Guide

How to export original FIT files from Garmin Connect and Zwift

Both platforms keep the raw .fit recording of every ride — you just need to know where to look. Here is how to get the original file out of each one, ready to merge into a single activity.

Garmin Connect: “Export Original”

1. Open connect.garmin.com in a desktop browser and sign in. (The export option is not available in the mobile app.)
2. Open the activity you want to export.
3. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the activity page.
4. Choose Export Original. You get a .zip download.
5. Unzip it — inside is the original .fit file exactly as the watch or Edge recorded it.

Use Export Original, not “Export to TCX/GPX” — those are converted formats that drop device data like Training Effect and Body Battery.

Alternative: straight off the device

Plug your watch or Edge into a computer via USB and browse to GARMIN/Activity/ (or Garmin/Activities/ on some devices). Activities are stored there as .fit files named by date and time.

Zwift: local folder or zwift.com

On the computer you ride on

Zwift writes every ride to your Documents folder as it happens:

• Windows: Documents\Zwift\Activities\
• macOS: ~/Documents/Zwift/Activities/

Files are named by date and time, e.g. 2026-07-06-18-04-32.fit. The file inProgressActivity.fit is the ride currently being recorded — ignore it.

If you ride on Apple TV, iPad, or another device

1. Go to zwift.com, sign in, and open Activities from your profile.
2. Open the ride you want.
3. Click the download icon to save the original .fit file.

What to do with the two files

Once you have the Garmin file and the Zwift file of the same session, drop them into BikeSync — Garmin in slot A, Zwift in slot B — and download one merged ride with heart rate, physiology, power, cadence, and the virtual route together.