Tuesday, July 14, 2026

FamilySearch GEDCOM file format

 GEDCOM - Wikipedia

FamilySearch GEDCOM, or simply GEDCOM (/ˈdʒɛdkɒm/ JED-kom, acronym of Genealogical Data Communication), is an open file format and the de facto standard specification for storing genealogical data.[3]


GEDCOM: The Essential File Format for Genealogy Data

GEDCOM stands for Genealogical Data Communication. GEDCOM is a universal file format that lets you share data across multiple family history programs. Originally software developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, GEDCOM acts like a bridge. It lets you share research data without having to copy each detail manually.

The GEDCOM format is a simple text structure. It keeps your birth date, family relationships, and other facts in a clear system.

Initial release1984; 42 years ago
Latest release
7.0;   
2026

what is GEDCOM - Google Search

GEDCOM (an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication) is a universal, plain-text file format used to share family tree information. It allows you to export your genealogy research from one software program or website (like Ancestry, MyHeritage, or RootsMagic) and import it into another without losing your data. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
How GEDCOM Works
  • Universal Translator: Because almost all genealogy software and platforms use different internal coding, transferring a family tree directly is difficult. GEDCOM acts as a universal bridge, translating the data into a standard format that any platform can read. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • What it saves: It stores the core textual data of your family tree, including names, dates of birth/marriage/death, places, family relationships, and source citations. [1, 2]
    • What it does not save: GEDCOM files contain text only. They do not embed or attach media files like scanned documents, audio recordings, or photographs (though newer versions allow external linking to these files).
Why It's Useful

  • Switching Platforms: If you outgrow your current family tree software, a GEDCOM allows you to migrate to a new program without having to manually re-enter years of research. [1]
  • Collaboration: You can easily send your family tree data via email or flash drive to a relative who uses a completely different genealogy program. [1, 2]
  • Offline Backups: Creating a GEDCOM file is one of the safest ways to back up your hard work to your local computer, protecting it from software obsolescence or website shutdowns. [1, 2]

Visual Websites (Web-Based Wrappers)
Most people use cloud-based platforms to import their files and view them instantly.
  • Ancestry: The largest genealogy platform. You can upload a GEDCOM file directly into your account to instantly generate an interactive, searchable tree complete with automated historical record hints.
  • MyHeritage: Excellent international database matching. It provides a visual dashboard for your tree and automatically applies photo enhancement and colorization tools to the people in your uploaded file. [1]
  • FamilySearch: A massive, free collaborative platform. While they use a single shared global tree rather than private individual files, they offer a specialized "Genealogies" upload tool to compare your GEDCOM file against their master database. [1]
Local Desktop Apps (Software Wrappers)
If you prefer to keep your data private on your own computer without putting it online, desktop applications offer robust editing dashboards.
  • RootsMagic: A highly popular database app for Windows and Mac. It features a clean, tabbed interface to manage complex family relationships, media, and source citations parsed directly from your file. [1]
  • Legacy Family Tree: A Windows-based program famous for its powerful report-generation wizards. It turns your plain text data into beautiful, printable pedigree charts and narrative text books. [1]
  • MacFamilyTree: A visually stunning wrapper exclusively built for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It takes the rigid data structure of a file and renders it into modern, animated 3D virtual trees and interactive globes showing where your ancestors lived.
Free Web Viewers & Converters
If you just have a file on your computer and want to look at it quickly without creating an account or buying software, you can use browser-based tools. [1]
  • FTAnalyzer: A free, open-source desktop tool that reads your file and gives you a data-driven report. It flags errors (like a mother born after her child) and shows census progress.
  • GEDCOM Viewer Apps: Simple browser tools where you drag and drop your file. It instantly renders the data into a readable index of names, dates, and basic family charts entirely offline in your browser.

