REACTOR Watchface

REACTOR is a premium Garmin Connect IQ watchface for AMOLED smartwatches. It blends industrial brutalist aesthetics with retro design cues from VFD displays, LCD screens, and vintage control panels — without being a literal retro watchface.

Screenshots

VFD (Cyan)	LCD (Cyan)	LCD (Green Phosphor)

True VFD (Amber)	LCD (Amber)	LCD (Siemens Blue)	LCD (White)

Features

• VFD Tube Digits: Bitmap-rendered glowing cyan tubes for the main clock display, featuring a simulated wire mesh, light bloom, and unlit filament background for realism.
• LCD Segment Digits: Vector-drawn 7-segment renderers as an alternative solid style.
• 6 Color Themes: VFD Cyan, LCD Cyan, Fósforo Verde, Ámbar, Blanco, Azul Siemens.
• Dynamic Flank Gauges: 10-segment LED-style vertical gauges (Heart Rate, Stress, Battery, Steps, Floors, Intensity Minutes, Body Battery, Phone Battery).
• Dual Historical Charts: Real-time bar charts showing Heart Rate, Body Battery, Stress, PulseOx, Altitude, Temperature, and Pressure trends.
• 5 Chart Rendering Styles: Customize the chart visuals independently with Solid, Dot Matrix, Stepped Line, Oscilloscope, or LCD Outline aesthetics.
• Custom Vector Typography: CompactFont, an entirely procedural geometric font for date windows and metrics.
• Extremely Low Power: Engineered with caching, layout isolation, and geometric primitive rendering for maximum AMOLED battery life.
• AOD Support: Automatic dim mode when the screen enters Always-On Display.

Device Support

Device	Status
Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED (47mm)	✅ Primary target
Garmin Epix Gen 2 / Pro	🔄 Secondary
Garmin Enduro 3	🔄 Secondary
Garmin Tactix 8 AMOLED	🔄 Secondary

Requirements

• Connect IQ SDK ≥ 9.2 (Download)
• macOS (build scripts use bash/zsh)
• A Garmin AMOLED device or the Connect IQ Simulator

Building & Running

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/Lechu77/reactor-watchface.git
cd reactor-watchface

2. Build

./scripts/build.sh

This compiles the project using monkeyc from your installed SDK and outputs bin/reactor.prg.

3. Run in the Simulator

./scripts/sim.sh

This starts the Connect IQ Simulator (if not already running) and loads the watchface for the Fenix 8 (47mm).

4. Switch Themes

./scripts/set_theme.sh

Running without arguments shows a help menu with all available themes:

  ╔════════════════════════════════════════╗
  ║        REACTOR · Theme Switcher        ║
  ╠════════════════════════════════════════╣
  ║  0 = VFD (Cyan)             ██ bitmap  ║
  ║  1 = LCD (Cyan)             ██ segment ║
  ║  2 = LCD (Fósforo Verde)    ██ segment ║
  ║  3 = LCD (Ámbar)            ██ segment ║
  ║  4 = LCD (Blanco)           ██ segment ║
  ║  5 = LCD (Azul Siemens)     ██ segment ║
  ╚════════════════════════════════════════╝

Example: ./scripts/set_theme.sh 3 switches to Ámbar, recompiles, and relaunches.

Installing on a Physical Watch

Option A: Sideload via USB (Development)

Note: Recent macOS versions (including macOS 26) do not mount MTP devices as regular filesystems under /Volumes. Use a dedicated MTP tool (for example OpenMTP) to transfer the .prg file if your watch doesn't appear in Finder.

1. Build the .prg file:

   ./scripts/build.sh

2. Transfer the binary to the watch using one of these methods:

   • If the device mounts as a mass-storage volume (older models / Windows): copy to the device GARMIN/APPS/ folder, e.g.

   cp bin/reactor.prg /Volumes/<DEVICE_NAME>/GARMIN/APPS/

   • If macOS does not mount it (macOS 26+), use OpenMTP (or another MTP client) to copy bin/reactor.prg into the watch filesystem (place in the APPS or GARMIN/APPS folder as shown by the client).

3. Safely disconnect (use the app's disconnect or eject the device) and unplug the cable.

4. On the watch: Settings → Watch Face → select REACTOR.

If the watch face does not appear after copying:

• Restart the watch and re-check the APPS folder with your MTP client.
• Verify that the file you copied is bin/reactor.prg (not .iq).

Option B: Connect IQ Store (Distribution)

1. Create a developer account at developer.garmin.com.
2. Package the app (release .iq signed with your developer key) using the release script:

   ./scripts/release.sh /path/to/your/developer_key.der

   The signed package will be created at bin/reactor.iq.
3. Upload the .iq file to the Connect IQ Store (Developer Dashboard) and complete the app metadata and assets.
4. Users will be able to install the watch face from the Garmin Connect mobile app after publishing (or via a private/beta distribution if preferred).

Notes

• For development rapid iteration, the Simulator (./scripts/sim.sh) is usually faster than sideloading to a device.
• bin/reactor.prg is the sideloadable runtime binary; bin/reactor.iq is the signed package for Store distribution.

Project Structure

reactor-watchface/
├── source/
│   ├── ReactorApp.mc          # App entry point
│   ├── ReactorView.mc         # Main view & widget orchestrator
│   ├── data/
│   │   ├── DataProvider.mc    # Garmin sensor & activity data
│   │   └── MetricSlot.mc      # Dynamic metric slot configuration
│   ├── rendering/
│   │   ├── CompactFont.mc     # Procedural geometric vector font
│   │   └── SegmentRenderer.mc # 7-segment LCD digit renderer
│   ├── themes/
│   │   └── Theme.mc           # Color palette & theme configuration
│   └── widgets/
│       ├── HeaderWidget.mc    # Top battery & status bar
│       ├── ChartWidget.mc     # Dual historical bar charts
│       ├── TimeWidget.mc      # Main clock (VFD or LCD)
│       ├── FlankWidget.mc     # Side LED gauge meters
│       └── BottomMetricsWidget.mc  # Bottom metric readouts
├── resources/
│   ├── drawables/             # Bitmap assets (VFD tubes, icons)
│   ├── settings/              # properties.xml & settings.xml
│   └── strings/               # UI string labels
├── scripts/
│   ├── build.sh               # Compile the project
│   ├── sim.sh                 # Launch in simulator
│   ├── set_theme.sh           # Switch theme & relaunch (cleans cache automatically)
│   └── fix_svg_icons.py       # Utility to re-export SVGs to bypass OneDrive dataless lock
├── manifest.xml               # App manifest (devices, permissions)
└── monkey.jungle              # Build configuration

License

See LICENSE for details.