Third-Party App Ideas - Recent Threads

Challenges

Jan1377ski — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:06:07 GMT

Hallo zusammen, warum gibt es bei Garmin nur die Möglichkeit auf maximal 4 verschiedene Challenges? Garmin bietet so viele verschiedene Aktivitäten an, warum dann nicht auch passende Challenges, in denen ich gegen meine Freunde antreten kann? Warum ist das nur auf Laufen, Gehen, Fahrrad fahren und schwimmen begrenzt? Sportliche Grüße

BT Remote Control for Triggering Lap Button

4780780 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:29:57 GMT

Does anyone know how I might go about creating a third-party BT remote for Garmin Instinct / Fenix watches that triggers the lap button?

Best Connect IQ architecture for expedition app using Edge 1040 and Enduro 3?

2301349 — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:27:36 GMT

I’m developing a private, non-commercial expedition support app that will be used during a long-distance cycling trip. The app is not for sale and is being built primarily for my own use during the expedition. For context, my 134lb service dog Juno are riding a recumbent tricycle from Calais, Maine to the Florida Keys to raise money for Wounded Warrior and raise awareness for service dogs in general.

My Garmin hardware includes:

Edge 1040
Enduro 3
Garmin power-meter pedals
Garmin Varia RCT715

The broader app handles route planning, ride data, readiness/recovery information, field notes, and expedition logistics. I’m trying to determine what can be done directly through Connect IQ while the Garmin Connect Developer Program is not accepting new applications.

The main things I’d like to understand are:

On-device data access
- What cycling and sensor data can a Connect IQ app or data field access directly on the Edge 1040?
- Can power, cadence, heart rate, speed, GPS, and similar data be read in real time?
- Can the Enduro 3 expose useful physiological or activity data directly to a Connect IQ app, or is most of that only available later through Garmin Connect?
Communication with an external app
- What is the recommended way for a Connect IQ app/data field to receive messages or data from an external iPhone/iPad app or web backend?
- Is Garmin Connect Mobile/BLE the preferred bridge?
- Can a Connect IQ app make web requests through Garmin Connect Mobile to a remote API?
Alerts and ride guidance
- Can a Connect IQ app or data field display custom expedition alerts or guidance on the Edge 1040 while navigating?
- For example, messages generated by the external app such as pacing guidance, upcoming resupply information, weather-related warnings, or similar contextual alerts.
Sending data outward
- Can a Connect IQ app send selected real-time or near-real-time ride information back to an external application or backend?
- If so, what architecture is recommended?
Courses/navigation
- Without Garmin Connect Developer Program access, is there any supported Connect IQ mechanism for loading or updating routes/courses on an Edge 1040, or does that require the Garmin Connect Courses API?
Recommended app type
- For this use case, would Garmin recommend a data field, device app, background service, or some combination?

I’m not looking for a workaround around Garmin’s developer policies. I want to build this using Garmin-supported methods and would appreciate guidance on the cleanest architecture that can be implemented now with Connect IQ.

Any examples, SDK references, or pointers to existing sample projects would be very helpful.

Thank you.

Mark

Infinite procedurally generated 3D world on a Garmin watch. Dynamic day/night, and 0 blown batteries.

Bodya — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 21:42:57 GMT

A while ago, I asked myself: "How far can we actually push Garmin’s Connect IQ VM?"

I’ve logged thousands of running km and a few solo marathons tracking just pace and HR like everyone else. But at some point, the dev in me took over: I decided to see how far Connect IQ could actually go and built a custom 3D graphics engine (Wolf3D/Doom-style DDA raycaster) from scratch in Monkey C.

