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GEDCOM import and export, free.

Move a family tree from another genealogy program with a GEDCOM file, then keep building it with your relatives.

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The Hasani familyExample tree
IH

Ilir Hasani

Born 1940

DH

Drita Hasani

Born 1944

AH

Arben Hasani

Born 1968

MK

Mira Krasniqi

Born 1970

EH

Era Hasani

Born 1996

A fictional family, showing how the connections come together.

What is a GEDCOM file?

GEDCOM stands for GEnealogical Data COMmunication. It is a plain text format, first published in the 1980s, that genealogy programs use to exchange family trees. A GEDCOM file usually ends in .ged.

Inside, each person is an individual record and each couple with their children is a family record. A short extract looks like this:

0 @I1@ INDI
1 NAME Drita /Hasani/
1 BIRT
2 DATE 1944
2 PLAC Prizren
0 @F1@ FAM
1 HUSB @I2@
1 WIFE @I1@
1 CHIL @I3@

Each line starts with a level number, then a tag such as NAME or BIRT. Because almost every genealogy program can read and write this format, a GEDCOM file is the standard way to move a family tree from one program to another without retyping it.

The most widely used version is GEDCOM 5.5.1. A newer version, GEDCOM 7.0, was released in 2021 and is slowly being adopted. Build a Family Tree reads both.

How to move a family tree from another genealogy program

  1. 01

    Export from your old program.

    In your current genealogy software or website, look for “Export”, “Save as GEDCOM” or “Download tree”. Choose UTF-8 if it asks for a character set.

  2. 02

    Import the file.

    Create a free account, then import the .ged file as a new tree or into a tree you already have.

  3. 03

    Check the summary.

    See how many people, families and life events came in, and which records were skipped and why.

  4. 04

    Tidy up and invite relatives.

    Merge any duplicates, add photos and stories, and invite family members to keep building with you.

What a GEDCOM import brings in

  • People and names

    Given names and surnames, birth or maiden names, nicknames and gender for every individual.

  • Births, deaths and burials

    Dates and places, including partial dates such as a year on its own or a month and year.

  • Families

    Parents, children and partners, with marriage and separation dates and places, plus adoptive, step and foster links.

  • Life events

    Baptisms, christenings, emigration, education, occupations, residences and other events become the person’s timeline.

  • Occupations and notes

    A person’s occupation, and their notes as the life story on their profile.

  • Nothing silently lost

    Records the app does not store, such as sources and media links, are counted and listed in the import summary.

Export a GEDCOM file at any time

Every tree can be downloaded as a GEDCOM 5.5.1 file in UTF-8. The export includes people, names, dates, places, occupations, life stories, life events, partnerships and parent links, including adoptive, step and foster relationships.

Use the export as a backup, to share your research with a relative who uses different software, or to move on if you ever want to. If you need a picture of the tree rather than data, see the printable family tree export to PNG and PDF.

Once your tree is imported, a GEDCOM file stops being a one-person project. Invite relatives to add the branches your old research never reached.

GEDCOM questions

Which GEDCOM versions can I import?

Build a Family Tree reads GEDCOM 5.5.1, the version most genealogy programs export, and most GEDCOM 7.0 files. Exports are written as GEDCOM 5.5.1 in UTF-8, which nearly every program can open.

How large can a GEDCOM file be?

Each import file can hold up to 5,000 people. If your tree is larger, export it from your old program in parts, for example one branch per file, and import each part.

My file was rejected because of its character set. What do I do?

Some older programs save GEDCOM files in a character set called ANSEL, which is not supported. Export the file again and choose UTF-8 as the character set; UTF-8, UTF-16 and Windows Latin files all import.

Are photos and sources imported?

No. A GEDCOM file usually points to photos on your own computer rather than containing them, and source, repository and media records are skipped. The import summary lists anything that was skipped, and you can add photos to each person afterwards.

Can I undo an import into an existing tree?

Yes. An import into an existing tree appears in the activity feed, and you can undo it from there. If you would rather keep things separate, import the file as a new tree instead.

Can I leave Build a Family Tree later?

Yes. Any member of a tree can export it as a GEDCOM file at any time and open it in another genealogy program. Your family history is never locked in.

Bring your tree home.

Import your GEDCOM file and keep building with your family, free.

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