FIT File Editor

How to download a FIT file

A .fit file is the original recording of an activity: every second of GPS, heart rate, power and cadence, exactly as your device wrote it. GPX and TCX exports drop most of that. Here is where to get the original from each app and device.

Garmin Connect (website)

  1. Sign in at connect.garmin.com on a computer.
  2. Open the activity: Activities → All Activities, then click its name.
  3. Click the ⚙ gear icon in the top-right corner of the activity page.
  4. Choose Export Original. A .zip file downloads.
  5. Unzip it. Inside is <activity id>_ACTIVITY.fit, the file you want.

The same menu has Export to TCX and Export to GPX. Use those only when another app asks for that format: they leave out most sensor data and laps.

From your phone

The Garmin Connect and Strava apps don't export files. The websites do, and they work in a phone browser once you switch to the desktop version.

  1. Open connect.garmin.com (or strava.com) in Safari or Chrome and sign in.
  2. Switch to the desktop site. Safari: tap aA in the address bar → Request Desktop Website. Chrome: tap ⋮ → tick Desktop site.
  3. Open the activity and use Export Original as described for Garmin Connect or Strava.
  4. On iPhone the .zip appears in the Files app under Downloads; tap it to unzip. On Android it is in Downloads.

The FIT File Editor works in a phone browser too, so you can trim or repair the file without a computer.

Strava

  1. Sign in at strava.com and open one of your own activities.
  2. Click the ⋯ button in the column of icons on the left of the activity.
  3. Choose Export Original. You get the file exactly as the device or app uploaded it.

If the activity was synced from Garmin, Wahoo or Coros, the original is a .fit file. If it was recorded in the Strava app or uploaded as GPX, the original is that format, and Export GPX is the only other option. You can only export activities you recorded yourself.

Straight from the watch or bike computer

This is the way to rescue an activity that never synced, for example when the battery died or Garmin Connect rejects the file as corrupt.

  1. Connect the device to a computer with its USB cable.
  2. Open the device storage and go to GARMIN/Activity. Files are named by date and time.
  3. Copy the .fit file of the activity to your computer.

On a Mac most recent Garmin watches don't show up in Finder, because they connect over MTP. A free app such as OpenMTP lets you browse them. On Windows the device appears in File Explorer.

Wahoo, Coros and Zwift

Wahoo ELEMNT
In the ELEMNT app open History, pick the ride, tap the share icon and choose the FIT file.
Coros
Open the activity in the Coros app or in Coros Training Hub on the web and use Export; choose FIT.
Zwift
Every ride is saved on the computer that ran Zwift, in Documents/Zwift/Activities. You can also download it from your activity on zwift.com.

Export all activities at once

Garmin
In your Garmin account settings, open Data Management → Export Your Data. Garmin emails a download link when the archive is ready, which can take a few days.
Strava
Settings → My Account → Download or Delete Your Account → Request Your Archive. The emailed .zip has an activities folder with the original files. Some are compressed as .fit.gz; unzip them before use.

Got the file? Fix it here

Trim the part where you forgot to stop the watch, repair a file Garmin Connect or Strava won't accept, or join a ride that was saved in two parts. It runs in your browser and the file never leaves your device.

Open the FIT File Editor

Questions

Why can't I find Export Original in the Garmin Connect app?

The mobile app has no file export. Use connect.garmin.com in a browser; on a phone, switch the browser to the desktop site first.

The download is a .zip, not a .fit. Is that right?

Yes. Garmin Connect wraps the original in a .zip. Unzip it to get the .fit file inside.

FIT, GPX or TCX: which should I use?

FIT whenever possible. It keeps laps, heart rate, power, cadence, temperature and device details. GPX keeps mainly the route; TCX keeps some sensor data but not everything.

Garmin Connect says my file is corrupt. What now?

Copy the file from the watch over USB, then run it through Repair. It keeps everything recorded up to the point the file broke and rebuilds the parts Garmin Connect needs.