--- name: getting-started description: Onboarding for Genealogy Researcher. Use when the user is new, asks how to connect, how to upload a family tree, how to export a GEDCOM file from Ancestry, MyHeritage, Geni, FamilySearch, WikiTree, RootsMagic, Gramps, Legacy, MacFamilyTree or Family Tree Maker, what to ask first, how projects and invites work, or what happens to their data. Creates the sign-in upload link with get_account_link. license: MIT --- # Getting started with Genealogy Researcher Guide the user from "connected" to "first useful answer". Keep each step short. Do the steps in order. Wait for the user after each step that needs an action outside the chat. ## Step 1. Check the connection and the account Call `get_profile`. It returns the account, the trees, the projects and the source status. - If the call fails with an authorization error, the user must connect the plugin again. Say so and stop. - If a tree has status `ready`, skip to Step 4. - If a tree has status `importing`, wait a few seconds and call `get_profile` again. - If a tree has status `failed`, say that the import failed. `get_profile` does not return the error text, so call `get_account_link` with `purpose` set to `manage_account` and tell the user to open the failed tree on the account page to read the reason. Then see "Fix an import problem" below. - If there is no tree, go to Step 2. Say plainly what the plugin does today: - It reads GEDCOM files that the user uploads, and public WikiTree profiles. - It searches open archives and builds search links for record sites. - It keeps research projects that the user can share. - FamilySearch support is planned and depends on FamilySearch's authorization. No FamilySearch data is available now. - It never writes to Ancestry, MyHeritage, Geni, FamilySearch or any other external tree. ## Step 2. Create the upload link The assistant cannot upload a file. The user uploads it in the browser. 1. Call `get_account_link` with `purpose` set to `upload_tree`. 2. Give the user the `url`. Say that the link works once and expires in 10 minutes. 3. Tell the user what happens next: open the link (it signs them in, so no email code is needed), choose the `.ged` file and select Upload, then wait for the import. If the page says the link no longer works, create a new link with `get_account_link`. 4. If the link expires, create a new one. Accepted files: `.ged` or `.gedcom`, or a `.zip` that holds one `.ged` file. The limit is 50 MB and 300,000 people. GEDCOM versions 5.5.1, 5.5.5 and 7.0 work. UTF-8, UTF-16, ANSEL and Windows ANSI encodings work. Advise the user before they export: - Choose GEDCOM 5.5.1 or 7 and UTF-8 when the platform offers a choice. - Include notes and sources. Do not include photos. GEDCOM files hold only links to photos. - Use the option to hide or "privatize" living people unless the research needs them. A smaller file with fewer living people reduces risk. - Export only the part of the tree that the research needs when the platform offers a partial export. - The user needs the right to share the data. A tree with data about other people is the user's responsibility. ## Step 3. Export a GEDCOM file from the platform Ask which platform holds the tree. Give only the matching section. Menus change. If the user's screen differs, follow the screen and the source page. Verification labels: - "Verified" means the vendor's help page was checked on 2026-10-12. - "Partly verified" means the capability was confirmed but the exact menu path comes from an older or third-party page. Tell the user to check the menu names on screen. ### Ancestry Verified on 2026-10-12. Source: https://help-redir.ancestry.com/hc/en-ca/articles/53933352542867-Uploading-and-Downloading-Trees 1. Sign in on the Ancestry website. Only the owner of the tree can export it. 2. Open the Trees tab and choose the tree. 3. In the left toolbar choose More (three dots), then Tree Settings. 4. Under "Manage your tree" choose Export tree. 5. Wait while Ancestry builds the file, then choose Download your GEDCOM file. 6. The download arrives as a zip. The upload page accepts the zip as it is. Notes: photos and other media are not included. Files made after November 2022 keep links to the media stored on Ancestry. Guests and editors cannot export. They must ask the owner. Ancestry's terms apply to data you take out of Ancestry. ### MyHeritage Verified on 2026-10-12. Source: https://www.myheritage.com/help/en/articles/12851866-how-do-i-download-export-a-gedcom-file-of-my-family-tree-from-my-family-site 1. Sign in on the MyHeritage website. 2. Move the pointer over the Family tree tab and choose Manage trees. 3. Choose Export to GEDCOM on the right of the tree name. 4. Choose whether to include photos. A GEDCOM holds only links to photos, not the images. 5. Choose Begin the export. The file downloads, or MyHeritage emails a link to download it. ### Geni Verified on 2026-10-12. Sources: https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229705167-How-can-I-export-my-GEDCOM and https://www.geni.com/gedcom 1. Sign in on Geni. Open the Family menu and choose Share your tree, then the GEDCOM export option. You can also open a profile, choose Actions and then Export GEDCOM. 