robertnisipeanu/idrive-apps

What it is

This repository provides apps and tools for the iDrive 7 head unit (MGU) in BMW cars, distributed through the separate mgu Store. The main application is Waze on cluster: it puts the CarPlay map from Waze, Apple Maps or Google Maps on the instrument cluster. A shared cluster-render service draws every app's layers on both the instrument cluster and the HUD, and it covers iDrive 7 as well as iDrive 8. A small iDrive app offers Enable map, Disable map and status commands. A release folder builds and publishes the Store catalog.

Install and use

Installation happens inside the Store rather than from this repository directly. Add the GitHub source robertnisipeanu/idrive-apps in the Store and install Waze on cluster. The Store resolves dependencies first: mgu-deploy 0.7.0 from mgu-store, then cluster-render and the Waze tool. One head-unit start applies the CarPlay patch. Uninstalling runs in reverse order: app, tool, then renderer.

Build from source

The build assumes a host with the unit's toolchain available through Docker. From the repository root:

make -C native/cluster-render test test-x86 target
make -C native/waze-on-cluster test test-x86 target
node apps/robertn_waze_cluster/tools/test_control.js
node apps/robertn_waze_cluster/tools/test_page.js
node release/test/release_test.js
node release/release.js check

The first two commands run host tests and produce the target binary; the Node scripts exercise the app's control and page logic; the last two validate and reproduce the release artifacts. Each subfolder documents its own details, and release/README.md covers versions, the catalog and publishing.

Constraints

This targets the iDrive 7 MGU head unit specifically, with cluster-render also covering iDrive 8. The Store, not this repository, manages installation and removal on the vehicle, and mgu-deploy comes from mgu-store. The build path is Docker-based and uses the head unit toolchain. The project is licensed GPL-3.0-or-later, while code compiled into or copied from cluster-render is MPL-2.0; third-party files keep their own licenses, such as the Intel Media SDK headers (MIT) and the RAMSES/vsomeip interfaces (MPL-2.0).

HotRepo's take

The repository was recorded on the new-project list for C++ on 2026-11-02, with 109 stars and 19 forks and a reported gain of 8 stars and 3 forks in a window that began the same day. That record only supports what happened on that day; it says nothing about sustained adoption. The interesting technical fact is the split design: a single renderer serves both the cluster and the HUD for multiple apps and both iDrive generations, while the Store handles dependency-aware installs and removals on the car.