Manual method
Request a bulk Strava account archive containing available activity data.
- On Strava.com, open your profile menu → Settings → My Account.
- Under Download your account choose Get Started, then Request download.
- Save the archive from the email link and extract a separate working copy.
- For one activity, its menu also offers Export Original; preserve that original format when available.
Coverage and limitations: Strava documents export on the website. GPX/TCX conversions can contain fewer fields than the original activity; activities without GPS do not yield useful GPX routes. A provider MCP is not automatically a full archive downloader.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 0.05 / 2 / 20 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 2 GB models thousands of activity files and some media; photos and long recordings drive the high case.
Preparation: Strava says the bulk-export email may take a few hours. This preparation wait is additional to download time.
For the central 2 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 38.1 minutes |
| 50 Mbps | 7.6 minutes |
| 100 Mbps | 3.8 minutes |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
An encrypted external drive is a practical main archive; a USB key can carry a copy if it has sufficient free space. Keep an additional encrypted copy on another device or private online backup, outside the source account’s sync folder. For health records, restrict access and avoid shared-family/public-link destinations; keep encryption recovery information separately.
Create strava/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Compare activity counts and date coverage; inspect original activity files, media and summary tables. Record any missing external attachments. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.