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GPX converter

A .gpx file is the GPS Exchange Format: an XML schema for waypoints, routes and recorded tracks, where every point carries a latitude and longitude and may carry elevation and a timestamp. It is what a GPS watch or handheld exports.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

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Runs on your device

Drop GPX files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where GPX comes from

TopoGrafix published GPX 1.0 in 2002 and 1.1 in 2004 as a vendor-neutral alternative to the proprietary formats every GPS manufacturer shipped. It succeeded almost completely: Garmin, Strava, Komoot, OpenStreetMap and every mapping application read and write it, and it remains the format for moving a recorded activity between services.

How GPX works

  • Three distinct concepts: wpt waypoints, rte planned routes, and trk recorded tracks made of trkseg segments.
  • Track points carry optional ele elevation and time, which is what makes speed and pace derivable.
  • The schema is extensible through an extensions element, which is how heart rate and cadence are carried.
  • Coordinates are WGS 84 as attributes on each point, latitude first — the opposite of GeoJSON.
  • Being XML, it is verbose: a long recorded track produces a substantial file.

When to use GPX

  • Exporting a recorded run, ride or hike from a watch or phone
  • Moving activities between Strava, Garmin Connect and other services
  • Planning a route on a desktop and loading it onto a device
  • Contributing traces to OpenStreetMap

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Universally supported across GPS devices and fitness platforms
  • Distinguishes planned routes from recorded tracks, which matters in practice
  • Timestamps make pace, speed and elevation profiles reconstructible

Limitations

  • Verbose XML — large for the number of points it carries
  • Sensor data lives in vendor-specific extensions with no shared vocabulary
  • Latitude-first ordering conflicts with GeoJSON, inviting conversion bugs

Compatibility

Read by Garmin, Strava, Komoot, QGIS, Google Earth and the whole OpenStreetMap ecosystem. Novus Convert parses waypoints and track segments locally and converts to GeoJSON and KML.

Coordinates, elevation, timestamps and point names are preserved. Vendor extension data such as heart rate is not carried into targets with no equivalent field.

Convert GPX to another format

Convert other formats to GPX