# OrangeCar: reconstructing the wired CarPlay phone side

> OrangeCar reconstructs the phone side of wired Apple CarPlay on an Orange Pi 5 Plus so a car displays a locally rendered dashboard. Its protocol documentation follows USB role switching, iAP2 identification, CDC-NCM networking, mDNS and the AirPlay session that carries H.264 video, audio and input.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Protocol
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-08
- Original resource: <https://github.com/sbuysse/orangecar>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/sbuysse/orangecar/blob/31a4625c6e6e8d7de2cc5a53d4ec28b437dfcbdd/docs/protocol.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/orangecar-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/orangecar-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/orangecar-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Requires an Orange Pi 5 Plus, NVMe SSD, stable 5 V power and a USB-C connection to a wired CarPlay port.
- **Limits:** The author reports testing with one Jaguar F-PACE head unit; wireless CarPlay is not implemented.
- **Limits:** Phone calls and the Android Auto head unit are experimental.
- **License:** GPL-3.0 licence.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/sbuysse/orangecar/blob/31a4625c6e6e8d7de2cc5a53d4ec28b437dfcbdd/docs/protocol.md>
2. <https://github.com/sbuysse/orangecar/blob/31a4625c6e6e8d7de2cc5a53d4ec28b437dfcbdd/README.md>

## More in Protocols

- [AirDrop-for-Everything: reimplementing AirDrop file transfer](https://awesomerea.org/resources/airdrop-for-everything-case/index.md) · Case study
- [IQOS Bar: a USB HID client for IQOS ILUMA usage counters](https://awesomerea.org/resources/iqos-bar-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Chorus: reconstructing Logitech Harmony remote programming](https://awesomerea.org/resources/chorus-harmony-remote-case/index.md) · Case study
- [tinycoral: reconstructing the Coral Edge TPU instruction set and USB runtime](https://awesomerea.org/resources/tinycoral-edge-tpu-case/index.md) · Case study
- [ninebot-go: reconstructing Ninebot app cloud communication](https://awesomerea.org/resources/ninebot-go-case/index.md) · Case study
- [open-g2-hub: a local Even G2 client built on BLE protocol findings](https://awesomerea.org/resources/open-g2-hub-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.