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Vela documentation

Everything written about Vela Maps, in one place: how to use it, what it sends where, how each part works, and the full technical specification. Use the search box to find anything, from "offline routing" to a class name like NavSession.

This folder is also the source of the documentation website at https://pimpinpumpkin.github.io/Vela/docs/, rebuilt from main on every push.

Start here

Questions and answersAre the places Google's? Does it work offline? How do I run it with no Google at all? What reaches GoogleEvery request the app can make, which setting controls it, and what stays on the phone. Install with F-DroidAdd Vela's own repository to any F-Droid client, or use Obtainium. Every featureThe complete list, newest first, with the date each one landed.

How it works

The Vela bookSubsystem by subsystem, with the real numbers: where pins come from, when data is rebuilt, how rerouting decides. Technical specificationThe authoritative reference: every contract, constant and constraint in the app. RoadmapWhat is still open, and the big bets.

Chapters of the book

Chapter Covers
Places on the map Where the pins come from, how they are baked, which ones you see
Data and rebakes Every hosted dataset and when it is rebuilt
Surveillance cameras The camera dataset, the warnings, avoiding them
Navigation The per-fix loop, rerouting, traffic rechecks, pausing a drive
Routing Which router answers, and how traffic is added
Search Suggestions, voice commands, offline search
Talking to Google What Vela asks Google, and how it looks like a browser doing it
Offline Region downloads, the offline map, updates
Transit Departure boards, transit directions, stop timelines
Android Auto The car screens, and the gate Google keeps
The drive's chrome Street callouts, the road-ahead bar, the route line
Releases Canary, nightly and stable, and how updates reach you

For contributors