Import Apple Health XML Export

Overview

Import complete Apple Health data exports via XML files using one of two methods:

S3 Presigned URL (Recommended) - For large files, uses direct S3 upload. The frontend handles this automatically; the scripts below are for manual or testing purposes.
Direct Upload - For smaller files or testing, uploads directly to the API

Authentication

All endpoints require authentication via Bearer token (user login) or API key.

# Login to get access token
POST /api/v1/auth/login
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

username=user@example.com&password=yourpassword

# Response
{
  "access_token": "eyJ...",
  "token_type": "bearer"
}

Then use the token in subsequent requests:

Authorization: Bearer eyJ...

Endpoints

Method 1: S3 Presigned URL (Recommended)

Best for large files (10MB+). Uploads directly to S3, then processes asynchronously.

Step 1: Request Presigned URL

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/api/v1/users/{user_id}/import/apple/xml/s3" \
  -H "accept: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <access_token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "filename": "export.xml",
    "expiration_seconds": 300,
    "max_file_size": 52428800
  }'

user_id

string

required

The ID of the user to import data for

filename

string

default:""

Custom filename (max 200 characters)

expiration_seconds

integer

default:"300"

URL expiration time in seconds (60 - 3600)

max_file_size

integer

default:"52428800"

Maximum file size in bytes (1KB - 500MB). Default is 50MB.

{
  "upload_url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/bucket/key",
  "form_fields": {
    "key": "apple-uploads/user-123/file-456.xml",
    "AWSAccessKeyId": "AKIA...",
    "policy": "eyJ...",
    "signature": "abc123..."
  },
  "file_key": "apple-uploads/user-123/file-456.xml",
  "expires_in": 300,
  "max_file_size": 52428800,
  "bucket": "my-bucket"
}

Step 2: Upload File to S3

Use the upload_url and form_fields from the previous response to upload your XML file:

# Upload using form_fields
with open('export.xml', 'rb') as f:
    files = {'file': ('export.xml', f, 'application/xml')}
    upload_response = requests.post(
        presigned_data['upload_url'],
        data=presigned_data['form_fields'],
        files=files
    )
    upload_response.raise_for_status()

print(f"✓ Uploaded successfully! File key: {presigned_data['file_key']}")

Important: When uploading to S3 with presigned POST, you must include all form_fields as form data, and the file field must be last.

Complete Example Workflow

S3 Presigned URL (Recommended)
Direct Upload

import requests

API_URL = "https://api.example.com"
USERNAME = "user@example.com"
PASSWORD = "yourpassword"
USER_ID = "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6"

# Login
login_response = requests.post(
    f"{API_URL}/api/v1/auth/login",
    data={"username": USERNAME, "password": PASSWORD}
)
login_response.raise_for_status()
access_token = login_response.json()["access_token"]

Request Presigned URL

# Get presigned URL
headers = {
    "accept": "application/json",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"
}

response = requests.post(
    f"{API_URL}/api/v1/users/{USER_ID}/import/apple/xml/s3",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "filename": "export.xml",
        "expiration_seconds": 300,
        "max_file_size": 52428800  # 50MB
    }
)
response.raise_for_status()
presigned_data = response.json()

upload_url = presigned_data["upload_url"]
form_fields = presigned_data["form_fields"]

Upload File to S3

# Upload to S3 using presigned POST
with open("export.xml", "rb") as f:
    files = {"file": ("export.xml", f, "application/xml")}
    upload_response = requests.post(
        upload_url,
        data=form_fields,
        files=files
    )
    upload_response.raise_for_status()

print(f"✓ Uploaded! File key: {presigned_data['file_key']}")

Processing Happens Automatically

The system automatically:

Detects the S3 upload via S3 event notification → SNS
SNS sends an HTTPS notification to the backend
process_aws_upload Celery task downloads and processes the XML file
Imports workouts and time series data to database

View Complete Script (Copy & Run)

upload_xml_s3.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Upload Apple Health XML export to Open Wearables using S3.

Usage: python upload_xml_s3.py export.xml
"""
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import requests

API_URL = "https://api.example.com"
USERNAME = "user@example.com"
PASSWORD = "yourpassword"
USER_ID = "your-user-id"

def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Usage: python upload_xml_s3.py <file_path>")
        sys.exit(1)
    
    file_path = Path(sys.argv[1])
    if not file_path.exists():
        print(f"Error: File not found: {file_path}")
        sys.exit(1)
    
    # Step 1: Login
    print("Logging in...")
    login_response = requests.post(
        f"{API_URL}/api/v1/auth/login",
        data={"username": USERNAME, "password": PASSWORD}
    )
    login_response.raise_for_status()
    access_token = login_response.json()["access_token"]
    print("✓ Logged in")
    
