Visualise your Garmin health data for free with this open source dashboard
There’s a new free and open source Garmin dashboard up on GitHub, built as a kind of answer to Garmin’s new Connect+ subscription. It runs on Grafana and Docker, and while it gives you loads of ways to chart your health data, getting it set up isn’t exactly plug-and-play. You’ll need to be pretty comfortable with tech to get everything working.
A response to Connect+ that keeps your data local
Garmin recently rolled out its new Connect+ premium tier, and not long after, this open source project showed up on GitHub. It’s a Grafana-based dashboard that lets you visualise your Garmin health data without needing a subscription or relying on any third-party platform.
The project’s already getting attention on r/Garmin, where the original fundraiser post made it to the top of the daily feed. That community support helped the developer get hold of the hardware needed to build and test the whole thing. After a few intense days of work, they’ve released a public beta that’s up and running—ready for anyone who wants to try it out locally.
What the dashboard shows you
This dashboard is far from basic. It pulls in most of the metrics you’d expect from Garmin Connect: heart rate data, body battery, stress levels, calories, sleep patterns including SpO2 and breathing rate, daily and hourly step heatmaps, and even a sleep regularity tracker. It also charts your workouts with GPS overlays showing pace, altitude, and heart rate along the way.
Historical backfill is supported too, so you can pull older Garmin data and look at long-term trends. As you can see from the screenshot below, it looks great – lots of data there to play around with.
A more high-res version can be found on this link.
The backend runs on Docker and Linux tools, and while there’s a detailed setup guide, this isn’t exactly beginner territory. You’ll need to be pretty tech-savvy to get everything up and running. If you’re already familiar with Docker or managing a home server, you’ll be on more comfortable ground—but it’s definitely not a one-click install.
Why it’s not being offered as a hosted service
You might be asking why this isn’t just offered as a simple hosted service. The developer’s been clear about that—it’s all about privacy. They’re working solo, and they’re a biologist, not someone running a secure cloud platform. Taking responsibility for people’s health data at scale just isn’t something they’re willing to risk. So this stays DIY by design. And honestly, you’d probably think twice before handing over all your personal health data to a random server anyway.
Their goal from the start was to make something free, transparent, and self-owned. That idea runs counter to turning it into a SaaS business. And in fairness, this is exactly the kind of project that benefits from staying small and community-supported.
More solutions incoming
This isn’t the only project aiming to fill the Connect+ gap. We know of at least one more on Discord that should see the light of day in the next 2-3 weeks. Hopefully, that one will offer easier onboarding. This one is solid if you’re comfortable poking around with Docker, but there’s definitely room for something with a simpler, click-and-go experience.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
Still, for those who value control over convenience, this dashboard ticks a lot of boxes. And if nothing else, it’s a reminder of how fast the community can respond when commercial shifts push too hard. The project is still in beta, and only tested on a couple of days’ worth of data, so expect a few bugs here and there.
You can try it for yourself by downloading the necessary file on Github. This is also where you can find detailed installation instructions. There’s a separate project from the same developer for those with Fitbit devices. They’ve asked for stars, feedback, and maybe a coffee if you find the projects useful.
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