GitHub open source tools
Web Apps & Visualizers (Human-Friendly)
  • fisharebest/webtrees: The leading open-source, web-based collaborative genealogy application. It runs on a web server and works natively from your standard GEDCOM file, automatically wrapping it in a complete, secure user management and privacy interface. [1]
  • khashashin/gedcom-viewer: A modern, browser-based react visualizer built with Tailwind/shadcn. It was specifically designed to offer a free, locally computed alternative to MyHeritage for viewing, editing, and exporting family trees without uploading data to a third-party server. [1]
  • family-tree-nodejs: A Node.js application that lets you drop in a GEDCOM file and instantly spin up a local web server to display a navigable, visual family tree in your browser. [1]
Developer Parsers (Converting GEDCOM to JSON/Objects) [1, 2]
If you want to write scripts or applications that translate the low-level text into friendly data structures like JSON, GitHub features numerous language-specific packages:
  • Python:
    • andy-z/ged4py: A highly efficient Python library built specifically to parse large GEDCOM 5.5.1 files and handle complex legacy character encodings like ANSEL.
    • cartwrightdj/gedcomtools: A modern toolkit designed to support parsing, validation, and conversion across multiple generations of the standard, including the latest GEDCOM 7. [1, 2]
  • JavaScript / Node.js:
    • parse-gedcom: A simple and popular utility focused entirely on converting raw GEDCOM line structures into standard JSON objects. [1]
  • Go / Golang:
    • cacack/gedcom-go: A feature-rich package that offers memory-efficient streaming APIs to parse files with over 1 million records, automatically handling version detection and conversion. [1]
Specialty Utilities
  • Gjacquenot/gedcomTools: Contains a gedcom2gexf script. It converts your family tree into network graph files so you can import them into Gephi (an open-source network analysis tool) to visually map out massive, complex relationship paths and clusters. [1]
  • FamilySearch/gedcom5-java: The official suite of testing utilities provided by FamilySearch. It includes command-line tools like GedcomAnalyzer and Gedcom2Json to analyze data structural integrity and flag custom vendor tags. [1]
For a master list of dozens of community-driven repositories, see the todrobbins/awesome-gedcom repository, which aggregates parsers, formats, and engines across almost every programming language. [1]
arbre-app/public-gedcoms: A curated list of public Gedcom files
royal92.gedRoyal families in Europe3,010Denis R. Reid1992
pres2020.gedPresidents of the United States2,322Paul E. Stobbe2020

 raw GEDCOM file is written in plain text and uses a hierarchical numbering system (0, 1, 2) alongside shorthand four-letter codes called tags. [1, 2]
The following snippet represents a basic GEDCOM example containing a husband, a wife, and their child: [1]

  • Hierarchical Levels (0, 1, 2): Level 0 starts a primary record block (like a person or family). Higher numbers signify details belonging to that specific block. For example, 2 DATE and 2 PLAC are nested right under 1 BIRT. [1, 2]
  • Cross-Reference IDs (@I1@, @F1@): These serve as unique identifiers. @I1@ stands for Individual 1, while @F1@ signifies Family 1. [1, 2]
  • The Connective Pointers (HUSB, WIFE, CHIL): Instead of repeating names, the family record (FAM) uses the unique ID pointers to link the husband, wife, and child records together. [1, 2]
  • Bookends (HEAD and TRLR): Every valid file starts with 0 HEAD (header data about the software version) and terminates with 0 TRLR (trailer), telling the software that the file is complete. [1]
Common GEDCOM Tags
  • INDI: Individual Person Profile
  • FAM: Family Unit
  • 1 NAME John /Smith/: Given names are listed first, and surnames are enclosed in slashes.
  • BIRT / DEAT / MARR: Birth, Death, and Marriage events.
  • PLAC: The geographic location of an event.
  • FAMS: The Family ID where this person is a Spouse/Parent.
  • FAMC: The Family ID where this person is a Child. [1, 2]
If you are interested, we can look into how to generate one from your current family tree platform, or explore how newer GEDCOM 7.0 zip files handle photos. [1, 2]

text
0 HEAD
1 GEDC
2 VERS 5.5.1
1 CHAR UTF-8
0 @I1@ INDI
1 NAME John /Smith/
1 SEX M
1 BIRT
2 DATE 15 MAY 1920
2 PLAC Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
1 FAMS @F1@
0 @I2@ INDI
1 NAME Mary /Jones/
1 SEX F
1 BIRT
2 DATE 22 OCT 1922
2 PLAC Chicago, Cook, Illinois
1 FAMS @F1@
0 @I3@ INDI
1 NAME Robert /Smith/
1 SEX M
1 BIRT
2 DATE 10 APR 1950
2 PLAC Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
1 FAMC @F1@
0 @F1@ FAM
1 HUSB @I1@
1 WIFE @I2@
1 CHIL @I3@
1 MARR
2 DATE 05 JUN 1945
2 PLAC New York City, New York
0 TRLR

Example
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