Here is what’s going on in the video:

Infinite World: The map is 100% endless and generated procedurally on the fly as you move.
Dynamic Lighting: Real-time Day, Dusk, Night, and Morning lighting cycles with custom color palettes.
Hardcore Math Optimization: Microsecond-level optimizations (zero-branching floating-point hacks, bitwise DDA math). The pure frame render time hit 3.19 ms on Tactix simulator and 2.08 ms on Instinct 2 (smaller screen, fewer stars in the sky — oh yes, the sky is dynamic too! — and fewer rays in raycasting)!
Real Hardware Performance: On the actual wrist, the display caps out at a smooth 10–14 FPS (limited by the CIQ screen refresh rate, while the engine itself runs with massive headroom).

https://youtu.be/vj-Q_YM5wfU

I need your brains & ideas: I want to weave the user’s real-life context (health metrics, stats, daily goals) directly into this 3D world, similar to what I did with my Mars and Pandora watch faces.

How would you like your steps, heart rate, or battery to affect an endless 3D world? (e.g., world changes, weather shifts, new structures spawn based on your daily activity?). Open to all crazy ideas!

P.S. Before the battery purists attack: Yes, I know it's a watch. No, my Garmin hasn't exploded. In fact, I honestly can't even remember the last time I plugged it into a charger... unlike my friends with Apple Watches. 😉

Let me know what you think and what features you'd want to see in an infinite wrist-world!

Here is the link 100% free

https://apps.garmin.com/apps/47278f09-eea6-4e6d-aa7e-799daba8e546

navdive

7732095 — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:44:26 GMT

Title:
Connect IQ Data Fields not available/selectable in native Dive activity on Descent Mk3i (firmware Host 25.21, GPS 14.01, CIQ 5.2.0)

Body:
Device: Descent Mk3i (51mm)
Firmware: Host 25.21 (46d5ea2), GPS 14.01, CIQ 5.2.0, BMX 21.1.0, Sensor Hub 35.10, Wireless 28.27

Issue:
Third-party Connect IQ Data Fields do not appear at all (not greyed out, simply absent) in the
field-selection list when configuring screens inside the native Dive activity. The same app
installs and runs correctly as a standalone Connect IQ watch app (type: watch-app) on the same
device/firmware, and Data Fields of the same type work normally in other activity types (e.g.
running). This appears to be a platform-level restriction specific to the Dive activity rather
than a bug in our app.

Context on why this matters:
We built and tested (on real Descent Mk3i hardware, not just the simulator) a Connect IQ app that
performs underwater dead-reckoning navigation: it tracks heading and estimated distance travelled
during a dive, stores the resulting path, computes an experimental return-to-origin guidance
vector back toward the dive's start point, and displays this live on-screen while diving. This
works well as a standalone watch app, but our intended design was to surface this navigation data
as an unobtrusive Data Field layered on top of Garmin's native Dive activity - keeping Garmin's own
depth, gas, NDL/decompression, and alarm handling fully intact and authoritative, with our field
only adding supplementary navigation info alongside it. The current platform restriction makes
that integration impossible, forcing a choice between our navigation feature and Garmin's native
dive-computer screens, rather than allowing both together.

Request:
Please allow third-party Connect IQ Data Fields to be added to screens within the native Dive
activity on Descent-series devices, the same way they're already supported in other activity
types. If there is a specific technical or safety reason Data Fields are currently excluded from
Dive activities, we'd appreciate documentation of that constraint so we can design around it
correctly.

Note: this app does not replace or modify any native dive-computer function (depth, gas, NDL/
decompression, alarms) and does not claim professional-grade navigation accuracy - it is an
experimental supplementary display only.

Export of only Active Calories

LeeMeek1 — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:26:01 GMT

Is there a means to only share the active calories from an activity rather than the total (which is resting + Active)? When I export the activity calories to another app (such as MyFitnessPal) it imports that data as calories burned for the activity, but this ends up double counting the resting calories, which are already included in the BMR.

FTP server - Transfer music files wirelessly to smartwatch

8446500 — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:59:06 GMT

Hello

It would be beneficial to have an FTP server that can be started manually on my Garmin watch. The server could have access to the music folder where I can upload music files and folders. The server could be accessed via an FTP client running on any smartphone as well as desktop or laptop. Once the transfer is complete stop the server and enjoy the music on my Smartwatch

Sugar Sense – Real-Time CGM Glucose Display for Garmin Watches

Irakli — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:59:37 GMT

Hi everyone,

I’m working on Sugar Sense, a companion glucose-monitoring app for people using FreeStyle Libre, Dexcom, and Nightscout.

