ARC

Help & support

For help with ARC Music, start with the frequently asked questions for requirements and availability.

Apple Music connection

Allow ARC to access Apple Music when prompted. If access was denied or revoked, review ARC's permission in System Settings, then return to the app to check the connection. Catalog playback also requires the appropriate Apple Music subscription.

Library refresh

Check your connection and Apple Music account, then use Refresh library in ARC's Apple Music status panel. Refreshing the library does not delete your saved Memory.

Search beyond your Library

Open Search to find songs, albums, artists, and playlists in Apple Music. Album, artist, and playlist results open their related details inside ARC; songs can play directly. You do not need to add a song to your personal Library first. Listening observed during Search playback can join Memory, and you can save a Moment while the song plays.

ARC retains your query, results, detail page, and browsing position during the current profile session, including when you close Search or start playback. A new search starts a new results page. Catalog availability depends on your Apple Music account and region.

Choose a Now Playing style

On Mac, open the player menu in the footer, just after Queue, and choose Standard, Vinyl, Film, Print, Shelf, or Ocean. On iPhone and iPad, tap the style button in the player header and choose Standard, Vinyl, Film, Print, or Shelf; Ocean is on Mac only. A style changes only how the song looks; playback, Queue, and Moments are unaffected.

Album and artist links

On Mac, click a song, artist, album, or cover in Now Playing or a Moment, or right-click a song row in Memory or Queue. On iPhone and iPad, long-press it instead. Choose the album in your Library, the artist’s albums in your Library, or the album or artist in Apple Music. When an album isn’t in your Library, ARC opens it in Apple Music.

Mini Player

On Mac, choose Window › Mini Player, or Mini Player in the footer player menu. The small square player floats above other windows and Spaces; drag its edges to resize it, and use its Styles button to choose Cover, Vinyl, Film, Prism, Print, or Shelf. Closing it does not stop the music.

Widgets

On iPhone or iPad, touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Add Widget, and choose ARC. Edit a widget to choose its style. The large sizes include a play and pause button; tapping a smaller widget opens ARC. If a widget shows an older song, open ARC once to refresh it.

Open a Chapter

Open Chapters from the Memory heading. Browse Weeks, Months, or Years, then select a completed period to enter its full-screen film. Browsing alone does not start a film or take over your music. Chapters never sends pop-up reminders.

Stories come from listening recorded by ARC on this device and saved Moments. Moments, Listening Days, Albums Revisited, and Listening Rhythms remain available as four separate collections. Chapters is a viewing experience derived from those local records, and reflects their edits and deletions.

Why a period may have no film

Chapters covers completed Monday–Sunday weeks, calendar months, and calendar years. Each period needs at least one saved Moment, or three distinct qualified songs across two recorded dates. A listening event qualifies after at least 30 seconds of observed playback. The current period is still in progress; periods with too few records are omitted.

ARC does not import your complete Apple Music listening history or fill in unrecorded days. Songs, album returns, Moments, late-hour and other clock-time scenes, and most-listened song and album rankings appear only where your records support them. The same source records and algorithm version preserve the same edit.

Chapter music and your connection

Entering a film saves and pauses your original playback before preparing its music. Chapter music uses recorded songs through Apple Music; catalog playback needs permission, the appropriate subscription, and songs available to your account and region. Song lookup, artwork loading, and streaming may require internet access.

Use Sound: Off for silent viewing; your original queue stays paused until you leave. If opening music cannot prepare, the film can continue silently. Buffering or unavailable songs do not stop the visual story, and ARC does not promise seamless audio mixing or fully offline music playback.

On exit, ARC restores your original queue, position, playback state, and repeat/shuffle settings. If restoration fails, use the retry offered by ARC. This return point lasts for the session, not across a force-quit. Chapter music does not add ordinary ARC listening records, and private Voice notes never play automatically.

A Chapter is played in real time inside ARC. It cannot be downloaded as an MP4 or exported as a video with music for social sharing.

On iPhone and iPad, films play full screen in portrait or landscape. Tap to show the controls, and swipe down or from the left edge to close the film. A film pauses when you leave the app.

Change the app language

Click the ARC mark at the top left to open Settings, then choose Language. Follow system uses your system or app language preference. Or select English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Français, Deutsch, or Español.

The change takes effect after restarting ARC. On Mac, choose Restart now or Later; Later keeps the choice for the next launch. Original song, album, and artist names and your own notes stay in their original wording.

Replay a saved Moment

Open a Moment and choose Replay this moment to return with a short lead-in to its saved point. Ordinary playback does not automatically pop up past Moments. Voice-note playback is always your choice.

Keep your Memory safe

Use Export Memory and Import Memory in ARC Settings to move an archive manually. Include Voice notes starts off; select it explicitly only when you want the recordings included. No ARC account is required. To keep Memory the same across your devices instead, turn on iCloud Sync in Settings. Store archives privately and retain the original until you have confirmed the imported data. If ARC reports a persistence error, keep the original files and use the retry or recovery options; do not erase your data to dismiss an error.

iCloud Sync

If iCloud Sync in Settings shows a problem: “iCloud isn’t available to ARC” means you’re signed out of iCloud or iCloud is turned off for ARC in your device’s iCloud settings. “iCloud storage is full” means new changes wait until there’s space; your Memory stays on the device. “Your iCloud account changed” means the device now uses another Apple Account; turn iCloud Sync on again to start over with this device’s Memory. Sync Now sends waiting changes at once.

Local-first storage is not a zero-loss guarantee. A force-quit, power loss, or damaged device can lose unsaved progress. Keep private backups somewhere you control.

Contact

Email support@arcmusic.app with questions about ARC. This opens your email app; the website itself does not collect support requests. No response-time commitment is currently offered.

Reporting an issue

Include your ARC version, your device and its system version, and the steps that led to the issue. Avoid sending Memory archives, recordings, credentials, or personal library screenshots unless needed and explicitly requested.