gpx.studio/website/src/lib/docs/en/gpx.mdx

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title: GPX file format
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<script>
    import { Waypoints, MapPin } from 'lucide-svelte';
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# { title }

The <a href="https://www.topografix.com/gpx.asp" target="_blank">GPX file format</a> is an open standard for exchanging GPS data between applications and GPS devices.
It essentially consists of a series of GPS points encoding one or multiple GPS traces, and optionally some points of interest.

GPX files may also contain metadata, of which the **name** and **description** fields are the most useful for users.

### <Waypoints size="16" class="inline-block" style="margin-bottom: 2px" /> Tracks, segments and GPS points

As mentioned above, a GPX file can contain multiple GPS traces.
These are organized in a hierarchical structure, with tracks at the top level.

- A **track** is made of a sequence of disconnected segments.
Furthermore, it can contain metadata such as a **name**, a **description**, and **appearance properties**.
- A **segment** is a sequence of GPS points that form a continuous path.
- A **GPS point** is a location with a latitude, a longitude, and optionally a timestamp and an altitude.
Some devices also store additional information such as the heart rate, the cadence, the temperature and the power.

In most cases, GPX files contain a single track with a single segment.
However, the hierarchy described above allows for more advanced use cases, such as planning multi-day trips with several variants for each day.

### <MapPin size="16" class="inline-block" style="margin-bottom: 2px" /> Points of interest

**Points of interest** (technically called *waypoints*) represent locations of interest to show either on a GPS device or on a digital map.

In addition to its coordinates, a point of interest can have a **name** and a **description**.