Sugar Sense currently provides real-time glucose readings, trend information, customizable high and low alerts, predictive low alerts, statistics, and family/caregiver sharing.

I would like to explore bringing Sugar Sense to Garmin watches through Connect IQ. The Garmin version could display:

Current glucose reading
Glucose trend arrow
Time since the latest reading
High, low, and in-range status
A glance, widget, watch-face complication, or data field

The data would be synchronized through the Sugar Sense mobile app or backend. The Garmin app would be a companion display only and would not provide insulin-dose or treatment recommendations.

I’m looking for feedback about technical feasibility, supported Garmin devices, and the best Connect IQ implementation approach. I’m also interested in connecting with an experienced Connect IQ developer.

Garmin golf app

6716744 — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:36:55 GMT

I use the standard golf app on my Garmin fenix watch which is great, but is it possible to add a very small time of day to the screen while using it as it comes in very handy while playing?

Custom Notifications/Vibration and Running in Background

5911652 — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:30:02 GMT

Hi, I would like to build a smaller app for myself where I can create reminders or tasks from the watch.
However, I read that it is not very easy to allow the app to continuously run in the background and then spit out a pop-up notification and vibrate at a certain predefined point in time. However, the post I found relating to it was over 8 years old.

Does anyone know if such thing would be possible today?

Thanks

Sprachnachricht absenden oder abspielen

1769594 — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:16:00 GMT

Guten Tag, ich besitze eine Garmin Venu X1 und würde mir wünschen, WhatsApp-Sprachnachrichten direkt über die Uhr starten/abspielen zu können. Gerade weil Garmin mit der Venu X1 ja bereits native WhatsApp-Unterstützung eingeführt hat, ist es schade, dass man für Sprachnachrichten weiterhin das Handy nutzen muss. Wäre toll, wenn das in einem zukünftigen Update ergänzt werden könnte. Danke!

Can anyone help me write a blood donation tracker app?

8808223 — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 06:33:07 GMT

App description: An app that allows users to input the dates they donated blood and their total number of donations. It also includes a countdown to their next eligible donation date, which is usually 3 months apart. Can anyone help me build an app like this? I would really appreciate it!

Garmin Varia Vue (StVZO) / Garmin Varia RCT716 die Dashcams über Edge Aktivitäten-Timer Steuern.

8266866 — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 05:09:31 GMT

Im Gegensatz zu einer Action-Cam sollte eine Dashcam bei jeder Fahrt mitlaufen, damit sie Sinn macht.

Zur Zeit muss ich sie bei jeder Fahrt starten und am Ende wieder stoppen. Und beides darf auch nicht vergessen werden.

Meinen Timer lasse ich bei 10 km/h automatisch starten. Also warum nicht die Dashcams mit dem Timer starten und stoppen dann muss ich sie nicht jedesmal starten und stoppen

und kann sie auch nicht vergessen an oder aus zu machen.

Garmin Connect IQ Data Field – Swim Pace Vibrator at each completed lap

markskuce — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 22:30:34 GMT

First time poster to the forum apologies for any errors ! Does anyone know if the following is available

Garmin Connect IQ Data Field – Swim Pace Vibrator for Epix gen2

Objective

Develop a Garmin Connect IQ Data Field for the Garmin Epix Gen 2 that can be added to a standard Pool Swim activity and provide pacing cues via vibration at fixed time intervals.

The primary use case is swimming in a 25m pool and maintaining a target pace of a selected number of seconds from 28 to 35 seconds per length.

Thanks

How can I get access to the Garmin Health API and Activity API for app development?

2213395 — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 20:04:47 GMT

Hello everyone,

I am currently planning to develop a personal fitness dashboard web application and would like to integrate Garmin data into it. The idea is to retrieve fitness, health, and activity data from my Garmin account and process it inside my own application.

I have seen that some third-party apps are able to connect to Garmin by redirecting users to a Garmin login page, where they can authorize access to their data, including historical activity data. I would like to understand how this works from a developer perspective.

