Garmin → OpenStreetMap
Your rides on the map. Automatically.
Sign in with OpenStreetMap and add a read-only Garmin key. After every ride the track is uploaded to OpenStreetMap as a GPS trace, and you get a link to fix the map in iD along your route.
Three steps to your first trace
Everything happens on this site. It takes about five minutes.
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01
Sign in with OpenStreetMap
You confirm access on openstreetmap.org. Your OSM account is your account here; no new password.
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02
Add your Garmin key
Open the key page in Garmin Connect, press “Create Key”, accept the terms and choose the longest expiration. Copy the key (it is shown only once) and paste it on your account page.
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03
Go ride
The service checks Garmin about every 10 minutes. New rides go to OpenStreetMap as GPS traces, and OSM usually processes a trace in a few minutes. Your account page shows each trace with a link to edit the map in iD.
Your rides help the map
OpenStreetMap mappers use GPS traces to draw and check paths, tracks and roads.
Automatic upload
Every new ride becomes a GPS trace on OpenStreetMap. You do not export or upload files by hand.
Edit in iD
Each processed trace gets a link that opens the iD editor with your track as a background layer.
Your rules
Choose activity types, switch automatic upload off, or set the trace visibility to identifiable or trackable.
Skip a ride
Each ride waits a few minutes before upload. Skip it on your account page and it is never uploaded.
Activity list
See your recent activities with their status, trace links and the history of uploads.
Sync now
Do not want to wait? Check Garmin and upload new rides with one button.
What is stored and what is public
The short version: what you upload to OpenStreetMap is public, everything else stays with the service and can be deleted.
What the service stores
- Your OpenStreetMap user id and display name, and your OpenStreetMap access token, so it can upload traces in your name.
- Your Garmin Personal API key. It gives read-only access to your own activities. You can revoke it in Garmin Connect at any time.
- Your Garmin account id and display name, read from your activities.
- Your settings: automatic upload, activity types, trace visibility, language.
- The list of activities it saw: id, name, type, date, distance and upload status.
- The event log shown on your account page (uploads, failures, linked accounts).
- It never sees your Garmin password.
- We may contact you about the service through your OpenStreetMap account (OSM messages) or Garmin. We never use your data for anything else.
What is public on OpenStreetMap
- GPS traces on OpenStreetMap are public. That is the point: mappers use them to improve the map.
- Identifiable (the default): the trace shows your OSM name and the timestamps. Trackable: your name is hidden, but the timestamps can still be read.
- No trace is fully private. The start and the finish of a ride are usually visible, so skip rides that start at your home if this matters to you, or keep automatic upload off.
- The trace description and tags are public on the trace page.
Deleting your data
- “Delete my account” on your account page removes everything the service stores about you.
- To also withdraw the access you gave on openstreetmap.org, revoke this app under My Settings → OAuth 2 applications there; revoke the Garmin key in Garmin Connect.
- Traces already uploaded stay on OpenStreetMap until you delete them on openstreetmap.org.
Questions
Short answers before you sign in.
What is a Garmin Personal API key?
A key that you create in Garmin Connect. It gives read-only access to your own activities and does not reveal your password. You can revoke it on the same Garmin page at any time.
Which activities are uploaded?
Only rides by default (road, gravel, mountain bike, e-bike). You can add running, walking, water, winter or fitness activities in your settings.
When does a ride appear on OSM?
The service checks Garmin about every 10 minutes. OpenStreetMap usually processes a trace in a few minutes after the upload. You can skip the ride until the upload starts.
Identifiable or trackable?
Identifiable shows your OSM name and the timestamps on the trace. Trackable hides your name, but the timestamps stay readable. In both cases the coordinates are public.
The Garmin key page looks different. What now?
The steps follow Garmin Connect as of November 2026. If Garmin changed the page, write to [email protected] and we will update the instructions.
How do I stop?
Switch automatic upload off, unlink Garmin, or delete your account on your account page. You can also revoke the key in Garmin Connect.
Prefer Telegram? The same service also works as the Telegram bot @garmin_to_osm_bot. Already use the bot? Sign in with Telegram.