GeneWeb

Open source genealogy software with a web interface written in OCaml

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Note

Version 7.1 is currently in beta. The software is stable and thoroughly tested. The "beta" label exists only because the internal database format is not yet compatible with Geneanet’s infrastructure. This will be resolved for the final 7.1.0 release.

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Why GeneWeb?

Created by Daniel de Rauglaudre in 1998, GeneWeb is the engine behind some of the largest genealogical databases in the world:

• Roglo — Over 11 million individuals, maintained collaboratively by nearly 300 contributors
• Geneanet — Used GeneWeb as its core engine for two decades

What sets GeneWeb apart:

Feature	Description
Proven at scale	Handles databases with millions of individuals
Battle-tested	Years of development, real-world refinement
Advanced relationships	Find connections across billions of possible paths
Your data, your control	Run locally on your computer or deploy as a web server
Privacy built-in	Granular access controls protect living persons’ information
Standard formats	Full GEDCOM import and export for interoperability

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Getting started

Want to try first? Run GeneWeb directly in your browser with Google Colab — no installation required.

Warning

Export backups of your databases in .gw format before installing a new version!

Building from source

You need OCaml 4.10+ and opam.

# Install dependencies, configure and build
opam install . --deps-only
ocaml ./configure.ml
make distrib

See ocaml ./configure.ml --help for configuration options.

Download

Download the latest release for Linux, macOS, or Windows.

First steps

1. Extract the downloaded archive to a folder of your choice
2. Launch the application:
   • Linux: run ./gwd.sh in a terminal
   • macOS: double-click geneweb.command
   • Windows: double-click START.htm
3. Open your browser at http://localhost:2317

You're ready for your genealogical journey.

macOS security note

macOS may block applications from unidentified developers. To authorize GeneWeb:

1. Right-click on gwd and gwsetup in the gw folder
2. Select "Open" from the context menu
3. Click "Open" in the security dialog

This only needs to be done once. After that, geneweb.command will work normally.

Running on port 80

On Unix systems, ports below 1024 require elevated privileges.

Linux — use capabilities:

sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' gwd
./gwd -p 80

macOS — use launchd to redirect port 80 to 2317.

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Documentation

• User documentation — Getting started guides, tutorials, and reference
• API reference — Generated documentation for developers
• Architecture overview — Technical introduction (by OCamlPro)

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Community

• Forum: Geneanet GeneWeb forum (French and English)
• Mailing list: geneweb@framalistes.org
• IRC: #geneweb on Libera.Chat

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers and translators. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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License

GeneWeb is free software distributed under the GNU General Public License v2.

Copyright © 1998–2011 INRIA.

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Preserving family history, one generation at a time.