Specifically, I would like to know:

How can I apply for access to the Garmin Health API and/or Activity API?
Is access available for individual developers or only for companies/approved partners?
Is there a sandbox or test environment for development?
Can the API provide historical activities and health data after a user has granted permission?
What is the recommended authentication flow for this use case?
Are there any restrictions, approval requirements, or costs involved?

At first, this would only be for my own personal use, but I would like to build the project properly from the beginning and understand what is officially supported by Garmin.

Any guidance, documentation links, or experiences from developers who have gone through the process would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance!

AI Coach for Real-Time Adaptive Training Plans

7796462 — Sat, 09 May 2026 07:22:27 GMT

Hi everyone,

I have built a website CoachX.run because I’m tired of "static" training plans.

We’ve all been there: you miss a session, and Garmin Coach just ignores it. The built-in workouts can feel repetitive, and manually creating complex workouts in the app is a total pain. Without a pre-set workout, you’re stuck constantly checking your watch, trying to remember your intervals and current progress.

CoachX changes that. The goal is to create and modify your training plans through real-time conversation. It’s designed to be:

Flexible: If you miss a day or feel off, the plan adapts instantly.
Diverse: No more cookie-cutter workouts.
Seamless: It acts like a real coach, so you don't have to spend time manually building workouts or memorizing reps.

Would this solve a pain point for you? I'd love to hear how you currently handle missed sessions or "boring" plans!

Recovery with Decimal + Date (glance/widget app idea)

RinseRepeat — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:35:18 GMT

one of my biggest peeves with Garmin is they round many things to stupid whole numbers even though internally they track to fine detail

vo2max, recovery time, etc. (remember when Strava finally added decimals and made their site 100x more functional?)

an experienced developer can probably whip this up in a weekend (maybe even share the code to teach others?)

but if no-one does I might eventually try to do it myself as a first app someday this summer to learn

assuming it's technically possible in the first place

previously the CIQ API only made recovery time available in whole integer hours

but I noticed the API for newest devices ie. Fenix7 and newer seem to have additional info with Recovery time in minutes?

If that is correct and accessible, I'd like to see a replacement for Garmin's useless Recovery time widget/glance

adding decimal point and the target date+time

something like this visual mockup?

don't even bother showing minutes or days, just state everything in hours with single decimal 0.1 - 0.9

possible with newest API?

NOT via timeToRecovery

but rather Toybox.Complications API 4.2.0

https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/api-docs/Toybox/Complications.html

COMPLICATION_TYPE_RECOVERY_TIME

API Level 4.2.0

Value is a Number of minutes remaining in your recovery time

Datafield pace for edge 530

AndiPl — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:35:17 GMT

Dear All,

I would like to have a data field pace [min/km] for my edge 530. Could someone support me?

Greetings and thanks

Andreas

About elapsed time and temperature date field

3792573 — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:06:18 GMT

Hi everyone

I want a date field for the Garmin Edge 540 bike computer that displays elapsed time and temperature in the same column. They should be centered on two lines, with the temperature on top and the elapsed time below, and the font of the elapsed time should be slightly larger than the temperature.

I spent a long time writing it myself, but I didn't succeed.

Who cam help me,3Q.

Thanks for reading, Have a great day.

I created a new app that will start an activity at a preset zone when HR reaches a certain treshold but I'd like to have a background aspect to it which would allow launching the main app when reaching a zone...

Enfedaque — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:28:44 GMT

The app is called 'Ready'

The SDK doesn't provide ability to use GPS in background and I was wondering if Garmin was planning to give some rough location estimate maybe based on cell phone location that could be queried in the background process.

[Appbuilder project] Training label data field

drkglb — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:03:07 GMT

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working on a personal project based on Garmin / Firstbeat workout labels and training load logic.
I'm not what you could call a developer, my skills in coding are very limited so I rely on AppBuilder, a customizable data field from Flowstate (all credits to him !) which collects and processes data from the sensors (HR, GPS mostly).

