mrlem / genesys

A simple family tree generator that scales.

Genesys

A simple family tree generator that scales.

Features

It supports:

• GEDCOM to various visualization formats (PDF & SVG among others)
• a single tree format, suitable for large trees, that doesn't become a mess when the tree contains loops

Here's what it looks like for a large tree:

And looking closer:

Usage

You can use the latest release on github. For detailed step-by-step instructions, see the Quickstart.

Full command line documentation:

Usage: genesys options_list
Arguments:
    GEDCOM file (optional) { String }
Options:
    --output, -o [<GEDCOM file>.pdf]    -> Output file { String }
    --outputType, -t [PDF]              -> Output file type { Value should be one of [fig, jpeg, pdf, png, svg, webp] }
    --outputField, -f                   -> Output field { Value should be one of [dates] }
    --root, -r [<most recent>]          -> Individual, like "John Henry Doe", or identifier,  like "I1" { String }
    --noPreview, -np [false]            -> No preview
    --help, -h                          -> Usage info

Note: Java Runtime environment and GraphViz dot utility are needed to run Genesys.

Or if you're a developer and want to dive in the app: ./gradlew run.

About

Author

Sébastien Guillemin

Motivation

I just couldn't find a free tool to create a tree without limitations in terms of number of generations, that still looked decent for a large tree (500+ persons), and that handled family loops like I wanted.

Also, I was tired of importing my GEDCOM file in every tool on the planet, when all I wanted was to create a PDF.

Acknowlegments

Built with:

• gedcom5-java parser, from FamilySearch.
• GraphViz graph generator (not included)

Also thanks to:

• GraphvizOnline, a wonderful tool for realtime experiments, that I used extensively to adjust my GraphViz layout.