MediaSession
public final class MediaSession
extends Object
java.lang.Object | |
↳ | android.media.session.MediaSession |
Allows interaction with media controllers, volume keys, media buttons, and transport controls.
A MediaSession should be created when an app wants to publish media playback information or handle media keys. In general an app only needs one session for all playback, though multiple sessions can be created to provide finer grain controls of media.
Once a session is created the owner of the session may pass its session token
to other processes to allow them to create a MediaController
to interact with the session.
To receive commands, media keys, and other events a Callback
must be set with setCallback(android.media.session.MediaSession.Callback)
. To make the session discoverable by other apps, including system apps, setActive(true)
must be called.
When an app is finished performing playback it must call release()
to clean up the session and notify any controllers.
MediaSession objects are thread safe.
Summary
Nested classes | |
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class | MediaSession.Callback Receives media buttons, transport controls, and commands from controllers and the system. |
class | MediaSession.QueueItem A single item that is part of the play queue. |
class | MediaSession.Token Represents an ongoing session. |
Constants | |
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int | FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS This constant was deprecated in API level 26. This flag is no longer used. All media sessions are expected to handle media button events now. |
int | FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS This constant was deprecated in API level 26. This flag is no longer used. All media sessions are expected to handle transport controls now. |
Public constructors | |
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MediaSession(Context context, String tag) Creates a new session. | |
MediaSession(Context context, String tag, Bundle sessionInfo) Creates a new session. |
Public methods | |
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MediaController | getController() Get a controller for this session. |
MediaSessionManager.RemoteUserInfo | getCurrentControllerInfo() Gets the controller information who sent the current request. |
MediaSession.Token | getSessionToken() Retrieve a token object that can be used by apps to create a |
boolean | isActive() Get the current active state of this session. |
void | release() This must be called when an app has finished performing playback. |
void | sendSessionEvent(String event, Bundle extras) Send a proprietary event to all MediaControllers listening to this Session. |
void | setActive(boolean active) Set if this session is currently active. |
void | setCallback(MediaSession.Callback callback) Set the callback to receive updates for the MediaSession. |
void | setCallback(MediaSession.Callback callback, Handler handler) Set the callback to receive updates for the MediaSession. |
void | setExtras(Bundle extras) Set some extras that can be associated with the |
void | setFlags(int flags) Set any flags for the session. |
void | setMediaButtonBroadcastReceiver(ComponentName broadcastReceiver) Set the component name of the manifest-declared |
void | setMediaButtonReceiver(PendingIntent mbr) This method was deprecated in API level 31. Use |
void | setMetadata(MediaMetadata metadata) Update the current metadata. |
void | setPlaybackState(PlaybackState state) Update the current playback state. |
void | setPlaybackToLocal(AudioAttributes attributes) Set the attributes for this session's audio. |
void | setPlaybackToRemote(VolumeProvider volumeProvider) Configure this session to use remote volume handling. |
void | setQueue(List<MediaSession.QueueItem> queue) Update the list of items in the play queue. |
void | setQueueTitle(CharSequence title) Set the title of the play queue. |
void | setRatingType(int type) Set the style of rating used by this session. |
void | setSessionActivity(PendingIntent pi) Set an intent for launching UI for this Session. |
Protected methods | |
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void | finalize() Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. |
Inherited methods | |
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Constants
FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS
public static final int FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS
This constant was deprecated in API level 26.
This flag is no longer used. All media sessions are expected to handle media button events now.
Set this flag on the session to indicate that it can handle media button events.
Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)
FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS
public static final int FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS
This constant was deprecated in API level 26.
This flag is no longer used. All media sessions are expected to handle transport controls now.
Set this flag on the session to indicate that it handles transport control commands through its Callback
.
Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)
Public constructors
MediaSession
public MediaSession (Context context, String tag)
Creates a new session. The session will automatically be registered with the system but will not be published until setActive(true)
is called. You must call release()
when finished with the session.
Note that RuntimeException
will be thrown if an app creates too many sessions.
Parameters | |
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context | Context : The context to use to create the session. This value cannot be null . |
tag | String : A short name for debugging purposes. This value cannot be null . |
MediaSession
public MediaSession (Context context, String tag, Bundle sessionInfo)
Creates a new session. The session will automatically be registered with the system, but will not be published until setActive(true)
is called. You must call release()
when finished with the session.
The sessionInfo
can include additional unchanging information about this session. For example, it can include the version of the application, or the list of the custom commands that this session supports.
Note that RuntimeException
will be thrown if an app creates too many sessions.
Parameters | |
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context | Context : The context to use to create the session. This value cannot be null . |
tag | String : A short name for debugging purposes. This value cannot be null . |
sessionInfo | Bundle : A bundle for additional information about this session. Controllers can get this information by calling MediaController.getSessionInfo() . An IllegalArgumentException will be thrown if this contains any non-framework Parcelable objects. This value may be null . |
Public methods
getController
public MediaController getController ()
Get a controller for this session. This is a convenience method to avoid having to cache your own controller in process.
