Strava Running Title/Description Automation

Introduction

I enjoy running regularly, and have done so for as long as I have been programming. Strava is a powerful app for athletes to post activities in a simple, effective way. However, the default titles provided lack depth, simply denoting the time of day followed by the sport type. The description is also empty by default.

Solution

This project aims to automate the title and descriptions of new runs that are detected, using the Strava API. An input configuration file is taken, and titles and descriptions can be deduced using a set of rules concerning activity distance, duration, date/time and even route, alongside other metrics.

After effective development, a robust command line solution has been implemented, with the following features:

• Configuration JSON file with API credentials, markers, title/description templates and a few other settings. Thorough validation will be included for good practice in a vital skill.
• Regular API calls to check for new running activities.
• Fetching and processing run data and generating a title/description, selecting a matching template.
• API call to update the title/description of the activity on Strava.

Using the Program

Whilst the program is NOT currrently designed to be generally used, it is still possible to use it if you are very eager to do so. Note that the setup will not be simplified due to the lack of expectation of usage. No EXE will be generated, and the program will need to be run directly through Python.

It is obviously assumed that you have an existing Strava account. Also remember that this program works for runs only, not cycles or other activity types.

Warning: The program is not simple to use, particularly in terms of input. This is to maximise its flexibility.

Setup Requirements:

• The program has been designed to work on Windows and Linux. There is no reason it should not work on MacOS, but this has not been confirmed.
• Ensure you create your own Strava Application for this program. This is needed because this project relies on the Strava API which is on a per-app basis. Start here: https://developers.strava.com/. Note the client secret and client ID once successful - these credentials are required by the program.
• Ensure you have Python 3.10 or above installed.
• Install the required 3rd party libraries in the requirements.txt file using pip as usual. See the comments as to why the libraries are included.
• Download and extract the ZIP file in the Release section of this repository.

Assuming the steps above have ben followed, consult the guide to learn how to use this program.

Advantages

The program brings the following advantages by sprinkling some automation into Strava:

• Automatically generates a more meaningful title, and also generate a nice description, rather than the default generic title and empty description.
• It is extremely flexible if the input mechanism is well understood.
• Detailed logging helps keep track of the program actions.
• It relies on the Strava API which is faster and more stable than prohibited web scraping/automation alternatives.
• Source code is available to be modified to adjust to personal circumstances.

Pitfalls/Warnings

Unsurprisingly, despite its positives, the program currently has countless limitations and weird features that make it quite challenging to use. Some of these limitations could be fixed or minimised with further development, others not so much. It is recommended you tailor your usage to minimise the disruption of these limitations/warnings:

• The entire program is command-line based.
• The input mechanism is very complicated and verbose, and requires familiarity with JSON.
• Only runs are supported by the program, not other activity types like cycles or swims etc.
• Certain metrics that could also be used are omitted, such as power and temperature.
• The route matching is strange and only an approximation. The storage of latitude/longitude numbers instead of visual points is unhelpful.
• The program requires a Strava Application to work.
• The weather integration feature relies on another project in a weird way. This is hard to set up and keep working as it rigidly relies on another external software in a clumsy way.

Disclaimer

The project uses a personal Strava API account to run, and API credentials will obviously not be shared. It is for demonstration of various programming skills and just the concept of such a simple yet pleasant program. The project is to be run on the cloud for personal use, so a CLI has been developed only. But if this project gets popular enough and there is enough encouragement, I, and perhaps even any fellow volunteer contributors, may consider extending this project to a web app which can then have several users with a nice web interface, for general use for many runners. Let me know if you are interested in further development of this project, and I will certainly consider it, perhaps scaling it to a more user-friendly app/website.

The program is nothing without a Strava Application. For more details, refer to: https://developers.strava.com/.

Despite only being a personal project, the code in this repository has been made public and therefore is free to use for your own purposes. However, there will be no liability for any damages caused by usage of this code.