How do I open a .ged file?

Drop it on this page. The tree is read in your browser, so you can look through it on any computer, tablet or phone without installing a genealogy program or creating an account on a family history site.

How do I get a GEDCOM file from Ancestry or MyHeritage?

On Ancestry, open the tree, choose Tree Settings and then Export tree, and download the .ged file it makes. On MyHeritage, go to Family tree, Manage trees, and Export to GEDCOM. FamilySearch, Findmypast and most genealogy programs have an export or "Save as GEDCOM" option too.

Why do some names show odd characters?

Older trees often use ANSEL, a library character set, or an old Windows one. This page reads the character set the file names in its header, which fixes most accents. If a file names the wrong one, letters like é or ø can still come out wrong; the rest of the tree is unaffected.

Can I edit the tree here?

No, this page is for reading. To change a tree, import the GEDCOM into a genealogy program such as Gramps, which is free, or into a family history website.

Is my family tree uploaded?

No. The file is read by this browser tab on your own device, so the names, dates and places of living relatives in it stay private.

Stays on your computer How this works

Free GEDCOM viewer: open a .ged family tree file

Open a GEDCOM family tree exported from Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Family Tree Maker or any genealogy program: search everyone in it, see each person's life and family, and follow their ancestors back. The file is opened in your browser and is not uploaded.

Drop a .ged file here, or click to choose oneIt is opened by your browser, on this computer. Nothing is uploaded.

About the GEDCOM viewer

GEDCOM (.ged) is the file every genealogy program and website exports a family tree as, so it is how trees move between Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Findmypast, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy and Gramps, and how relatives share them. But it is a plain text file of codes and numbers, so a cousin who emails you one, or an old download from a family website, is hard to read without installing a genealogy program first.

This page reads the tree and lists everyone in it. Search for a name, and for each person see their life events with dates and places, their parents, brothers and sisters, partners and children, the notes kept about them, and a chart of their ancestors four generations back. Click any relative to move to them. You can also save everyone as a spreadsheet. It is free to use, with no account and no upload limit, and it runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and while the page stays open, a feature you have already used keeps working offline.

What you can do

Open GEDCOM 5.5, 5.5.1 and 7.0 files from any genealogy program or website
Read files in UTF-8, ANSI, UTF-16 and ANSEL, the character set of older trees, with accents intact
Search everyone by name or year, listed by surname
See a person's births, marriages, deaths, occupations, residences and other events with dates and places
Move between parents, brothers and sisters, partners and children with a click
See an ancestor chart of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents
Read the notes in the file, and see how many sources it cites
Save everyone as a CSV for Excel or Google Sheets, and print a person's page

How to open a GEDCOM file

Drop the .ged file on the box above, or click the box and choose it.
Search the list on the left for a name, and click it.
Click parents, children or anyone in the ancestor chart to follow the family.

Questions

How do I open a .ged file?: Drop it on this page. The tree is read in your browser, so you can look through it on any computer, tablet or phone without installing a genealogy program or creating an account on a family history site.
How do I get a GEDCOM file from Ancestry or MyHeritage?: On Ancestry, open the tree, choose Tree Settings and then Export tree, and download the .ged file it makes. On MyHeritage, go to Family tree, Manage trees, and Export to GEDCOM. FamilySearch, Findmypast and most genealogy programs have an export or "Save as GEDCOM" option too.
Why do some names show odd characters?: Older trees often use ANSEL, a library character set, or an old Windows one. This page reads the character set the file names in its header, which fixes most accents. If a file names the wrong one, letters like é or ø can still come out wrong; the rest of the tree is unaffected.
Can I edit the tree here?: No, this page is for reading. To change a tree, import the GEDCOM into a genealogy program such as Gramps, which is free, or into a family history website.
Is my family tree uploaded?: No. The file is read by this browser tab on your own device, so the names, dates and places of living relatives in it stay private.