Local Garmin Coach MCP

Private, single-user Garmin coaching tools for Codex/ChatGPT desktop and Claude. The server is local stdio only: no Cloudflare, Render, public URL, account service, or hosting cost.

The runtime is based on etweisberg/garmin-connect-mcp at commit 87d0ea059fb67f1ce65ac05100df74c3c3777c84. It keeps the upstream AGPL-3.0 license and Taxuspt attribution in NOTICE.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20 or newer
• pnpm 10.14.0
• A Garmin Connect account and synced watch

Install

cd /home/talvak/Desktop/repos/garmin-coach-mcp
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm exec playwright install chromium
pnpm build
pnpm auth

pnpm auth opens a dedicated visible Chrome profile. Log in manually, complete MFA, then press Enter in the terminal. The browser session stays under ~/.local/share/garmin-coach/browser-profile. Runtime CSRF values are read from the current authenticated page and never persisted or printed. Directories are 0700, files are 0600, password saving is disabled, and no username/password file is created.

Capture Garmin's profile-write contract

Garmin does not publish a stable heart-rate profile write API. The server refuses to guess it.

pnpm capture:profile-contract

The command loads Garmin's current app model, asks it to save the unchanged current default zones, and blocks the resulting PUT before delivery. It validates the route and exact unchanged body, then stores only a redacted method/path/field shape and supported scopes in ~/.local/state/garmin-coach/profile-write-contract.json with mode 0600.

If Garmin's shape cannot be proven, no contract is saved and profile writes remain disabled.

Connect Codex and ChatGPT desktop

Build first, then copy config/codex.toml.example into ~/.codex/config.toml, or add the equivalent server through ChatGPT desktop Settings > MCP servers. Codex CLI, the IDE extension, and ChatGPT desktop share local MCP configuration on the same host.

The example uses:

default_tools_approval_mode = "writes"

Both apply tools also have explicit approval_mode = "prompt". Restart the client after configuration and use /mcp to verify connection.

ChatGPT web cannot start this local stdio process. Use ChatGPT desktop/Codex for Garmin writes.

Connect Claude

Merge config/claude.json.example into Claude's MCP configuration, or run:

claude mcp add garmin-coach -- /home/talvak/snap/code/current/.local/share/pnpm/node /home/talvak/Desktop/repos/garmin-coach-mcp/dist/index.js

The filesystem lock permits only one local client to own the Garmin Chromium profile at a time. Stop the server in one client before using the other.

Tools

Tool	Garmin write
get_coaching_snapshot	No
get_training_program	No
preview_training_week	No
apply_training_week	Yes, approval required
verify_training_week	No
preview_hr_profile_update	No
apply_hr_profile_update	Yes, separate approval required

Safe workflow

1. Call get_coaching_snapshot and compare it with Garmin Connect.
2. Call preview_hr_profile_update.
3. Review every field and approve the exact canonical proposal/hash.
4. Call apply_hr_profile_update; then sync Garmin and visually verify watch zones.
5. Call preview_training_week for one Sunday-starting week.
6. Review its recovery evidence, complete payload, warnings, and hash.
7. Call apply_training_week with the unchanged canonical proposal/hash.
8. Call verify_training_week and confirm Monday/Friday are 135-149 bpm; Friday must display fixed 12% instructions.
9. Retry both apply calls to prove idempotency.

Pain/injury or illness blocks workout writes. Recovery can keep, reduce, or skip; it never increases load. Workouts are never deleted automatically.

Garmin exposes Treadmill as a watch activity beneath Running, not as a structured-workout sport. Friday is therefore a running-compatible workout named Incline Walk 12%; start it from the watch's Treadmill activity. Its 12% incline cue and 135-149 bpm target remain explicit.

Approved HR profile

Field	Value
Maximum HR	189 bpm
Resting HR	55 bpm
Lactate threshold HR	181 bpm
Basis	Heart-rate reserve/custom BPM
Zone 1	122-134 bpm
Zone 2	135-149 bpm
Zone 3	150-162 bpm
Zone 4	163-176 bpm
Zone 5	177-189 bpm

These values are provisional: age 27, resting HR 55, estimated max HR 189, and manual LTHR 181. Automatic-detection flags are preserved. Future changes require another preview and approval.

Verification

Ordinary tests are offline and never call Garmin:

pnpm test
pnpm lint
pnpm format:check
pnpm typecheck
pnpm build
git diff --check

See spec.md for behavior and docs/architecture.md for trust boundaries.

License

AGPL-3.0. See LICENSE and NOTICE.