    # Step 2: Get presigned URL
    print("Getting presigned URL...")
    headers = {
        "accept": "application/json",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"
    }
    
    response = requests.post(
        f"{API_URL}/api/v1/users/{USER_ID}/import/apple/xml/s3",
        headers=headers,
        json={
            "filename": file_path.name,
            "expiration_seconds": 300,
            "max_file_size": 52428800
        }
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    presigned_data = response.json()
    print("✓ Got presigned URL")
    
    # Step 3: Upload to S3
    print(f"Uploading {file_path.name}...")
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        files = {"file": (file_path.name, f, "application/xml")}
        upload_response = requests.post(
            presigned_data["upload_url"],
            data=presigned_data["form_fields"],
            files=files
        )
        upload_response.raise_for_status()
    
    print(f"✓ Upload complete! File key: {presigned_data['file_key']}")
    print("Processing will happen in the background...")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Prepare API Key

import requests

API_URL = "https://api.example.com"
API_KEY = "your-api-key"
USER_ID = "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6"

Upload File

# Upload directly to API
with open("export.xml", "rb") as f:
    response = requests.post(
        f"{API_URL}/api/v1/users/{USER_ID}/import/apple/xml/direct",
        headers={"X-Open-Wearables-API-Key": API_KEY},
        files={"file": f}
    )
    response.raise_for_status()

result = response.json()
print(f"✓ Upload complete!")
print(f"Status: {result['status']}")
print(f"Task ID: {result['task_id']}")

Processing Happens in Background

The system:

Receives the file contents
Queues a process_xml_upload Celery task
Returns immediately with task ID
Celery worker processes the XML file
Imports data to database

View Complete Script (Copy & Run)

upload_xml_direct.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Upload Apple Health XML export directly to Open Wearables API.

Usage: python upload_xml_direct.py export.xml
"""
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import requests

API_URL = "https://api.example.com"
API_KEY = "your-api-key"
USER_ID = "your-user-id"

def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Usage: python upload_xml_direct.py <file_path>")
        sys.exit(1)
    
    file_path = Path(sys.argv[1])
    if not file_path.exists():
        print(f"Error: File not found: {file_path}")
        sys.exit(1)
    
    # Check file size
    file_size_mb = file_path.stat().st_size / (1024 * 1024)
    if file_size_mb > 10:
        print(f"Warning: File is {file_size_mb:.1f}MB. Consider using S3 method for large files.")
    
    # Upload directly
    print(f"Uploading {file_path.name}...")
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        response = requests.post(
            f"{API_URL}/api/v1/users/{USER_ID}/import/apple/xml/direct",
            headers={"X-Open-Wearables-API-Key": API_KEY},
            files={"file": f}
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
    
    result = response.json()
    print(f"✓ Upload complete!")
    print(f"Status: {result['status']}")
    print(f"Task ID: {result['task_id']}")
    print("Processing will happen in the background...")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Data Imported

Workouts

Activity type (running, cycling, swimming, etc.)
Duration and timestamps
Distance, calories, elevation
Heart rate statistics (min/max/avg)

Time Series Samples

Heart rate
Steps
Active energy
Distance
Blood oxygen
And 100+ other metrics

See Data Types Guide for complete list.

Best Practices

Use S3 for Large Files

Files over 10MB should use the presigned URL method to avoid timeouts

Handle Async Processing

Import processing is asynchronous. Don’t expect immediate data availability

Monitor Task Status

Use Celery Flower or logs to monitor processing status

Dedupe Handled Automatically

Records with the same external_id won’t be duplicated

Apple Health Setup Guide - Complete guide with export instructions
Quick Integration - Getting started
Error Handling - Common errors and solutions

Overview

Integration Guides

Authentication

Users

Connections

Providers

Data Sync

Summaries

Timeseries

Events

Health Scores

Data Sources

Apple Health Import

Mobile SDK

Webhooks

Import Apple Health XML Export | Open Wearables

Overview

Authentication

Endpoints

Method 1: S3 Presigned URL (Recommended)

Step 1: Request Presigned URL

Step 2: Upload File to S3

Complete Example Workflow

Data Imported

Workouts

Time Series Samples

Best Practices

Use S3 for Large Files

Handle Async Processing

Monitor Task Status

Dedupe Handled Automatically

Overview

Integration Guides

Authentication

Users

Connections

Providers

Data Sync

Summaries

Timeseries

Events

Health Scores

Data Sources

Apple Health Import

Mobile SDK

Webhooks

​Overview

​Authentication

​Endpoints

​Method 1: S3 Presigned URL (Recommended)

​Step 1: Request Presigned URL

​Step 2: Upload File to S3

​Complete Example Workflow

​Data Imported

​Workouts

​Time Series Samples

​Best Practices

Use S3 for Large Files

Handle Async Processing

Monitor Task Status

Dedupe Handled Automatically

​Related

Overview

Authentication

Endpoints

Method 1: S3 Presigned URL (Recommended)

Step 1: Request Presigned URL

Step 2: Upload File to S3

Complete Example Workflow

Data Imported

Workouts

Time Series Samples

Best Practices

Related