7 days free on every face · one-time code · no subscription
DIALFORGE
Shell Time

7-day free trial, then a one-time 3.99 EUR unlock code at dialforge.dev. No subscription.

Your wrist is now a terminal session.

Shell Time turns the watch face into a login shell: a blinking prompt, a big monospace

clock, and your stats printed out like command output. Built for developers, sysadmins

and anyone who feels more at home in a terminal than a dashboard.

user@garmin:~$ time

14:12:08

Tue 29 sep 2026

user@garmin:~$ status

hr 68 bpm

steps 8412 [#####--]

batt 82% (11d)

user@garmin:~$ _

Features:

  • Monospace VT323 font, real blinking block cursor (only ticks while the screen is awake)
  • Three configurable status lines with ASCII progress bars
  • Prompt style: user@garmin, root@fenix, or a bare ~
  • Four terminal color themes: Green, Amber, White, Cyan
  • Clean always-on display: dim clock and prompt, no burn-in

Data fields (pick any 3 for the status lines):

heart rate, steps, battery, distance, calories, floors, active minutes, body battery,

stress, altitude, notifications, solar intensity, battery days, temperature, sunrise,

sunset, next sun event, respiration, SpO2, recovery time, pressure, resting HR, VO2max,

sleep score, training status, 5K predictor, calendar, weekly run distance, moon phase,

week number, day of year.

Settings: on the watch (hold MENU, then Watch face, then Customize) or in the Connect IQ app.

Since 1.2.0: new data to choose from: weather with icon, wind, humidity, UV, chance of rain, active calories, alarms, phone connection, do not disturb, move bar, 10K, half and full marathon predictions, cycling VO2 max, weekly ride distance and a second time zone (a fixed UTC offset, no daylight saving); time format (12/24 h) and leading zero settings; on touchscreen watches, touch and hold a field to open its screen.

Garmin does not give watch faces access to HRV status or Training Readiness, so no Connect IQ watch face can show them.

Code not working? Write to kontakt@dialforge.dev and we fix it or refund you.

A little request from the maker

Dialforge is my student project. I build these watch faces after classes, so they are still at an early stage, and I could not test every watch model myself. If something looks wrong on your watch, please do not leave a negative rating: write to me first at https://dialforge.dev/faces/shelltime/ and I will fix it, usually within 24 hours. A kind review means more to me than you can imagine. And if you like my work, you can buy me a coffee (the link is at the bottom of dialforge.dev): I am saving up to pay for my studies. Thank you for your patience and for giving a young developer a chance.

Manual

Shell Time: user manual

What it does

Shell Time turns the watch face into a terminal session: a prompt, a big monospace clock, the date and three status lines that print your data like command output.

Requirements and supported watches

Needs Connect IQ 3.3.0+ and the Connect IQ or Garmin Connect phone app. Supported watches:

  • Round AMOLED: epix 2 and epix Pro 2, fēnix 8, E, Forerunner 165, 265, 570, 965, 970, Instinct 3 AMOLED, Crossover AMOLED, Venu 2, 3, 4, vivoactive 5, 6.
  • Round MIP: enduro 3, fēnix 7 series, 8 Solar, Forerunner 55, 245, 255, vivoactive 4.
  • Square and rectangular AMOLED: Venu Sq 2, Venu X1.

Installation

In the Connect IQ app on your phone (or Garmin Connect, then the Connect IQ Store) find "Shell Time" by Dialforge, tap Install and sync the watch. Then hold the watch face (or the menu button), choose Watch Face and select Shell Time.

First launch

Prompt user@garmin, time, date, then status lines for heart rate, steps and battery (with days left), in green. Seconds are on. The 7-day trial starts the first time the face runs.

Controls

Watches with buttons (START, UP, DOWN, BACK)

  • No actions of its own. Settings: menu button (UP), Watch Face, Customize.

Touch watches (tap, hold, swipe)

  • Touch and hold a data field to open Garmin's screen for it. No matching screen, nothing happens.
  • Each of the three status lines is a touch spot (the whole line when it has a progress bar).

Settings

Watch: menu button, Watch Face, Customize. Phone: Connect IQ app, Shell Time, Settings (code fields only there).

  • Status line 1, Status line 2, Status line 3: each shows one of 47 data types, from heart rate to weather, or stays empty. Defaults in that order: Heart rate, Steps, Battery %.
  • Prompt: user@garmin, root@fenix, ~. Default: user@garmin.
  • Theme: Green, Amber, White, Cyan. Default: Green.
  • Seconds: on or off. Default: on.
  • Time format: Automatic (watch setting), 12-hour, 24-hour. Default: Automatic.
  • Second time zone: fixed UTC offset, UTC-12 to UTC+14 with half-hour zones, no automatic daylight saving.
  • Date language: Automatic, English, Polski. Default: Automatic. It keeps working after the trial.
  • Prompt changes the text of the prompt and cursor lines only.

License

  • Trial: 7 days from the first launch, everything works.
  • Price: 3.99 EUR once at dialforge.dev, no subscription. The 8-character code is tied to your watch's UID.
  • Where to enter it: phone, Connect IQ app, Shell Time, Settings. Read the UID in "UID (dialforge.dev)", buy the code, then type it into "Unlock code".
  • After the trial without a code: settings return to defaults (the language setting stays) and UNLOCK DIALFORGE.DEV appears at the bottom. Time and data keep working.

Privacy and permissions

Permissions:

  • Sensor history: recent body battery, stress and similar values.
  • User profile: data like max heart rate and units.
  • Complications: Garmin's own data for the fields.

No internet use at all.

Troubleshooting

The code does not work. Check that the UID you bought for matches "UID (dialforge.dev)" and type all 8 characters (case is ignored, no 0, O, 1 or I). A code for another face does not fit. Sync, then reopen.

A field shows --. The watch has no value for it right now: it may need a sensor reading, a connected phone (weather), a Garmin feature turned on, or a newer watch. The face never invents numbers.

Battery drain? Seconds are drawn only while the watch is awake, in low-power mode the face redraws once a minute.

What does always-on look like? On AMOLED, always-on shows only the time and the prompt, in the dimmed theme color and shifted every minute. MIP watches have no separate always-on mode.

12-hour or 24-hour? Automatic follows the watch's 12/24-hour setting. You can force 12 or 24 hours in the settings.

Contact

kontakt@dialforge.dev or dialforge.dev. Please write before leaving a low rating.

Permissions and privacy

This product asks the watch for the permissions below. Connect IQ shows them when you install it.

  • Sensor history: Reads recent values stored by the watch (for example Body Battery, stress, heart rate, steps trend).
  • Your profile: Reads your Garmin profile on the watch (for example age, weight, heart rate zones) to calculate values for you.
  • Watch data (complications): Shows data from other watch features, such as battery or steps, on the face.

This product does not use the internet and sends no data to our servers.

Unlock

€3.99

One-time payment. No subscription. The code works on the watch whose UID you enter.

  1. Install the face from the Connect IQ store. It is free for 7 days.
  2. Find your 10-digit UID: Connect IQ app on the phone > My Device > Watch faces > Shell Time > Settings (first field).
  3. Enter UID and e-mail, pay with PayPal (cards work without a PayPal account). The code appears here at once.
  4. Type the code into the same settings page, field "Unlock code". The watch checks it offline.

More faces

Tell us how to make it better

Missing a data field, a colour, a layout? Found a bug on your watch model? Write it here. We read every message and ship improvements in updates.

Shell Time€3.99Unlock