Skip to content
Kinleaf
Try it freeFamily tree makerGEDCOM viewerPDF exportPricing
Log inCreate your tree
·Your account
Go to dashboard

Guide

How to open a GEDCOM file.

A GEDCOM file (.ged) is a plain text family tree. To see it as a tree, open it in a GEDCOM viewer. The fastest free way is in your browser: import the file into Kinleaf and the tree appears in seconds, with no signup and nothing to install.

File ending
.ged
What it holds
People, families, dates, places
Fastest free way
A browser GEDCOM viewer

Open your .ged file now

GEDCOM 5.5 and 5.5.1

Open a GEDCOM file

No account needed. Read on this device.

Way 1: open it in your browser

This is the quickest route and works on Windows, Mac and Chromebook alike. A browser viewer reads the file on your own device and draws it as a family tree you can click through.

  1. Open the free Kinleaf editor. There is no signup and nothing to install.
  2. Choose Import and pick your .ged file.
  3. Check the count of people and families it found, then open the tree. Click anyone to see their dates, places and relatives.

Way 2: import it into genealogy software

If you plan to keep researching, import the file into a full genealogy program. Gramps is free for Windows, Mac and Linux. RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker and Legacy are paid. In each one, look for Import in the File menu and choose your .ged file.

Online services such as Ancestry and MyHeritage also accept GEDCOM uploads when you start a new tree. Once uploaded, the tree lives on their servers under their terms.

Way 3: read the raw text

A GEDCOM file is plain text, so Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on a Mac will open it. You will see lines such as 0 @I1@ INDI, 1 NAME Mary /Hall/ and 2 DATE 3 MAY 1950. That is fine for searching a name, but hard to read as a family.

To see it as a list instead, the GEDCOM to Excel converter gives you one spreadsheet row per person, and GEDCOM to HTML gives you a single web page with every person linked to their relatives.

Where to get a GEDCOM file

Ancestry: open your tree, open the tree name menu, choose Tree Settings, then Export tree. When it is ready, choose Download your GEDCOM file.

MyHeritage: go to Family tree, then Manage trees, and choose Export to GEDCOM next to the tree. MyHeritage emails you a download link.

FamilySearch: the shared FamilySearch Family Tree has no GEDCOM download button. Sync people into certified software such as RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest or Legacy, then export a GEDCOM from there.

Gramps: open the Family Trees menu, choose Export, and pick GEDCOM as the format.

Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic: open the File menu, choose Export, and pick GEDCOM.

When a GEDCOM file will not open

Check the ending first. If the file ends in .zip, unzip it and open the .ged file inside. If a program says the file is damaged, it was often cut off during download, so download it again.

Names with strange symbols in place of accented letters usually mean an old ANSEL file. The free GEDCOM validator pinpoints all of these problems, line by line.

Opening GEDCOM files: questions

01How do I open a GEDCOM file?

The fastest free way is a browser GEDCOM viewer: open the Kinleaf editor, choose Import, and pick your .ged file. The tree appears in seconds with no signup and nothing to install. You can also import it into genealogy software such as Gramps, RootsMagic or Family Tree Maker.

02What program opens a .ged file?

Any genealogy program: Gramps (free), RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Legacy and MacFamilyTree. Ancestry and MyHeritage accept them as uploads. A browser viewer such as Kinleaf opens them without installing anything.

03Can I open a GEDCOM file on a Mac, Chromebook or phone?

Yes. A browser based viewer works the same on any device with a modern browser. On a Mac you can also use Gramps or MacFamilyTree.

04Can I open a GEDCOM file in Excel or Word?

Excel and Word show the raw lines of code rather than a tree. Convert the file to CSV first with the GEDCOM to Excel converter, and you get one row per person that Excel opens properly.

05Is it safe to open my GEDCOM file online?

With Kinleaf, the file is read inside your own browser and is not uploaded unless you choose to save it to an account. Be more careful with services that upload the whole file, because a GEDCOM usually includes living relatives.

06What is a GEDCOM file?

GEDCOM, short for Genealogical Data Communication, is the standard text format for moving family trees between programs. It stores people, families, events, dates and places. Most files are version 5.5 or 5.5.1, and use the .ged ending.

More free GEDCOM tools