MediaCommandKit (iOS Media Player Command Observing)

Observe iOS system media player and media player remote commands (Volume, Play / Pause, etc.). Use this to control a music player, trigger a shutter button or hijack events from media remotes such as the Ortho Remote.

Observable Events

• volume
• togglePlayPauseCommand
• playCommand
• pauseCommand
• stopCommand
• enableLanguageOptionCommand
• disableLanguageOptionCommand
• changePlaybackRateCommand
• changeRepeatModeCommand
• changeShuffleModeCommand
• nextTrackCommand
• previousTrackCommand
• skipForwardCommand
• skipBackwardCommand
• seekForwardCommand
• seekBackwardCommand
• changePlaybackPositionCommand
• ratingCommand
• likeCommand
• dislikeCommand
• bookmarkCommand

Installation

1. Copy MediaCommandCenter.swift to your project and ensure it is included in Build Phases > Compile Sources.
2. Copy silence.m4a into Assets.xcassets. (If you are not playing audio of your own.)

How to use

Begin observing

>= iOS 13:

In SceneDelegate, call MediaCommandCenter's prepare and resign methods.

func sceneDidBecomeActive(_ scene: UIScene) {
    MediaCommandCenter.prepareToBecomeActive()
}

func sceneWillResignActive(_ scene: UIScene) {
    MediaCommandCenter.prepareToResignActive()
}

< iOS 13:

In AppDelegate, call MediaCommandCenter's prepare and resign methods.

func applicationDidBecomeActive(_ application: UIApplication) {
    MediaCommandCenter.prepareToBecomeActive()
}

func applicationWillResignActive(_ application: UIApplication) {
    MediaCommandCenter.prepareToResignActive()
}

Setup the observer

Add the observing object as an observer and set commands to observe:

MediaCommandCenter.addObserver(self)
MediaCommandCenter.observedCommands = [.volume, .togglePlayPause]

Conform to the MediaCommandObserver protocol:

extension MyObject: MediaCommandObserver {
    
    func mediaCommandCenterHandleTogglePlayPause() {
        // Handle play/pause toggle
    }
    
    func mediaCommandCenterHandleVolumeChanged(_ volume: Double) {
        // Handle volume change 
    }
    
    ...
    
}

Remove the observing object on deinit:

deinit {
    MediaCommandCenter.removeObserver(self)
}

Play your own music

Set the audioPlayer instance in MediaCommandCenter, otherwise the default audio track of 00:00 length silence will play.

How it works

While the application is active, it will occupy the system media player with a silent audio track in order to receive system notifications for player control events. MediaCommandCenter listens play/pause/etc. commands from MPRemoteCommandCenter and volume KVO notifications from AVAudioSession.

Note: System media player events will not trigger if the audio player is not initiated.

Thanks

• Much inspiration from luiswdy/TallyCounter