The idea is to build an AppBuilder data field that can estimate, in real time during a run, the likely training classification of the session — for example:

Recovery / Base
Tempo
Threshold
VO2max
Anaerobic Capacity
Sprints

The current test version does not try to perfectly reproduce Garmin yet. It is an experimental field intended to compare, during and after an activity, the live estimates from the data field with the final Garmin classification and Traning load distribution. I hope it will help me understand how training assesment works - and maybe make my training more efficient !

My approach is based on information from the following Firstbeat patent, especially the parts related to:

cumulative time in intensity zones
%LTHR
%AnT speed
modified intensity
aerobic vs anaerobic training effect logic

patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/.../US20230414143A1.pdf

I am now looking for a few interested users who would be willing to test the data field and compare its output with Garmin’s final results after activities.

The most useful test sessions would probably be things like :

easy endurance runs
tempo or threshold runs
long intervals
short intervals / 30-30 / 200 m reps
sprint sessions

What would help most is feedback such as:

Garmin’s final workout label
Aerobic / Anaerobic Training Effect
load distribution (Low / High / Anaerobic)
screenshots or observations from the data field during the activity

This is still an early test version, so I fully expect the model to need refinement. The idea is simply to improve it step by step with real-world comparisons.

If anyone is interested in testing it or discussing the logic behind Garmin / Firstbeat workout classification, the code to copy/paste (after update with your personal values for LTHR, LT pace (converted to speed) is in the post below.
PLEASE NOTE : I use a Fenix 8. I tried to optimize the code not to be too heavy on memory but if you want to give it a try, better check on a short run first if your device is capable of running the DF. It made my watch crash a few times when displaying the map screen. So I recommend not using maps or music if you are interested.

Thanks a lot !

Stair Stepper Data Fields Idea:

kemsweller — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:37:10 GMT

Stair Stepper Data Fields Idea:

Is it possible to change the data input for the Stair Stepper?

1. Add a field for the number of floors climbed (even if this is a manual input by the user).

2. Change the data of number of feet climbed by manual input (like the distance for Indoor Rowing) rather than scrolling from 0 to over 1000.

DataField that just show the number of notifications compatible with fenix 8.

KQGT — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 17:52:29 GMT

DataField that just show the number of notifications compatible with fenix 8, now there exist a widget but you have to push buttons, when i was walking i just want to now how many notifications i have to check when i end my workout, the datafield exists but not for modern models of garmin.

Porsche Connect app integration for FENIX PRO

9827708 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:21:59 GMT

Porsche offers integrations with iOS and Tizen Wearables to do lock/unlock, use horn/flashing, climate (preheating) and other cool stuff on wearables for other brands then Garmin. I just bought my Garmin for skiing and in the summer control all Garmin equipment on my boat, but there is no current Porsche integration. Someone suggested me to create a setup using Nabu Casa Home Assistant, but this is far to complex to setup and maintain, so can you please create a widget for my FENIX PRO that allows me to use Porsche Connect services?

Feature Request: API for Native Body Composition / Weight writes (Health Data)

LukeSwimmer — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:58:27 GMT

Dear Garmin Connect IQ Team,

I am the developer of a popular scale reader application for Xiaomi scales. My users, especially those using devices like the Instinct 2X Solar, are constantly requesting a feature that is currently restricted within the Garmin ecosystem: the ability to update the User’s Profile Weight and Body Composition directly via a Connect IQ app.

Currently, we can only use FitContributor to add data to a recorded activity. This is suboptimal because:

UX/User Profile: It doesn't update the actual weight chart in Garmin Connect (health stats), only the summary of a "Generic Activity."
Activity Clutter: Users have to save a "dummy" activity just to record their weight, which clutters their training calendar.
Hardware Constraints: On low-memory devices like the Instinct 2X, maintaining a stable FIT session while managing BLE communication is extremely difficult for developers.

My Proposal: Please consider exposing a new API or extending UserProfile to allow authorized Connect IQ apps to write directly to the user's Health metrics (Weight, Body Fat %, Muscle Mass).

This change would make Garmin the most open and useful health ecosystem for users who own 3rd party scales, fulfilling the requests of thousands of dedicated Garmin users.

Best regards,

Luke