Sign In Get Started
Home › Features › GEDCOM Import
GEDCOM IMPORT

Bring your tree
with you

Already have a tree on Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch? Import it in minutes using the standard GEDCOM format. And export anytime — your data is never trapped.

Import Your Tree Free See Plans →
Drop your .ged file here
or click to browse — GEDCOM 5.5 / 5.5.1 supported
family-tree.ged
Complete
Import successful
847 people imported · 0 errors
847
People
312
Families
1,204
Events
89
Sources
STANDARD FORMAT

Standard GEDCOM support

Import .ged files from any platform that supports the GEDCOM standard — Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, MacFamilyTree, Gramps, Legacy Family Tree, and dozens more. If it exports GEDCOM, AncestorOS can import it.

Ancestry.com
MyHeritage
FamilySearch
Gramps, MacFamilyTree, Legacy + more
SMART PARSING

Handles messy GEDCOMs gracefully

We handle date formats (ABT, BEF, AFT, EST), special characters in names, UTF-8 and ANSEL encodings, notes, source citations, and media file references. Even GEDCOMs exported from older software come out clean in AncestorOS.

2 DATE ABT 1847
2 DATE BEF 1920
2 DATE AFT 14 JUN 1901
1 NOTE Jörg Müller, born...
Parsed cleanly — all fields imported
NO LOCK-IN

Export anytime — your data is yours

Download your tree as a GEDCOM file at any time from the settings page. Use it in any other genealogy software. AncestorOS does not hold your data hostage. We earn your continued use by being the best place to work, not by making leaving painful.

Export as GEDCOM
Available anytime from Settings → Export Tree
HOW IT WORKS

Import in three steps, minutes not hours

Most imports finish in under two minutes regardless of tree size.

1

Export your tree from Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch

Follow the platform-specific instructions below. Each platform calls it something slightly different, but all produce a standard .ged file.

2

Upload to AncestorOS on the GEDCOM Import page

Drag and drop your .ged file or click to browse. The file is uploaded securely over HTTPS and parsed immediately.

3

Review the import summary and start using your tree

You'll see a count of people, families, events, and sources imported — plus a list of any records that were skipped and why. Your tree is ready immediately.

PLATFORM INSTRUCTIONS

How to export from each platform

Step-by-step instructions for the three most common genealogy platforms.

From Ancestry
1
Open your tree and click Tree Settings in the top menu
2
Select Export Tree from the left sidebar
3
Click Export your tree and wait for the email with the download link
4
Download the .ged file and upload it here
From MyHeritage
1
Go to your family site and click Family Tree
2
Click Manage Trees in the dropdown
3
Select Export next to your tree name
4
Choose GEDCOM format and download
From FamilySearch
1
Open the Family Tree tab in the main nav
2
Click on a Person to open their detail page
3
Click Details, then scroll to the Export section
4
Select GEDCOM and choose the number of generations
WHAT YOU GET

Your tree. Your format. Your choice.

Full data portability, in and out, always.

All major platforms

Works with any software that exports standard GEDCOM — Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Gramps, MacFamilyTree, Legacy, and more.

Smart date and character parsing

ABT, BEF, AFT dates, special characters, UTF-8, ANSEL — all handled automatically without manual cleanup.

Export anytime

Download your full tree as GEDCOM at any time. No approval needed, no waiting period, no fee.

Fast — minutes not hours

Trees under 100 people import in seconds. Trees over 1,000 people finish in a few minutes at most.

1 free import, unlimited on paid

Every AncestorOS plan supports unlimited GEDCOM imports.

Error summary on every import

See exactly which records were skipped and why. Nothing fails silently — you always know what imported and what didn't.

FAQ

Common questions

Yes, by GEDCOM file. Export a GEDCOM from Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Gramps, or any other platform that produces one, then upload it here. AncestorOS does not connect to those services directly. The import wizard shows you a preview of what it found before anything is committed to your tree.
GEDCOM 5.5 and 5.5.1, which are the versions exported by all major genealogy platforms including Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and most desktop software.
People, relationships (parent–child and spouse), dates, places, and notes. AncestorOS reads GEDCOM 5.5.1 including the full 5.5.1 date grammar, and detects ANSEL, UTF-8, UTF-16, and Windows-1252 encodings automatically. Source records (SOUR) and media objects (OBJE) are not imported — they are reported in the import summary and skipped. Duplicate detection flags incoming people who look like ones you already have.
No. GEDCOM files contain references to media files but not the files themselves. AncestorOS imports people, relationships, dates, places, and notes; media objects and source records are reported in the import summary and skipped. Photos need to be uploaded separately after the import.
Yes. AncestorOS exports GEDCOM 5.5.1 in UTF-8 at any time, so your data is never trapped. Living-person masking is optional — switch it on and living people are written as “Living [Surname]” instead of their details.
Small trees under 100 people import in seconds. Large trees with 1,000+ people typically complete within one to three minutes depending on the number of sources and notes.
Every plan allows unlimited imports. Note: an import adds to your existing tree rather than creating a separate one, and AncestorOS will try to match incoming people against those you already have. Review the import preview before confirming, and keep your original file.
We skip malformed records rather than failing the entire import. After the import completes, you'll see a summary of what imported successfully and a list of any records that were skipped along with the reason each was skipped.
GET STARTED

Bring your tree with you today

Unlimited GEDCOM imports on every AncestorOS plan. Takes minutes.

Import Your Tree Free Explore All Features →