Terento

Install maps on Garmin watches, simply.

Get your Garmin ready for your next hike or ride. Connect your watch or Edge bike computer, choose a map, and let Terento handle the download, installation, and transfer checks from your Mac.

Terento is free and open source, built for Apple Silicon Macs, Garmin smartwatches with map support and newer Garmin Edge bike computers with map support. Choose from Freizeitkarte, OpenTopoMap, MapRando, BBBike, and OSMapaPL, or import your own compatible .img map.

Connect → Install → Done

Download for Mac · Check compatibility · Mac installation guide · Compare map styles

Free and open source · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon

On Linux? Try the web installer in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera or Brave.

Get the maps you need, with less setup

• Find your destination. Search countries and regions, filter by continent or provider, or import a compatible map from your Mac.
• Install with confidence. Terento checks available space, downloads from the original provider, and verifies the transfer to your watch.
• Keep your maps organised. See installed maps by provider, find available updates, and remove maps you no longer need.
• Protect what is already there. Original Garmin maps and unknown files remain protected. Updates replace only Terento-managed maps.

Removing a recognized third-party map that Terento did not install requires separate confirmation.

How it works

1. Connect. Plug in your watch with a USB data cable. Terento recognizes it and checks whether you can continue safely.
2. Install. Choose a region from the catalog or add your own compatible .img map. Terento handles the installation and verification.
3. Done. Wait for confirmation, safely disconnect your watch, and check that the map is available on it.

Compare map styles

Not sure which map to choose? The map style comparison shows how the map styles draw the same place. Pick a mountain area, trail or city, then compare contour lines, trails, streets and labels side by side or with a swipe.

Previews are close, not exact: your watch draws the map itself, so colours and detail can differ with the watch model and its map settings.

Web installer

The web installer puts maps on your watch from Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera or Brave on a computer, without installing the app. Firefox and Safari can't connect to USB devices. It works on a Mac and on Linux. It does not work on Windows yet: with Windows' own watch driver, no browser can open the watch.

Open the web installer

1. Plug in your watch with a USB data cable and unlock it. Quit Garmin Express and the Terento app.
2. Choose Connect your watch. In the browser's list, first you may see "GPS (various models)". Don't choose it. After a minute or two an entry with "Garmin" in its name appears. Choose that one.
3. Choose maps and install them.

On Linux, where the web installer is still being tested, the browser may first need USB access to the watch; the page shows a one-time command for that. The web installer installs, updates and removes catalog maps; it cannot add your own .img maps. Successful web installations appear on the Compatibility page for each exact model. If you try it, please tell us how it went, whether it worked or not.

In the web installer, Terento's server downloads each map from its provider and passes it to your browser; the copy is deleted once your browser has it. The web installer's code is not part of this repository. See the Privacy Policy for what it records.

Requirements and compatibility

• macOS 13 or later on an Apple Silicon Mac; Intel Macs are not supported.
• A Garmin smartwatch with map support, or a newer Garmin Edge bike computer with map support (such as Edge 540, 840, 1040, 1050 or Explore 2).
• A USB cable that supports data transfer.
• An Internet connection for downloading catalog maps.

Compatibility is evaluated for each exact model and variant using real installation evidence. The Compatibility page is a successful-installation directory: it shows exact Garmin models and variants with at least one successful shared installation. The list grows as more successful installations are shared, and a model missing from the list does not mean it is unsupported. Terento is intended for Garmin smartwatches and newer Garmin Edge bike computers with map support.

Check your Garmin's compatibility

Evidence for one model does not establish compatibility with every Garmin watch or Edge. Older Edge models that connect as a USB drive, handheld GPS devices, and automotive devices are outside the current public scope.

Download and release status

The latest public release is 1.1.0 (build 46), which adds OSMapaPL maps of Poland and the BBBike (OpenTopoMap) style. Download the notarized macOS app below; no additional software is required.

Download Terento

Temporarily unavailable maps remain visible with a reason. Install and Update are disabled until downloads are available again; installed maps remain usable.

DMG, ZIP, release notes, and previous versions are available on GitHub Releases.

Compatibility is still evaluated model by model. Updates to newer BBBike and MapRando releases were confirmed on a real watch; Freizeitkarte and OpenTopoMap updates, the faster update checks of rc.1 and the recovery fixes of rc.3 still need real-device confirmation. Of the connection messages of rc.2, only the busy-watch message has been checked on a real watch.

During an update, Terento checks the new map before removing the old version it installed. If there is not enough space for both, it stops and keeps the working map. Terento does not keep a backup of your maps on your Mac. Some watches may need to be reconnected if detection or map listing stalls.

Maps

The current catalog includes main-map packages from Freizeitkarte, OpenTopoMap, MapRando, BBBike, and OSMapaPL, based on OpenStreetMap data. BBBike offers the smaller BBBike (Ontrail) packages for hiking and cycling and BBBike (OpenTopoMap) packages in the OpenTopoMap look, without contour lines. Only one BBBike map type can be installed for the same region. OSMapaPL covers Poland, alone or with border areas, in the Podstawowa, Ogonki and Light styles plus contour lines; only one area of the same style can be on the watch at a time. In the Mac app, maps download directly from their providers.

• Install several regions together by choosing maps from the same provider.
• Some MapRando map labels are in French.
• OpenTopoMap contour lines are an optional add-on. Choose whether to include them when installing a region in Terento; the main map works without them.
• Import compatible .img maps from your Mac. Terento cannot check these maps for updates. A single map file must be smaller than 4 GB.
• Maps for Russia and Crimea are not offered in Terento. Maps already on a watch are not automatically removed.

Privacy

No account or cloud device profile is required.

Compatibility reports and map-usage diagnostics are enabled by default. You can turn either off in Terento → Diagnostics without affecting installation. Custom map imports contribute only to compatibility diagnostics, never map-usage diagnostics.

Reports exclude Garmin Unit IDs, serial numbers, accounts, local file paths, map files, and raw diagnostic logs. Infrastructure partners may process IP addresses and request metadata. Uploaded reports cannot be deleted from the app.

See the Privacy Policy for report fields, retention, and privacy-rights requests.

Why I built Terento

I enjoy mountain hiking, and before a trip I like to get maps for the places I'm visiting onto my Garmin. Finding the maps and the right Mac software was often harder than it should have been. Terento grew out of wanting that to feel simple. I'm keeping it free and open source so it can help the community.

Read the story · Support Terento

Donations are optional and do not unlock features, maps, or provider access.

Help make Terento better

If installation fails, Terento offers to open a GitHub issue with the diagnostic information needed to investigate. You can also open an issue directly.

Include your exact watch model and variant, Terento version, what you tried, and what happened. A report that a map installed and works on your watch is useful too.

For connection, storage, download or leftover-map problems, see the troubleshooting guide. For first-time setup and map visibility, see the Mac installation guide.

Contributing

Bug reports, compatibility testing, documentation improvements, and focused pull requests are welcome.

• Contributing — development setup, test suites, and safe device testing.
• Brand guidelines — visual and user-facing rules.
• Security — reporting security issues.
• Packaging — build, signing, and release details.
• Repository structure — source code and component documentation.

License and attribution

Terento source code is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later. Third-party notices cover bundled dependencies; provider maps and OpenStreetMap data retain their own licenses and attribution.

Terento is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Garmin.