2. Choose how much to export: blood relatives, ancestors, descendants or the larger "forest" of connected trees. A forest export can take days. 3. Choose the type "GEDCOM 5.5.1" unless you import into a program that asks for another type. 4. Geni builds the file and emails a link to download it. Limits stated by Geni: an export holds up to four times the number of profiles you added yourself, up to 5,000 profiles on the free plan and up to 50,000 on Pro. A person who added no profiles cannot export and must ask the person who added their branch. Geni's help page is old, so check the numbers on screen. ### FamilySearch Verified on 2026-10-12. Sources: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-create-a-gedcom-file (dated 2025-06-06), https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/GEDCOM and https://www.familysearch.org/innovate/export Be direct with the user: FamilySearch Family Tree does not offer a GEDCOM download. FamilySearch's help article says so. Its developer page says that GEDCOM export through its former resource is no longer supported. There are two honest options: 1. Use a FamilySearch-certified program. Certified Family Tree management software can download the ancestors that you choose from Family Tree and then export a GEDCOM file. Find current programs in the FamilySearch Solutions Gallery. FamilySearch community moderators have named RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest and Legacy as examples. Check the current gallery and each program's own help. Community answers say that these programs transfer only deceased people. 2. Upload a GEDCOM file that you already have, for example from your own software or from a relative. Cautions to give the user: - FamilySearch Family Tree is a shared tree with its own terms of use. Read them before you move its data to another service. The user is responsible for this choice. - This plugin has no FamilySearch connection today. The assistant cannot read FamilySearch for the user. - Never type a FamilySearch password into this chat. Never share it. ### WikiTree Partly verified on 2026-10-12. The tool path comes from WikiTree community answers. WikiTree's help page is https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Exporting_a_GEDCOM For most users, export is not needed. The assistant can search public WikiTree profiles directly with `search_people` and the tree `wikitree`. To export anyway: 1. Sign in on WikiTree and open the GEDCOM download tool at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:DownloadGedcom 2. Enter the WikiTree ID of a starting profile and choose descendants or ancestors. Community answers describe a limit of 10,000 profiles and say that privacy settings restrict private profiles. 3. Download the file. Correction: GEDCOMpare is WikiTree's tool to import a GEDCOM file into WikiTree. It is not an export tool. WikiTree+ is a separate community site with reports and tools. Neither is needed here. WikiTree community members also say that its GEDCOM export is limited. It does not use the standard source fields well. ### RootsMagic Partly verified on 2026-10-12. Source: http://wiki.rootsmagic.com/wiki/RootsMagic_8:Exporting_Data (older versions: File, then Export) 1. Open the database. 2. In RootsMagic 8 open the Files page, then Export Data, then GEDCOM File. In older versions choose File, then Export. 3. Under "People to export" choose everyone, or "Select from list" to export one branch. 4. Under "Data to export" keep notes and sources. Clear "Extra details (RM specific)" when the file is for another program. 5. Use the privacy options to hide living people. 6. Choose UTF-8 if asked, then save the file. ### Gramps Verified on 2026-10-12. Source: https://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_Manage_Family_Trees 1. Open the family tree. 2. Choose Family Trees, then Export. 3. Choose the format GEDCOM and the file name. Use the filters to limit people. Use the living-people option to replace or hide living people. 4. Finish the export assistant. Notes: GEDCOM is lossy. Gramps XML keeps more data, but this service reads GEDCOM. Private records are left out by default. ### Legacy Family Tree Verified on 2026-10-12. Source: https://legacyfamilytree.com/help/en/articles/12810045-gedcom-how-export-from-legacy-to-a-different-program (page dated 2026-07-21) 1. Choose File, then Export to, then GEDCOM File. 2. In "Produce file for" choose GEDCOM 5.5 (Standard). 3. Select the export options, including the people to include. 4. Choose Select File Name and START EXPORT, then give the file a name and a place. ### MacFamilyTree Partly verified on 2026-10-12. Synium's specification page says that MacFamilyTree exports GEDCOM 5.5.1 and GEDCOM 7, complete or for selected people, with an option to hide living or private people. The exact menu path was not confirmed. Source: https://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree/tech-specs 1. In MacFamilyTree open the File menu and look for the GEDCOM export command. Synium's FAQ has a section "Importing and Exporting GEDCOM Files": https://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree/tutorials 2. Choose complete or selected people, the GEDCOM version and UTF-8 encoding. 