Convert Garmin to TCX

Scope

Converts structured workouts (steps and targets), not recorded activities. See Workouts vs. activities.

Take a Garmin Connect workout (GCN JSON) into a TCX (Training Center XML) file so a plan from Garmin can import into another training platform. Use the free, in-browser Kaiord Editor (no account, no upload), or the CLI and TypeScript SDK. Conversions go through Kaiord's canonical KRD format and stay within round-trip tolerances (time ±1 s, heart rate ±1 bpm, cadence ±1 rpm).

Three ways to convert

1. Editor (in the browser)

Open kaiord.com/app, choose your Garmin Connect workout file (TCX is already selected as the export format), and download workout.tcx.

2. CLI

pnpm add -g @kaiord/cli
kaiord convert -i workout.gcn -o workout.tcx

3. SDK

import { fromText, toText } from "@kaiord/core";
import { garminReader } from "@kaiord/garmin";
import { tcxWriter } from "@kaiord/tcx";
import { readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";

const gcn = await readFile("workout.gcn", "utf-8");
const krd = await fromText(gcn, garminReader);
const tcx = await toText(krd, tcxWriter);
await writeFile("workout.tcx", tcx);

What survives the conversion

Data	Garmin Connect (GCN)	TCX	Result
Step order & names	workout steps	<Step> / <Name>	Preserved
Time durations	time durations	Time_t seconds	Preserved (±1 s)
Distance durations	distance durations	Distance_t meters	Preserved
Heart-rate targets	bpm	HeartRate_t	Preserved (±1 bpm)
Speed / pace targets	m/s	Speed_t	Preserved
Cadence targets	rpm	Cadence_t	Preserved (±1 rpm)
Power targets	watts	—	Dropped — TCX workouts have no power target
Repeats / intervals	repeat blocks	Repeat_t	Preserved

Gotchas

My power targets disappeared. The TCX workout schema covers heart rate, speed, and cadence — there is no power target. Garmin Connect stores power in watts, so any power targets are dropped in the TCX output. To keep power, convert to FIT instead, which keeps watt targets.

Where do I get the .gcn file? GCN is Garmin Connect's workout JSON. Fetch it through the Garmin Connect API with @kaiord/garmin-connect (e.g. kaiord garmin list) or the Editor's Garmin integration.

Calorie-based durations. Garmin Connect can express a step duration in calories, but TCX supports only time- and distance-based durations. A calorie-duration step therefore has no direct TCX equivalent — prefer FIT if your workout relies on calorie goals.

Related

• Convert TCX to Garmin — the reverse direction
• Convert Garmin to ZWO — a Zwift export
• GCN format · TCX format
• All converters