# How to Export a Route as GPX for Your Bike Computer, Watch or Phone

Download any route as a GPX file, send it with the share sheet, copy it to the clipboard, or back up your whole library with a GPX of every route.

Updated 2026-10-26 · TrailScout blog

## Quick answer

In TrailScout open the route and press Share (or ⋯ → Download GPX). Download GPX saves a .gpx file you can copy to a bike computer or GPS watch through its own app or a USB cable; Share… sends it with the phone's share sheet; Copy the GPX puts it on the clipboard. Export JSON keeps everything TrailScout knows about the route, and Back up library saves a .zip with every route, its versions, your settings and a GPX of each route.

## Key takeaways

- GPX works with practically every bike computer, GPS watch and outdoor app.
- Waypoints you added (marked spots, pinned POIs) go into the GPX.
- Export JSON for a full copy for TrailScout; GPX for everything else.
- Back up the whole library to one .zip — it includes a GPX of every route.

You planned the perfect route on the big screen. Now it needs to get onto the device on your handlebar — or to the friend who's riding with you. GPX is the format that gets it there.

## How to download a route as GPX

1. Open the route in [TrailScout](index.html?app).
2. Press **Share** in the route panel, or the route's **⋯** menu → **Download GPX**.
3. A `.gpx` file named after the route is saved to your downloads.

Then put it on your device the way your device expects — most bike computers and watches sync GPX through their own phone app or website, and many also accept the file copied over USB into their routes or courses folder.

*Screenshot: The share dialog — Share: GPX file, share sheet, clipboard, summary or e-mail.*

## Other ways to send it

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Share…** | opens the system share sheet with the GPX file — messages, mail, AirDrop, chat apps |
| **Copy the GPX** | the file as text on the clipboard, to paste into a chat or an e-mail |
| **Copy a summary** | name, distance and climbing as one line of text |
| **E-mail** | saves the GPX to attach and opens a new e-mail with the summary |
| **Link** | with an account on a TrailScout server: a page with its own link (you can stop it any time) |

## What's in the exported GPX

- The **track**: every point of the route, with heights.
- **Waypoints**: spots you marked, POIs you pinned, places you added from place cards — with their names and notes.
- The route's **name** and description.

Heights are those of the source you chose for the route (GPX or terrain).

## GPX or JSON?

**GPX** is for other devices and apps. **Export JSON** (in the ⋯ menu) is a TrailScout file with everything: the stats, terrain heights, days of a multi-day ride and the builder plan (waypoints and legs) — import it into TrailScout on another device to continue editing exactly where you were.

## Back up your whole library

Your routes live in your browser on this device. To keep them safe, use **Settings → Back up library**: one `.zip` with all routes, their versions and your settings — plus a GPX of every route, readable anywhere. **Restore** puts a backup back (routes with the same id are replaced). With an account you can also keep routes on all your devices. See [why your routes stay on your device](blog/privacy-first-route-planner.html).

## Frequently asked questions

### Which GPS devices can use the GPX file?
Practically all of them: bike computers, GPS watches, handheld GPS units and outdoor apps read GPX tracks.

### Why doesn't my device show turn-by-turn directions from the GPX?
A GPX track is a line; some devices create turn prompts from it, others only show the line. On your phone, [Bike GPS](blog/phone-as-bike-gps-voice-navigation.html) gives turn-by-turn directions from any route.

### Can I export several routes at once?
Back up the library: the .zip contains a GPX of every route.

### Is the exported file the same as the one I imported?
It contains your current version, including edits and added waypoints. The original file is unchanged.