How to Convert a TCX File to GPX or GeoJSON for Free

TCX files show up constantly in the fitness and training world — Garmin Connect, Zwift, and TrainingPeaks all export activities in this format, and older Garmin devices used it as their default before FIT took over. The catch is that TCX is built for training software, not mapping tools, so getting a TCX route into a GIS tool or a different GPS device usually means converting it first. This guide covers what TCX actually is and how to convert one to GPX or GeoJSON for free using the GeoDataTools TCX converter.

What Is a TCX File?

TCX (Training Center XML) is Garmin's XML-based activity format, introduced in 2007 alongside the original Garmin Training Center desktop software. Unlike GPX, which treats an activity as a generic track, TCX is structured specifically around training data: an Activity is broken into one or more Lap elements (useful for interval workouts), each containing a Track of Trackpoint records with position, elevation, and timestamp — plus, often, heart rate, cadence, and power data in extension fields.

Because it's plain XML rather than a binary format, a TCX file can be opened and read in any text editor, which makes it easier to inspect or debug than a binary FIT file — but it also means TCX files tend to be larger for the same activity.

Why Convert TCX to GPX or GeoJSON?

• GPX is read by virtually every GPS device and route-planning app, regardless of manufacturer — useful if you recorded on one platform and want to load the route somewhere else.
• GeoJSON is the standard for web maps and GIS software — Leaflet, Mapbox GL JS, QGIS, and PostGIS all read it natively.

Neither format is training-software-specific, so converting gets the route itself out of a fitness-app silo and into something broadly compatible.

How to Convert a TCX File Online

• Step 1 — Open the tool. Go to the TCX to GPX / GeoJSON converter in any modern browser.
• Step 2 — Upload your TCX file. Drag and drop your .tcx file or click to browse. The file is parsed directly in your browser.
• Step 3 — Review the extracted track. The tool flattens every lap into one continuous route and shows the point count and total distance, so you can confirm it parsed correctly.
• Step 4 — Download. Choose GPX for GPS devices and route-planning apps, or GeoJSON for web maps and GIS tools.

What Gets Converted

This tool reads every Trackpoint across all laps of an activity — latitude, longitude, and elevation — and combines them into a single continuous track, the same way a multi-segment GPX track is handled. Lap boundaries and training metrics like heart rate, cadence, and power aren't carried over, since neither GPX nor GeoJSON has a standard field for them. If a TCX file contains multiple separate activities, each becomes its own track in the output rather than being merged together.

TCX vs. FIT vs. GPX

If you're not sure which format you're dealing with: FIT is Garmin's newer, compact binary format and is now the default on most current devices; TCX is the older Garmin XML format, still common from Zwift and TrainingPeaks; GPX is the vendor-neutral XML format supported everywhere. GeoDataTools has a dedicated FIT to GPX converter if your file is a binary .fit rather than .tcx.

Your Activity Data Stays on Your Device

TCX files can include detailed personal data — GPS routes, heart rate, and other training metrics. Like the rest of GeoDataTools, this converter parses the file entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded or stored anywhere. If you want to check the resulting route's elevation profile next, the elevation profile viewer works the same private, browser-only way.