Garmin Training Center XML (TCX) Course
Open BetaTCX (Training Center XML) is Garmin's XML training-data format that appeared around 2007 for the Garmin Training Center application. On osm2cdr we write TCX as a Course document following the TrainingCenterDatabase v2 schema: one Course with a Track of Trackpoints (latitude/longitude in decimal degrees) and optional CoursePoints for named POIs along the route. Line geometries become the track, point features become course points. To be honest: this is a planned route, not a recorded workout — there is no heart rate, cadence or power. The format stays useful for legacy devices like the Forerunner 305 / Edge 705 and for import into Strava and TrainingPeaks.
Key Features
About TCX Format
TCX (Training Center XML) is Garmin's XML format, invented around 2007 for the Garmin Training Center program. Inside it is plain text following the TrainingCenterDatabase v2 schema: the file opens in a text editor and can be read with your own eyes. The format outlived its program and is still accepted by Garmin Connect, Strava and TrainingPeaks.
An OpenStreetMap map is exported to TCX when a route has to be handed to a device or a service that understands nothing newer. This is a planned course: the track and the points along it that the device navigates by. There is no workout data — heart rate, cadence, power — in the file, and there cannot be: sensors write that while you move.
The output is a single .tcx: a Course element containing a track of points with WGS84 coordinates in decimal degrees, a Lap element with zero time and distance that the schema requires, and a CoursePoint for every named object. Linear objects become the track, point objects become route points. Schema and device limits apply: up to 50,000 trackpoints and 1,000 route points, the course name is trimmed to 15 characters and a point name to 10.
What Program Opens TCX Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with Garmin Training Center XML (TCX) Course (.tcx) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Proprietary format
- 2D only
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- No attributes
- Output: 1 file
- A Garmin TCX Course (TrainingCenterDatabase v2): a Track of Trackpoints plus CoursePoints for named POIs; a planned route, no HR/cadence, up to 50,000 trackpoints.
Who Uses TCX Maps
How to Export TCX
How to Open After Export
- Garmin Training Center — File → Open, and the course shows up in the list; from there it is sent to a device connected over USB.
- Garmin Connect — import the file into the courses section through the browser, then sync it to a watch or navigator via Garmin Express or your phone.
- Strava and TrainingPeaks — upload through the import form; remember that this is a route, not an activity: it carries no workout metrics.
- GPSBabel — convert to GPX, FIT or KML with a single command (gpsbabel -i gtrnctr -f map.tcx -o gpx -F map.gpx) if your device expects a different format.
- A text editor — TCX is XML: the order of points, the names and any unwanted stretches can be edited by hand; save the file in UTF-8.
Popular maps in TCX
Get Garmin Training Center XML (TCX) Course map exports
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