Returns | |
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MediaController | A controller for this session. This value cannot be null . |
getCurrentControllerInfo
public MediaSessionManager.RemoteUserInfo getCurrentControllerInfo ()
Gets the controller information who sent the current request.
Note: This is only valid while in a request callback, such as Callback.onPlay
.
Returns | |
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MediaSessionManager.RemoteUserInfo | This value cannot be null . |
Throws | |
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IllegalStateException | If this method is called outside of Callback methods. |
getSessionToken
public MediaSession.Token getSessionToken ()
Retrieve a token object that can be used by apps to create a MediaController
for interacting with this session. The owner of the session is responsible for deciding how to distribute these tokens.
Returns | |
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MediaSession.Token | A token that can be used to create a MediaController for this session This value cannot be null . |
isActive
public boolean isActive ()
Get the current active state of this session.
If false then your session's controller will not be discoverable via MediaSessionManager.getActiveSessions(ComponentName)
by other apps, including system apps.
Returns | |
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boolean | True if the session is active, false otherwise. |
release
public void release ()
This must be called when an app has finished performing playback. If playback is expected to start again shortly the session can be left open, but it must be released if your activity or service is being destroyed.
sendSessionEvent
public void sendSessionEvent (String event, Bundle extras)
Send a proprietary event to all MediaControllers listening to this Session. It's up to the Controller/Session owner to determine the meaning of any events.
Parameters | |
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event | String : The name of the event to send This value cannot be null . |
extras | Bundle : Any extras included with the event This value may be null . |
setActive
public void setActive (boolean active)
Set if this session is currently active.
If set to false then your session's controller will not be discoverable via MediaSessionManager.getActiveSessions(ComponentName)
by other apps, including system apps.
Parameters | |
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active | boolean : Whether this session is active or not. |
setCallback
public void setCallback (MediaSession.Callback callback)
Set the callback to receive updates for the MediaSession. This includes media button events and transport controls. The caller's thread will be used to post updates.
Set the callback to null to stop receiving updates.
Parameters | |
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callback | MediaSession.Callback : The callback object This value may be null . |
setCallback
public void setCallback (MediaSession.Callback callback, Handler handler)
Set the callback to receive updates for the MediaSession. This includes media button events and transport controls.
Set the callback to null to stop receiving updates.
Parameters | |
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callback | MediaSession.Callback : The callback to receive updates on. This value may be null . |
handler | Handler : The handler that events should be posted on. This value may be null . |
setExtras
public void setExtras (Bundle extras)
Set some extras that can be associated with the MediaSession
. No assumptions should be made as to how a MediaController
will handle these extras. Keys should be fully qualified (e.g. com.example.MY_EXTRA) to avoid conflicts.
Parameters | |
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extras | Bundle : The extras associated with the MediaSession . This value may be null . |
setFlags
public void setFlags (int flags)
Set any flags for the session.
Parameters | |
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flags | int : The flags to set for this session. Value is either 0 or a combination of FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS , FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS , and android.media.session.MediaSession.FLAG_EXCLUSIVE_GLOBAL_PRIORITY |
setMediaButtonBroadcastReceiver
public void setMediaButtonBroadcastReceiver (ComponentName broadcastReceiver)
Set the component name of the manifest-declared BroadcastReceiver
class that should receive media buttons. This allows restarting playback after the session has been stopped. If your app is started in this way an Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON
intent will be sent to the broadcast receiver. On apps targeting Android U and above, this will throw an IllegalArgumentException
if the provided ComponentName
does not resolve to an existing broadcast receiver
.
Note: The given BroadcastReceiver
should belong to the same package as the context that was given when creating MediaSession
.
Parameters | |
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broadcastReceiver | ComponentName : the component name of the BroadcastReceiver class This value may be null . |
Throws | |
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IllegalArgumentException | if broadcastReceiver does not exist on apps targeting Android U and above |
setMediaButtonReceiver
public void setMediaButtonReceiver (PendingIntent mbr)
This method was deprecated in API level 31.
Use setMediaButtonBroadcastReceiver(android.content.ComponentName)
instead.
Set a pending intent for your media button receiver to allow restarting playback after the session has been stopped.
If your app is started in this way an Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON
intent will be sent via the pending intent.
The provided PendingIntent
must not target an activity. On apps targeting Android V and above, passing an activity pending intent to this method causes an IllegalArgumentException
. On apps targeting Android U and below, passing an activity pending intent causes the call to be ignored. Refer to this guide for more information.
The pending intent is recommended to be explicit to follow the security recommendation of PendingIntent.getService
.
