Export guide
Export your Apple Watch workouts to get them analyzed by ChatGPT
Your Apple Watch runs sit in the Health app on your iPhone, and Apple offers no button to get a GPX or FIT file out of it. There are still three ways to get them.
With an export app: the most complete
Some apps read your workouts in Health and export them in a standard format, heart rate included. HealthFit exports to FIT, GPX or TCX; WorkoutGPX to GPX. Check on the App Store what the free version allows.
- Install the app and allow it to read your workouts, routes and heart rate in Health.
- Pick the workout to export.
- Export it as FIT if the app offers it, otherwise as GPX.
- Save the file in the Files app, or send it to your computer with AirDrop.
- Open gps-digest in Safari, on the iPhone or the computer, and drop the file.
FIT is better than GPX: it keeps laps and sensor data.
Without paying: go through Strava
If you use Strava, allow it to read your workouts in Health, from the Strava app settings. Your Apple Watch workouts are then sent there automatically. All that is left is to export them from strava.com, as explained in our Strava guide.
With the native Health export: for the curious
In the Health app, tap your profile picture, then "Export All Health Data". You get a ZIP archive that contains your routes as GPX, in the workout-routes folder. These routes only contain position, altitude and time: heart rate is stored elsewhere, in a huge XML file. The archive often weighs hundreds of MB. To analyze a workout, the first two methods are much better.
FIT, TCX or GPX: which format should you export?
| Format | What it contains | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| FIT | Everything: heart rate, laps, paired heart rate sensor, barometric elevation, pool lengths | First choice |
| TCX | Heart rate, laps, cadence; no paired sensor, no barometric elevation | Good fallback |
| GPX | Track and times, often heart rate and cadence; no laps | Last resort |
Why not paste the file straight into ChatGPT?
Because a watch file is made for software, not for reading. FIT is binary, and one hour of running as TCX is about 533,000 tokens: enough to max out a free plan with a single workout. Even when the file goes through, the AI reasons poorly over thousands of raw lines. The full explanation is here.
Next: get your workouts analyzed by an AI
- Drop the file into gps-digest as is: FIT, TCX, GPX, ZIP or .gz. Everything is computed in your browser.
- Copy the structured file it produces: a few thousand tokens per workout instead of several hundred thousand.
- Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Vibe with your question. For week-by-week follow-up, see our AI coach guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can you export an Apple Watch run as GPX without an app?
Only through the full Health export, which delivers routes without heart rate. For a complete file, you need an export app or a detour through Strava.
Does gps-digest work on iPhone?
Yes. Open the page in Safari, tap the button to choose files and pick the file in the Files app. The analysis runs on the phone; nothing is sent to a server.
Which format should you pick for an Apple Watch workout?
FIT if your export app offers it: it keeps laps and sensor data. GPX works too, as long as it contains heart rate, which export apps include but the native Health export does not.