Sync Apple Health Data to iCloud Drive

Save health exports to iCloud Drive → Auto Export → [automation name]. This is separate from Sync to Mac, which prepares data for the Mac app.

Important — automation limitations: Your device must be unlocked to read health data, and iOS does not guarantee background runs at your chosen frequency. Review Automation Limitations before relying on automatic exports.

Open the automation

Open Export → Automated on iPhone, or Automations in the iPad sidebar. Select New Automation, or open an existing automation to edit it.

Name, status, and notifications

Enter a name that identifies this automation. Enabled allows automatic runs; leave it off until you are ready.

Choose any run notifications you want:

• Notify on Cache Update reports that export data was prepared.
• Notify When Run reports that export files were saved.

Allow notifications when prompted. These notifications report activity; they do not schedule a run.

Set up

1. Confirm that your device is signed into iCloud and iCloud Drive is enabled in Apple Settings.
2. Choose iCloud Drive as the Automation Type.
3. Enter an automation name; this names its export folder.

No separate service sign-in is needed in Health Auto Export.

Custom file name

Optionally set a filename prefix. Leave it empty for default names. The prefix names the JSON file and is prepended to CSV and Markdown filenames; invalid filename characters are replaced automatically.

Data Type Settings

Select one Data Type for this automation: Health Metrics, Workouts, Symptoms, ECG, Heart Rate Notifications, State of Mind, Cycle Tracking, or Medications. State of Mind requires iOS 18 or later; Medications requires iOS 26 or later and separate medication access.

Health metrics

Choose Health Metrics, then open Select Health Metrics and select the measurements you need.

To limit readings to particular apps or devices, open Preferred Sources, choose a metric, and select its sources. All allows every source that has not been excluded. Use Excluded Sources to ignore a source across this automation’s health metrics. Exclusions take precedence; an unselected source is not substituted when a preferred source has no data. Select Save to apply the source choices or Cancel to discard them.

Workouts

Choose Workouts to export workout records. Include Route Data adds available route points to JSON workout data. It does not create separate GPX uploads.

For Version 2, turn on Include Workout Metrics to add readings such as heart rate, active energy, and steps. Choose Minutes or Seconds for workout-metric Time Grouping; seconds produce more detail and larger exports. Version 1 always includes workout metrics.

Export Settings

Export Format

• JSON preserves structured data for integrations and analysis.
• CSV creates tabular files for spreadsheets.
• Markdown creates readable headings and tables for notes and archives.

Export Version

Choose Version 2 for the current data structure. Use Version 1 when an existing workflow depends on the older format.

Date Range

Choose Day, Week, Month, or Year to set the period covered by each file. Use shorter periods for smaller files; longer periods keep more history together.

Summarize Data and Time Grouping

For JSON + Health Metrics, turn Summarize Data on to combine readings into time groups, or off for individual readings where available. The summary depends on the metric—for example, steps are totaled and weight readings are averaged. CSV health-metric exports use summarized data.

When Time Grouping is available, choose how much detail to keep. Hourly or daily groups produce fewer rows than minute or second groups. Available choices depend on the date range and format. Workout time grouping is configured separately under Workouts.

Schedule Reminders

If you want a prompt to unlock and open the app, turn on Enable Reminders. Choose Hourly, Every Day, or Selected Days, then set the minute, time, and days as applicable. Allow notification access when prompted; if access is denied, use Open Notification Settings.

A reminder does not run the automation or confirm a successful sync. Tap it to open the automation, or use Open & Sync on the notification to request a run. The automation must be enabled; a reminder may still appear after a successful background run. Reminder changes apply when you save.

Sync Frequency and save

Choose a number and Minutes, Hours, Days, or Weeks under Sync Frequency—for example, every 15 minutes. This is a desired background cadence, not a guaranteed schedule.

Your device must be unlocked when health data is read. Enable Background App Refresh for Health Auto Export and turn off Low Power Mode for automatic runs. iOS may still delay runs when the device has been inactive or system resources are limited.

Turn on Enabled when you are ready for automatic runs, then select Update to save the automation. You can upload a selected date range immediately using the steps below.

Export historical or missed data

Use Manual Upload when you first set up the automation to export historical data, or later to cover dates missed by automatic syncing. You can also use it to check your setup.

1. Open the automation and select Manual Upload under Export Existing Data.
2. Set the Start and End dates, then select Begin Export.
3. Select Open iCloud Drive in the automation, or open Files → iCloud Drive → Auto Export → [automation name].
4. Check the saved file’s dates and contents.

On Mac, use Finder to open the same iCloud Drive folder. Other devices must use the same iCloud account, and files may need time and an internet connection to become available there.

Troubleshooting

• Folder missing: Run a manual upload as described above to create it, then use Open iCloud Drive.
• Save failed: Check that iCloud Drive is enabled and has available storage.
• Files missing on another device: Confirm the iCloud account, internet connection, and iCloud Drive status on both devices.

Open the automation and select View Activity Logs to review a run. Warnings flag potential issues such as slow data retrieval; errors identify failed steps. For help reporting an issue, see Getting Help.