Parameters | |
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mbr | PendingIntent : The PendingIntent to send the media button event to. This value may be null . |
Throws | |
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IllegalArgumentException | if the pending intent targets an activity on apps targeting Android V and above. |
setMetadata
public void setMetadata (MediaMetadata metadata)
Update the current metadata. New metadata can be created using MediaMetadata.Builder
. This operation may take time proportional to the size of the bitmap to replace large bitmaps with a scaled down copy.
Parameters | |
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metadata | MediaMetadata : The new metadata This value may be null . |
setPlaybackState
public void setPlaybackState (PlaybackState state)
Update the current playback state.
Parameters | |
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state | PlaybackState : The current state of playback This value may be null . |
setPlaybackToLocal
public void setPlaybackToLocal (AudioAttributes attributes)
Set the attributes for this session's audio. This will affect the system's volume handling for this session. If setPlaybackToRemote(VolumeProvider)
was previously called it will stop receiving volume commands and the system will begin sending volume changes to the appropriate stream.
By default sessions use attributes for media.
Parameters | |
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attributes | AudioAttributes : The AudioAttributes for this session's audio. |
setPlaybackToRemote
public void setPlaybackToRemote (VolumeProvider volumeProvider)
Configure this session to use remote volume handling. This must be called to receive volume button events, otherwise the system will adjust the appropriate stream volume for this session. If setPlaybackToLocal(AudioAttributes)
was previously called the system will stop handling volume changes for this session and pass them to the volume provider instead.
Parameters | |
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volumeProvider | VolumeProvider : The provider that will handle volume changes. May not be null. |
setQueue
public void setQueue (List<MediaSession.QueueItem> queue)
Update the list of items in the play queue. It is an ordered list and should contain the current item, and previous or upcoming items if they exist. Specify null if there is no current play queue.
The queue should be of reasonable size. If the play queue is unbounded within your app, it is better to send a reasonable amount in a sliding window instead.
Parameters | |
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queue | List : A list of items in the play queue. This value may be null . |
setQueueTitle
public void setQueueTitle (CharSequence title)
Set the title of the play queue. The UI should display this title along with the play queue itself. e.g. "Play Queue", "Now Playing", or an album name.
Parameters | |
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title | CharSequence : The title of the play queue. This value may be null . |
setRatingType
public void setRatingType (int type)
Set the style of rating used by this session. Apps trying to set the rating should use this style. Must be one of the following:
Rating.RATING_NONE
Rating.RATING_3_STARS
Rating.RATING_4_STARS
Rating.RATING_5_STARS
Rating.RATING_HEART
Rating.RATING_PERCENTAGE
Rating.RATING_THUMB_UP_DOWN
Parameters | |
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type | int : Value is Rating.RATING_NONE , Rating.RATING_HEART , Rating.RATING_THUMB_UP_DOWN , Rating.RATING_3_STARS , Rating.RATING_4_STARS , Rating.RATING_5_STARS , or Rating.RATING_PERCENTAGE |
setSessionActivity
public void setSessionActivity (PendingIntent pi)
Set an intent for launching UI for this Session. This can be used as a quick link to an ongoing media screen. The intent should be for an activity that may be started using Activity.startActivity(Intent)
.
Parameters | |
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pi | PendingIntent : The intent to launch to show UI for this Session. This value may be null . |
Protected methods
finalize
protected void finalize ()
Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. A subclass overrides the finalize
method to dispose of system resources or to perform other cleanup.
The general contract of finalize
is that it is invoked if and when the Java virtual machine has determined that there is no longer any means by which this object can be accessed by any thread that has not yet died, except as a result of an action taken by the finalization of some other object or class which is ready to be finalized. The finalize
method may take any action, including making this object available again to other threads; the usual purpose of finalize
, however, is to perform cleanup actions before the object is irrevocably discarded. For example, the finalize method for an object that represents an input/output connection might perform explicit I/O transactions to break the connection before the object is permanently discarded.
The finalize
method of class Object
performs no special action; it simply returns normally. Subclasses of Object
may override this definition.
The Java programming language does not guarantee which thread will invoke the finalize
method for any given object. It is guaranteed, however, that the thread that invokes finalize will not be holding any user-visible synchronization locks when finalize is invoked. If an uncaught exception is thrown by the finalize method, the exception is ignored and finalization of that object terminates.
After the finalize
method has been invoked for an object, no further action is taken until the Java virtual machine has again determined that there is no longer any means by which this object can be accessed by any thread that has not yet died, including possible actions by other objects or classes which are ready to be finalized, at which point the object may be discarded.
The finalize
method is never invoked more than once by a Java virtual machine for any given object.
Any exception thrown by the finalize
method causes the finalization of this object to be halted, but is otherwise ignored.
Throws | |
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Throwable |
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Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC.