Installing Gramps for Linux computers

Before upgrading your distribution Use your earlier version of Gramps to backup your Family Trees to the hardy and portable XML format1.

Linux distributions

These packages are built and supported by the distros (Linux distribution(s)). If your Linux distribution is not listed you may possibly find it listed on Repology Please report any problems with them to the package maintainer.

Most Linux distributions come bundled with a version of Gramps, though it's not always the most recent version and it may not have been installed by default. Still it is recommended to use the Gramps version that comes with your distribution.

Below are ways to install Gramps on some of the more popular distributions:

Distribution	GUI Package manager	Current versions	Notes
Debian	Add/Remove Software	Debian 11 ("bullseye"): Gramps 5.1.3 Debian 11 ("bullseye")(backports): Gramps 5.1.6 Debian 12 ("bookworm")(backports): Gramps 5.1.6 Debian 13 ("trixie")(stable): (Gramps 6.0.1) sid (unstable testbed): Gramps 6.0.1	available versions
Ubuntu	Software Centre	Focal (20.04 LTS): Gramps: 5.1.5 Jammy (22.04): Gramps: 5.1.5 Noble (24.04LTS): Gramps: 5.1.6 Oracular (24.10): Gramps: 5.2.2 Plucky (25.04): Gramps: 5.2.4 Questing (Development: 25.10): Gramps: 6.0.1	available versions/ (Also see: Backports)
Linux Mint	Software Manager	20.x(Gramps 5.1.2) 21.x(Gramps 5.1.2) 22.x(Gramps 5.1.2)	Use the "Software Manager" to install a recent version. Manually install the most current version of Gramps using the either of the following suggestions instructions Flatpak newer versions older versions from the Linux Mint Forums Old versions available from Linuxmint
Fedora	Add/Remove Software (Gnome) or Software Management (KDE)	Rawhide (Gramps 6.0.4) Fedora 42 (Gramps 6.0.4) Fedora 41 (Gramps 5.2.4-1)	available versions (packages.fedoraproject.org) available versions (koji Buildsystem)
Mageia	drakrpm (or rpmdrake)	Mageia Cauldron: Gramps 6.0.3 Mageia 8.0: Gramps 5.1.3 Mageia 9.0: Gramps 5.1.6	Mageia App Db - gramps
openSUSE	YaST	openSUSE Tumbleweed: Gramps 6.0.3 openSUSE Leap 16.0: Gramps 6.0.3 openSUSE Leap 15.6: Gramps 6.0.1	available versions The most recent version can usually be installed from the 'openSUSE BuildService - GNOME:Apps' repository
Slackware		15.0: Gramps 5.2.4 - slackbuilds.org	available versions
Arch Linux	pacman	Gramps 6.0.1	available versions
Gentoo Linux		Gramps 6.0.1	available versions

Debian package

For Debian-based linux distributions (Which includes Ubuntu ) Download the .deb file. Double-click on the downloaded .deb file or (for some distributions, e.g. Mint Debian) run the following command from the directory where the file was saved (change the filename to match the one you downloaded).

sudo dpkg -i gramps_6.0.4-1_all.deb

If you have an error about having unmet dependencies run:

sudo apt-get -f install

to install the dependencies.

If you see an error about an incomplete GTK installation and missing language translations when starting Gramps, run

sudo apt install language-pack-gnome-en

to install the proper language pack. You may need to replace 'en' with your own language code, like 'nl' for Dutch.

Useful command lines

Before upgrading you can[1]:

• Find out what version you are running, by using this:

   dpkg-query -s gramps

that queries the package currently installed on your system and gives you info about it.

The line that begin with 'Depends:' contains a list of packages and their version numbers that your current installation depends on you can compare the required Dependencies with the new version you downloaded with the following command:

   dpkg-deb -I gramps_Version.Number.Of.NewDownload_all.deb

for example, you can get just the two Depends lines to compare using:

   dpkg-query -s gramps | grep Depends:
   dpkg-deb -I gramps_5.Version-Number_all.deb | grep Depends:

• If you are committed to an upgrade then make sure you have backed up you Family Trees to Gramps XML then run :

   sudo dpkg -r gramps

this will remove the current gramps package (assuming its a python3 version older versions could be python-gramps )

• To stop Ubuntu updating gramps (to possibly an older version from Ubuntu!) you may need to run:

   sudo apt-mark hold gramps

Upgrade is then complete.

Flathub

Gramps 6.0.8 is available as a Flatpak at Flathub. Flatpaks allow installing sandboxed versions of applications, which will work on any linux distribution.

Things to consider regarding the flatpak:

1. All flatpaks from Flathub are compiled at Github with their dependencies. If someone wants a dependency for an Addon not supported by the flatpak, then a repository or source install might be a better option. There is a list of dependencies included in the Gramps flatpak at https://github.com/gramps-project/flatpak . If you would like another dependency to be considered for addition to the flatpak, please submit an issue at https://github.com/gramps-project/flatpak/issues

2. Directory access to the Gramps flatpak at Flathub is limited by default to the user's home directory. However, another app named Flatseal can change the sandbox permissions. https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.github.tchx84.Flatseal

3. If you use Fedora, Fedora maintains its own Gramps flatpak in addition to the Gramps flatpak available at Flathub. The Fedora flatpak has a different list of dependencies. Here is the link to Fedora's Gramps flatpak https://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/packageinfo?packageID=39415

4. Support for BSDDB3 got dropped in the Gramps 5.2 flatpak at Flathub. If you need to access a BSDDB3 database to convert it to Sqlite, there are a few options. The Fedora flatpak might include BSDDB3, and the archived 5.1.6 Gramps flatpak at the gramps-project github https://github.com/gramps-project/flatpak/releases/tag/v5.1.6-1 includes BSDDB3. However, the archived flatpak at the gramps-project link will eventually stop working because Flathub removes obsolete runtimes after a certain length of time. If neither flatpak option works, then a manual intall of BSDDB3 with a repository or source install of Gramps will be required.

Recommended steps to install the Gramps flatpak:

1. There are instructions for setting up and enabling Flathub for various distributions at https://flathub.org/setup

2. Use the blue install button at https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gramps_project.Gramps if you set your software manager up to work with Flathub, or use the command below in a terminal:

flatpak install org.gramps_project.Gramps

Snap from Canonical Snapcraft Store

The Gramps snap is a Linux app packages for desktop, cloud and IoT that can be installed from the Canonical Snap Store, the app store for Linux.

To install run:

sudo snap install gramps

It has been bundled with the same packages as our Flatpak:

• ICU
• PIL
• osm-gps-map
• GExiv2
• geocodelib
• goocanvas
• graphviz
• ghostscript
• networkx

These should allow some popular addons to work.

Dictionaries are not currently included. This would be possible, but the package size would obviously increase.

Let us know what you think. Comments from people who already use snaps would be especially welcome.

See also:

• snapcraft.io/gramps
• Gramps is now available as a Snap
  • Snap Feedback

Build from source

For other distributions, the source and follow the instructions for Linux:Build from source

Linux Live CD

Outdated version warning Note this Linux live CD Demonstration includes Gramps 3.2.5 (an older version released 2010-11-17) and it is not recommended for general use

Linux live CD Demonstration includes Gramps 3.2.5 pre-installed to trial, without touching anything on the hard drive. To start this boot the Computer with this Live Linux Desktop on a CD in the CD/DVD-ROM Drive. (Requires that you write this image to a CD-ROM using CD-Burner software eg:Nero, Imgburn, Rufus..). Download the CD (727 MB). The Linux Genealogy CD is based on Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). If you are interested in Gramps, but are afraid to actually install it or unable to install it (not your PC, windows, no internet at home, work laptop, ...), then try out our Linux Genealogy CD. It runs without installing on the hard disk and contains a collection of open source, free, genealogy programs. You can then install latest Ubuntu and Gramps from the CD anytime you like.

Online Demonstration

Buyer Beware The following is a limited trial of a commercial cloud VM service (rollApp) that operates by subscription. The listing here is not an endorsement by the Gramps-project. Beware of giving third parties access to your genealogical data.

You can also try an online demonstration of version 5.2.3 of Gramps on rollApp ("Cloud platform for native applications") categorized under Utilities - #diagrams:

• https://www.rollapp.com/app/gramps

Select Launch Online then Test Drive(Opening/saving files will not be available)

Notes

Backup to Gramps XML format when updating. Although Gramps reads and writes GEDCOM 5.5.1 format fluently (because it is the de facto format for genealogical data interchange), never depend on such a rudimentary format for archiving your research. GEDCOM cannot store all the intricacies found in Gramps data. Always backup with the more robust Gramps XML format.

Menubar - "Family Trees > Make Backup..."

You will find a Make Backup... option in the Family Trees menu of recent Gramps versions. Alternately, use Export... in the same menu but deselect the privacy and filtering options in the Exporter Assistant to avoid omission of any data.

See: How to make a backup

See also

Installing Gramps for Desktops

Installation instructions specific to the different OSes are on the , , and pages.

GitHub Gramps for Desktops Releases

• 6.0.8 version
• Archive of Gramps releases

Wiki pages

• Previous releases of Gramps
• Versions on various platforms

Installing Gramps Web for online collaboration

Gramps Web is a frontend for a hosted instance of Gramps.

• Docker
• Let's Encrypt und Docker Compose