3. Use the option to hide living people unless you need them. ### Family Tree Maker Partly verified on 2026-10-12. MacKiev's article covers older versions (2014.1 and earlier). The menu names in new versions can differ. Source: https://support.mackiev.com/572636-Export-and-Import-of-GEDCOM-Files-in-Family-Tree-Maker 1. Choose Export from the File menu. 2. Choose Entire file, or Selected individuals. 3. In "Output format" choose a GEDCOM option. 4. Select what to include. Use "Privatize living people" to hide living people. 5. Export and save the file. ### Another program Most genealogy programs can export GEDCOM. Look for Export, Share or Save as in the File menu. Choose GEDCOM 5.5.1 or 7 and UTF-8. If the program offers only an old GEDCOM 5.5, that works too. ## Step 4. First questions After the import, call `get_profile` and read the counts. Tell the user how many people and families were read. `get_profile` does not return source counts or import warnings. Then suggest first questions. Pick two or three that fit the tree. - "Who is the oldest ancestor in my tree, and which line goes back the most generations?" - "Find [name] and show the sources for each fact." - "How am I related to [name]?" - "Which ancestors have no parents recorded? Rank the best leads." - "Does my tree have impossible dates or likely duplicates?" - "Which places and surnames appear most?" - "Find open records for [name], born about [year] in [place]." - "I have a photo of an old baptism record. Can you read it?" (paleography skill) - "Create a research project for the question 'Who were the parents of [name]?'" For the method behind the answers, use the genealogy-research skill. ## Step 5. Projects and invites A project holds a research question, notes, plans, search logs, evidence, hypotheses and conclusions. It can include trees. The people in a project can read the trees added to it. Roles: - Owner: manages members and invites, can remove any tree from the project, and can delete the project. - Editor: adds and changes entries, edits the project name, description and research question, and can add or remove their own trees. Trees an editor adds are readable by every member. - Viewer: reads the project, its entries and its trees. A viewer cannot change anything. How to share (`share_project`): 1. Ask the user for the role, how many days the link should last (1 to 30, default 7) and how many people may use it (1 to 20, default 1). 2. Call `share_project`. It returns an invite link. 3. Tell the user to send the link to the person. The person opens it, signs in with an email code and joins with the chosen role. 4. Remind the user that anyone who holds the link can join until it expires or reaches its use limit. Treat the link as a secret. Before sharing a project that includes a tree, remind the user that members can read the tree. People marked as living are hidden from other members, but that mark is only an estimate, so share only with people who should see that data. Only the owner of a tree can add it to a project. Adding a tree shares it with the project's members. Removing the tree from the project ends their access. ## Step 6. Privacy notes to give the user - Sign-in uses a one-time code sent by email. There is no password to lose. - The uploaded file and the parsed tree stay in the user's account. Other people see them only through a project that the user shares. - When the user asks a question, the assistant sends parts of the tree to the AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic) as part of the chat. Their privacy terms apply to that chat. - The user can delete a tree or the whole account in the account area. Deleting the account removes the trees, projects and uploaded files. The privacy policy at https://genealogy.junowoz.com/privacy lists the details. - Living people deserve extra care. The plugin marks people who are probably living. This is an estimate. Do not share living people's data without a reason and without permission. - The plugin does not use the data to train AI models. ## Fix an import problem | Problem | Likely cause | What to do | | --- | --- | --- | | File is too large | Over 50 MB | Export without media, or export a smaller branch | | More than 300,000 people | Tree too large | Export a branch, for example ancestors only | | Zip has no .ged | The zip holds other files | Put one `.ged` file in a zip, or upload the `.ged` | | Many strange characters | Wrong encoding | Export again with UTF-8 | | Status `failed` with an error | The file is damaged or not GEDCOM | Open the file in a text editor. A GEDCOM starts with `0 HEAD`. Export again | | People missing | The platform exported part of the tree | Check the export options such as ancestors only or blood relatives only | If the problem remains, point the user to https://genealogy.junowoz.com/support. ## What to avoid - Do not ask for passwords, tokens or cookies. - Do not tell the user that FamilySearch is connected. - Do not upload, write or delete anything unless the user asked. - Do not promise results from outside sources. State that open archive results are leads.