mobileRelease or automotiveRelease build variant.
Build → Generate Signed App Bundle / APK → Android App Bundle, sign with your Play upload keystore.
Upload the .aab to Play Console (same app listing; use Form factors / dedicated Android Automotive OS track for automotiveRelease when configured).

Unsigned CI-style bundles (debug-signed) land under:

app/build/outputs/bundle/mobileRelease/app-mobile-release.aab
app/build/outputs/bundle/automotiveRelease/app-automotive-release.aab

Release builds use R8 minify and resource shrinking; run ./gradlew bundleMobileRelease bundleAutomotiveRelease locally to catch ProGuard issues before signing in Studio.

Play Console (review access)

Plexora requires a linked Plex account and a Music library on the chosen Plex server. Until setup completes, the media browser shows a sign-in error with Set up Plexora (mobile/Android Auto opens SignInActivity; AAOS uses the same PIN setup flow from the vehicle media browser).

Path: Monitor and improve → Policy and programs → App content.

App access: All or some functionality is restricted (Plex login + music library).
Sign-in details: Manage → + Add new instructions (Play limits each instruction set to 500 characters; add two sets—one for phone/Android Auto, one for Android Automotive OS). Plex uses PIN linking at https://plex.tv/link (no shared test password). Save, then Publishing overview → Send for review when only policy text changed.

Also useful: Test and release → Advanced settings → Form factors → Android Automotive OS (screenshots, dedicated track); Testing notes on the release that ships app-automotive-release.aab.

Help: Prepare your app for review (sign-in details).

Reference flow (not limited to 500 chars):

Audience	Setup entry
Phone	Launcher app → Link with Plex.tv → PIN → server → Select Music Section → Connect and Import
Android Auto	Complete phone setup first, then Plexora in the AA media app list
Android Automotive OS	Vehicle media browser → Set up Plexora → same PIN / server / music section steps on the head unit

Movies-only or empty servers fail at music library selection—reviewers need a server with a Plex Music library.

Playback from an album or playlist queues remaining tracks in order (or shuffled via Shuffle items). Large libraries are loaded in pages so artists and albums beyond the first screen remain browsable.

Release notes (version 10)

Copy into Play Console for mobileRelease (version code 10) and automotiveRelease (version code 1000010).

Mobile (version code 10)

Android Auto: register setup activity on phone builds; clearer “no music library” setup errors
Library browse cache (stale-while-revalidate) for faster tab switching
Browse polish: section titles in the top bar, square grid tiles, compact landscape chrome
Full-screen now playing and Up next queue with slide-to-dismiss (modal sheets)
Square artwork on mini player and full player
Dependency refresh (Gradle version catalog, Media3 1.11, Compose BOM 2026.09)
Fix playback after Media3 upgrade (session commands, stream URI resolution)

Automotive (version code 1000010)

Same shared playback and Plex client fixes as mobile (Media3 session connect, play queues, stream URIs)
Dependency updates aligned with mobile; AAOS browse UI unchanged (system media browser)

Technical stack

UI (mobile): Jetpack Compose
Media: Media3 / ExoPlayer
Network: OkHttp 5 & Plex API
Images: Coil 2 (mobile), ArtworkProvider ContentProvider (automotive)
Persistence: SharedPreferences for session and playback state recovery

Getting started

Clone the repository.
Open the project in Android Studio.
Select the mobile or automotive build variant.
Deploy to a device or AAOS emulator.
Link your Plex account (Sign In on automotive; in-app setup on mobile).

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.