Strava guides 3 MIN READ
How to export a GPX from the Strava app on iPhone and Android
The Strava app has no export button. Here is the two-minute workaround on a phone, what the file contains, and the one case where you do not need a file at all.
Short answer: the Strava app cannot export a GPX file. Strava says so itself — exporting your data is only available on the Strava website. But the website works on a phone, and that is the whole trick.
The workaround, step by step
- Open strava.com in your phone's browser and log in. Not the app — the browser.
- Ask for the desktop site. In Safari on iPhone, tap the aA button in the address bar and choose Request Desktop Website. In Chrome on Android, open the three-dot menu and tick Desktop site.
- Open the activity you want.
- Tap the more menu (the three dots next to the activity title) and choose Export GPX.
The file lands in your downloads. On iPhone that is the Files app; on Android it is the Downloads folder. From there it can be attached, shared or dropped into the configurator like any other file.
Why the app does not have the button
Strava has kept the file exports on the website: Export GPX, Export Original and the TCX export all live on the activity page at strava.com. The app's share sheet produces an image with your stats laid over the map, which is fine for a story and useless for a print — an image has no coordinates in it.
If you want the picture rather than the file, that is a different task: see how to get your Strava map as an image.
What the file contains
The GPX from Strava carries your GPS coordinates with timestamps, plus the accessory data your device recorded — heart rate, cadence, temperature — where it exists. That is everything a print needs: the shape comes from the coordinates, the numbers from the rest.
It also contains the first and last coordinates of the activity, which for most people is their front door. That is worth knowing before you send it to anyone, and it is why we trim a radius off both ends by default.
The case where you skip the file entirely
If the point of the export is a print, connect the account instead. The configurator reads the activity directly from Strava, draws it in your browser, and never asks you for a file. Nothing is uploaded while you choose; only the finished route travels with the order.
The file route is still the right one if you would rather not connect anything, or if you want a copy for yourself. Both work. Pick the one that annoys you less.
If the export is missing or empty
Two things go wrong, and neither is the phone's fault. If the more menu has no export, the page is probably still showing the mobile layout — request the desktop site again. If the file downloads but has no points in it, the activity has no GPS: treadmill runs, turbo sessions and gym workouts record time and heart rate but no position, and no export can add one. More on that in Strava export not working.
Questions people actually ask
- Can I export a GPX directly from the Strava app?
- No. Strava states that exporting your data is only available on the Strava website. The app can share an image of the activity, but not the file.
- Does the workaround work on Android as well as iPhone?
- Yes. Chrome on Android has a Desktop site switch in its menu; Safari on iPhone has it under the aA button in the address bar. The website is the same either way.
- Is the file from the phone the same as the one from a computer?
- Yes. It is the same Export GPX from the same page — the phone is just a smaller screen showing the desktop site.
- Do I need a Strava subscription to export?
- No. Exporting is not on Strava's list of subscription features; the option appears on a free account.
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