Note: This page describes the development version of GPSBabel. It may substantially differ from the latest released GPSBabel.

Garmin Training Center (.tcx/.crs/.hst/.xml) (gtrnctr)

This format can...

  • read waypoints

  • read and write tracks

This format has the following options: course, sport .

GPSBabel supports reading and writing of tracks in the .tcx format used by Garmin Training Center™ (GTC). GTC is the successor to Garmin's Logbook™ program for their workout units. It is a free upgrade.

GPSBabel can read GTC v1 and v2 files, and can write v2 files. v2 files are most likely to have a .tcx extension. v1 files typically have a .hst or .crs extension, depending on whether they are in the "history" or "course" format.

There is a fundamental mismatch between this format and most of what we support. GPSBabel deals in waypoints, tracks, and routes. While we do record things like heart rate and temperature when we know it, the fundamentals of Training Center are different. It deals in concepts like laps and calories, which are rather alien to GPSBabel and most of the formats we support. As such, while we can describe the tracks pretty accurately, things like calories and heart zone tracking are not supported. Some of the auxiliary data, such as heart rate (not zone), cadence, and bicycling power are supported.

One of the most useful things you can do with this format is to send .tcx files found on the web or elsewhere to any supported GPS unit. You will probably want to include the transform (rte=trk) and simplify filters in this process. For example,

gpsbabel -i gtrnctr -f somefile.tcx -x simplify,count=50 -x transform,rte=trk -r -o garmin -F usb:

where you select the count not to exceed the number of available waypoints for routing on your device.

course option

Write course rather than history, default yes.

This flag defaults to true; it must be turned off (course=0) if you want history instead of courses.

sport option

Sport: Biking (deflt), Running, MultiSport, Other.

Specify which sport is associated with this activity. Valid values are Biking, Running, MultiSport, and Other.