Music that stays in sync
Reliable artwork, progress, play state, grayscale pause feedback, and a responsive ten-step volume rocker.
Carthios 2 · macOS + Car Thing
A second life
for Car Thing.
Turn Spotify’s discontinued dashboard into a tactile Mac companion for music, nearby transit, dictation, timers, system status, Claude Code, and Codex.
Download Carthios 2
v2.0.0 · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon & Intel
Signed and notarized for macOS. Automatic updates from 2.0 onward via Sparkle.
Built for the hardware800 × 480 · dial · five buttons
No extra login
Core music controls use the Spotify app already signed in on your Mac.
USB + Bluetooth
Use a data cable for setup and dictation, with automatic wireless recovery.
Local by default
The Mac app contains no analytics, telemetry, or Carthios cloud account.
What’s new in 2.0
The dashboard finally feels like a product.
Carthios 2 is a reliability and interaction overhaul: steadier music state, resilient device recovery, faster controls, richer Transit, and a much clearer first run.
Setup that repairs itself
Bundled ADB, guided onboarding, device health checks, and automatic USB/Bluetooth reconnection.
Transit at a glance
Cached departures paint instantly, count down smoothly, and show when rail or bus data was refreshed.
Car Thing dictation
Hold to speak, release to transcribe, then insert into the active Mac app—or copy when Accessibility is declined.
Claude Code or Codex
Pick your coding agent and keep its sessions, activity, state, and completion status visible.
One Carthios identity
A polished first-launch welcome, red-ring ignition, accessible controls, and layouts tuned to the physical screen.
Get started
Plug in. Follow along. Keep the hardware.
- 1 Install the Mac app
Open the notarized DMG, drag Carthios to Applications, and launch it from there.
- 2 Connect Car Thing over USB
The guided setup detects the device, prepares its firmware, and introduces the controls.
- 3 Choose what you use
Music works through Spotify Desktop; location, Bluetooth, advanced Spotify features, and dictation are optional.
Upgrading from Carthios 1.x
One manual install, then automatic updates resume.
Carthios 2 starts a new Sparkle signing channel. Download 2.0 here once and replace the old app. Updates after 2.0 will arrive normally from inside Carthios.
What you need
- • macOS 13 Ventura or newer
- • Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
- • Spotify Car Thing
- • USB-C data cable for setup
Privacy by default
Carthios has no user account and the Mac app ships without analytics or telemetry. Credentials stay in Keychain. Dictated text and music history are excluded from feedback diagnostics.
Permissions, advanced features, and hardware notes
Bluetooth
Used only to reconnect and communicate with Car Thing wirelessly. USB data remains preferred when connected.
Location and Transit
Used on the Mac to find nearby agency stops. Some providers, including MTA buses, require a developer key saved in Keychain. Coverage varies by city and agency.
Dictation and Accessibility
Speech recognition turns Car Thing microphone audio into text. Accessibility allows direct insertion into the active app; if declined, Carthios keeps the transcript on the clipboard instead.
Advanced Spotify
Core playback uses Spotify Desktop with no extra Carthios login. Optional account connection unlocks likes, queue, playlists, and Spotify Connect where Spotify supports them.
Unofficial firmware
Carthios is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Spotify. Repurposing discontinued hardware involves unofficial software and is performed at your own risk.
Carthios is independent software provided “as is,” without warranty. Spotify and Car Thing are trademarks of their respective owners. Questions or feedback: @heyzian.