GPX, FIT or TCX: which file to export from your running watch
Every app that records a run offers to export it, and most offer more than one format. They are not interchangeable. One keeps the shape of the route and almost nothing else; another keeps every heartbeat and lap but can only be read by training software.
The short answer: export GPX when you want the route, and FIT (often labeled "original") when you want everything.
GPX: the route
GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is an open, plain-text format that has been around since 2002. A GPX track is a list of points, each with a latitude, a longitude, usually an elevation and a timestamp. Some apps add heart rate and cadence through extensions, but many tools ignore them.
Almost every mapping app, route tool and print shop can read a GPX. If you want to see, draw, print or stitch where you ran, this is the file.
FIT: everything the watch recorded
FIT (Flexible and Interoperable Data Transfer) is a compact binary format created by Garmin and now used by most running watches, including Garmin, COROS, Wahoo and Suunto. It is usually what the watch writes in the first place.
A FIT file keeps laps, heart rate, cadence, power, temperature, the device that recorded it and more. It is the right choice for moving your history between training platforms. You can't open one in a text editor, and many simple route tools can't read it.
TCX: the older middle ground
TCX (Training Center XML) is an older Garmin format from its Training Center software. It is text like GPX, but organized around laps, with heart rate and cadence built in. A few platforms still ask for it; most now prefer FIT.
Which one to pick
A quick rule:
- 01To see or keep the route itself (a map, a print, a drawing, a pair of shorts): GPX.
- 02To move your runs to another training app without losing anything: FIT, or whatever the app calls the original file.
- 03Only if a site specifically asks for it: TCX.
Treadmill and indoor runs have no GPS, so there is no route to export in any format.
A note on privacy
A GPX is exact. If your run starts at your front door, so does the file. Privacy settings that hide your start on a social app usually affect what other people see there, not what you export. Before posting a raw GPX anywhere public, trim the first and last few hundred meters.
How to export from your app
Step-by-step guides for each: Strava, Garmin Connect, COROS and Apple Watch.
Laurels makes shorts embroidered with the route from a run, and its free tools (Race Wrapped, Run Receipts, Run Song) will take a GPX when they open.
Common questions
What is the difference between a GPX and a FIT file?
GPX is an open text format that stores the GPS track: location, elevation and time for each point. FIT is a compact binary format, created by Garmin, that stores everything the watch recorded, including laps, heart rate, cadence and device data. Use GPX for the route and FIT for the full record.
Can Strava read FIT files?
Yes. Strava accepts FIT, TCX and GPX uploads, and FIT keeps the most detail.
Does a GPX file include heart rate?
Sometimes. Heart rate and cadence can be stored in GPX extensions, and Strava and Garmin often include them, but many tools that read GPX ignore that data. If you need heart rate reliably, use FIT.
Why is there no route in my export?
The run was probably recorded without GPS: on a treadmill, indoors, or with location turned off. Those activities have time, distance and heart rate, but no track to export.
Keep reading
Laurels makes custom embroidered running shorts, drawn from your own GPS data.
See the shorts →