Support

Green Onions for iPhone · version 1.1

You can also reach the same address from inside the app: Settings → Send feedback. The same answers are in the app under Settings → FAQ.

Getting started

How do I add music?

Three ways, all on the Library tab:

• Apple Music — connect it once and your playlists appear, ready to play at your cadence. Nothing is downloaded or converted, and your playlists stay exactly as they are.
• Add from Files — pick MP3 or M4A files from the Files app, iCloud Drive, or anywhere else that shows up in the file picker.
• From Music Library — pick songs already on your phone.

Songs you add as files get analyzed on the phone as they come in, which takes a few seconds each and happens once. Apple Music songs get their tempo looked up instead — see below.

Why are my Apple Music playlists showing, but not my songs?

That's deliberate. You already keep your running playlist in the Music app, so Green Onions mirrors your playlists rather than rebuilding a whole music browser you'd have to maintain twice. Add or remove songs in the Music app and they're here next time you open it. A playlist you never run to can be swiped away — it drops to the bottom, greyed out, rather than being deleted.

Why is my library empty when I open the app?

Because Green Onions doesn't come with music — it plays yours. One demo track is included so you can hear what tempo matching sounds like before you add anything. Everything else you bring in yourself.

How do I know what BPM to set?

Green Onions does not measure your cadence — you tell it the number you want. If you don't know yours, count how many times your right foot lands in 30 seconds and multiply by four. Most recreational runners come out between 150 and 170. If you'd rather just start somewhere, set 160 and adjust by feel on the run.

What it can and can't play

Does it work with Spotify?

No — not on any tier, including Premium. Spotify's downloads are encrypted and can only be opened by Spotify's own app. No third-party player can reach them.

Does it work with Apple Music?

Yes, with an active subscription. Connect it in the Library tab and your playlists play tempo-matched, streamed the same way the Music app streams them. Apple Music is the only streaming service that lets a third-party app control playback speed, which is why it's the only one here.

Do I need an Apple Music subscription?

No. Without one, add MP3s and M4As you own and everything works the same way. Apple Music is a second source, not a requirement.

What file types work?

MP3 and M4A (AAC) files that live on your phone, plus iTunes Store purchases.

Does it change or delete my original files?

No. Adding a song copies it into the app's own storage. The original stays exactly where it was, untouched. Deleting a song from the Green Onions library removes only that copy.

Playback and BPM

Where do the BPM numbers come from?

For songs you add as files, Green Onions listens to the audio and works the tempo out on your phone. An Apple Music song never reaches the app as a file, so its tempo is looked up instead — by the recording's ISRC where one exists, and otherwise measured from the song's public 30-second preview clip. Either way you can override the answer by hand.

Why are some songs dimmed?

They don't fit your current cadence. Reaching them would mean stretching the song further than it survives, so they sit out rather than play badly. Change your pace and they light back up. Files you own stretch between half and double speed; Apple Music holds a narrower window, 0.9× to 1.7×, because that's what the system player allows.

A song's BPM was detected wrong. How do I fix it?

Tap the BPM shown next to any song in your Library. That opens an editor where you can:

• Tap the beat along with the song to set it by feel.
• Halve or double it with ÷2 and ×2 — this is the fix for the most common detection mistake, where a song is read at half or twice its real tempo.
• Type a number in directly.
• Revert to detected if you want the app's own answer back.

A BPM you set by hand is kept — automatic detection won't overwrite it later.

Why does a song sound wrong at my cadence?

Almost always a wrong BPM rather than a stretching problem — fix it with the editor above. Songs that need a very large speed-up are also the most likely to sound strange; the pitch is preserved either way, but a track running far above its original tempo can feel unnatural regardless.

Can I use it alongside my run tracker?

Yes. Green Onions is only a music player — it doesn't use GPS or read any health data, so Strava, Nike Run Club, the Workout app and anything similar keep running normally beside it.

Does it work offline?

Songs you've added as files do, entirely — they live on the phone, so airplane mode, a dead zone and a phone with no SIM are all fine. Apple Music needs a connection, the same as it does in the Music app. Songs still waiting on a tempo lookup stay in line and match the moment you're back.

Paying for it

What's free and what isn't?

The first twenty-five songs you play are free, with everything unlocked — your own music, Apple Music, all of it. After that, unlocking the app is a one-time $9.99. The demo track keeps playing at your cadence forever, whatever you've paid.

What does it cost?

$9.99, once. There is no subscription, nothing renews, and there is no account to create. No ads, ever.

Why twenty-five songs instead of a free week?

Because a week you don't run is a week of trial you never used. Counting songs means a bad weather stretch, a busy fortnight or a sore knee can't quietly spend it for you. Songs you skip past don't count either.

What happens when the free songs run out?

Whatever you're listening to right now finishes — the app will never cut your music off partway through a run. The next time you open it, you'll see the unlock screen.

How do I get my purchase back on a new phone?

Settings → Restore purchases, signed in with the same Apple Account you bought it with.

Known limitations

• The screen still dims while you're using the lock-screen controls. iOS does not let a third-party Live Activity hold the display awake, and tapping its buttons doesn't reset the sleep timer. The − and + still work; the screen just may have faded before you reach for them.
• The lock-screen card can outlive a force-quit. iOS gives a force-quit app no chance to clean up, so the card may linger. Opening Green Onions again clears it.
• Skipping while paused starts playback. This matches how most music apps behave, and it's deliberate.
• No Apple Watch app, and no automatic cadence detection in this version.

Privacy

The app collects nothing — no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking. It does make network requests once you connect Apple Music: to Apple, for your playlists and the audio itself, and to one music database for song tempos. Nothing that identifies you is sent to either. (This website is a separate thing, and it does use privacy-preserving visit counting.) All of it is spelled out at greenonions.app/privacy.html.