The Strava app has no export button, which is why most people get stuck. The website has one. You can reach it from the browser on your phone or from a computer, and the whole job takes about a minute. This guide covers both.
What you are downloading
A GPX file is a small, standard file that lists every GPS point of your activity in order. Almost every mapping app and watch can read one. It holds the line you travelled and the time at each point. It does not hold your photos or comments.
Exporting is free for your own activities. It needs an outdoor GPS recording, so an indoor ride on a trainer or a treadmill run produces a file with no route in it.
Export from your phone
The Strava app will not do it, so you use the website in your phone's browser instead.
- Open Safari or Chrome, go to strava.com and sign in.
- Open the activity you want. The quickest way is your profile, then the activity in your list.
- Tap the ••• (more) button on the activity page and choose Export GPX.
- The file saves to the Files app on an iPhone, usually in Downloads, or to the Downloads folder on Android.
If strava.com keeps pushing you back into the app, long-press the link and open it in the browser, or request the desktop site from the browser menu.
Export from a computer
- Go to strava.com and open the activity.
- Click the ••• (more) menu on the activity page.
- Choose Export GPX. The file downloads to your computer.
When the export does not work
The file is empty or the route is missing
The activity was probably recorded indoors, or GPS was off. Strava keeps the time and distance from a trainer or treadmill, but there is no route to export.
I can see Export Original but not Export GPX
Export Original hands you the file exactly as your device uploaded it, which for many watches is a FIT file rather than GPX. Use Export GPX when you need a GPX. If only Export Original appears, check that you are signed in as the person who recorded the activity.
The file opened as a page of text
Some browsers display a GPX file instead of saving it. Go back, long-press or right-click the export link and choose to download the linked file.
Skip the file altogether
If the reason you want the file is to print the route, you may not need it at all. On our activity poster page, choose Connect with Strava, sign in, and pick the activity from your list. We read that one activity and nothing else, and our access is revoked when you add the poster to your cart or leave the page.
If you have the file already, upload it on the same page under Upload GPX. We draw the exact track you recorded and never smooth or simplify it, so every switchback and wrong turn stays in. The distance prints beneath the line, with your moving time and the date if you want them. An A4 print starts at A$59, printed to order in Australia on 200 gsm art paper.
Questions people ask
Can I export someone else's activity?
Export works on your own activities. To print a friend's ride, ask them to export it and send you the file.
Does it cost anything?
No. Exporting your own activities works on a free Strava account.
Is You Went There part of Strava?
No. We are an independent poster shop. Strava is one of the ways you can bring a route to us, alongside a GPX file from any app.
What if I recorded with a watch instead?
Our GPX export guide has the steps for Garmin, Apple Watch, COROS, Suunto, Komoot and more.