Export Apple Health Data

Your Apple Health data is immensely valuable, but it is locked inside Apple's ecosystem. This guide covers every method to export it so you can analyze trends, create backups, share data with professionals, or build custom integrations.

Why Export Your Apple Health Data?

Having a portable copy of your health data lets you:

• Perform custom analysis — Go beyond the Health app's built-in charts. Use spreadsheets, scripts, or AI tools to find correlations and trends unique to you.
• Create a secure backup — An independent backup protects you from data corruption, accidental deletion, or issues when switching devices.
• Share with professionals — Provide your doctor, trainer, or therapist with a detailed dataset they can review in a standard format.
• Fuel development projects — Developers can use real-world HealthKit data to build and test applications.

Method 1: Using the Health Data Export App (Recommended)

The dedicated iOS app provides the fastest path to clean, analysis-ready data. It reads directly from HealthKit and exports in your choice of format without any post-processing required.

How to export

1. Open Health Data Export on your iPhone.
2. Select the data categories you want (steps, heart rate, sleep, workouts, etc.) or tap Select All.
3. Choose your date range (last 30 days, last year, or all time).
4. Pick your output format: CSV, JSON, or XML.
5. Tap Export and share the file via AirDrop, iCloud, or any other method.

Export files are prepared on your device. What happens next is your choice: AirDrop transfers a file to another device, cloud storage or sync sends data to the destination you configure, and sharing with a cloud AI provider sends the selected data to that provider. Review the file and destination before sharing.

If you do not have the app yet, download it from the App Store.

Method 2: Apple's Built-In Export

Apple provides a native export function that produces a complete dump of all your Health data. The output is comprehensive but not user-friendly.

How to export using the Health app

1. Open the Health app on your iPhone.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top-right corner.
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Export All Health Data.
4. Confirm by tapping Export and wait for the process to complete.
5. When the Share Sheet appears, save the health-records.zip file to your preferred location.

What you get

Inside the ZIP file is export.xml, a large and complex XML file containing every health record on your device. This file is typically hundreds of megabytes and is difficult to open in standard tools. You will almost always need to convert the XML to CSV, JSON, or XLSX before you can work with it.

Comparison of Export Methods

Feature	Health Data Export App	Apple's Built-In Export
Output format	Clean CSV, JSON, or XML	Raw XML only
Ease of use	One-tap export with format selection	Multi-step, no format options
Time to usable data	Depends on the selected data, date range and device	Depends on archive size, device and any conversion step
Category filtering	Select specific categories	All-or-nothing export
Date range selection	Customizable	Exports everything
Requires conversion	No, output is ready to use	Yes, almost always
File size	Small (filtered data)	Large (often 500MB+)

Transfer Options

Once your data is exported, you need to get it to your Mac (or another device) for analysis. Here are the available methods:

AirDrop

Tap the Share button after export and select your Mac from the AirDrop targets. Accept the transfer on your Mac and check Downloads. Both devices must have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled; transfer time depends on file size and connection conditions.

Direct to Mac (Pro)

With Pro, configure Direct to Mac to send an export to the nearby Mac app over your local network. Keep the iPhone unlocked and follow the connection steps in the sync guide. Direct to Mac does not support scheduled auto-sync. Check the status for receipt on your Mac; a completed upload is not the same as a confirmed Mac import.

iCloud Drive

Save the exported file to iCloud Drive from the Share Sheet. Wait for iCloud Drive to finish uploading and downloading the file, then check the folder on your Mac. Timing depends on the network and iCloud sync. This method works well when your devices are not physically nearby.

Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage

If you prefer third-party cloud storage, save the file to your chosen service from the Share Sheet. Open it on your Mac from the corresponding app or folder.

Supported Export Formats

The Health Data Export app supports three output formats. Choose the one that best fits your workflow:

Format	Best For	Details
CSV	Spreadsheets and BI tools	Opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or any data analysis tool. One row per record with clean column headers.
JSON	Developers and scripts	Structured data format ideal for programmatic access, API integrations, and AI analysis pipelines.
XML	Maximum compatibility	Matches Apple's native schema. Useful when you need to preserve the original data structure or work with tools that expect HealthKit XML.

If you already have an export.xml file from Apple's built-in export, you can convert it to CSV, JSON, or XLSX using the Convert Tool.

Next Steps

With your data exported and transferred, you are ready to put it to work: