Addon:Gramps Web

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Fig. 1 GrampsWeb screenshot from GitHub project docs

Gramps Web is a web app developed by the Gramps community that allows authorized users to collaboratively edit genealogical information using a Gramps family tree database.

Is Gramps Web an addon within Gramps?

No, Gramps Web runs on a server and is accessed via the web browser. It is not part of your desktop Gramps application.

Gramps Web is for limited simultaneous use by a number of authenticated users. It not meant to be exposed to the internet for unlimited public access. (More general access would demand a powerful server or expensive hosting.) User accounts can be created by the site owner via the command line or web interface, or by self-registration and subsequent approval by the site owner.

The server may be remote at a hosted service or on your local network. The supported architectures for local network include not only x86-64 (desktop systems), but also ARM systems such as a Raspberry Pi, which can serve as a low-cost, but powerful (enough) web server.

Gramps Web is a separate project based on the same code base as Gramps Desktop. It uses the Gramps Python library at its core to provide a REST API backend service leveraging the genealogical functions and database handling of Gramps. On top, it serves a modern, mobile-first web frontend.

Deploying a Gramps Web instance

Configuring a Gramps Web instance on your own server or hosted service is an EXPERT level task. But there are deployment options using a Docker container and a "1-click App" offered as a service if you have a (paid) Digital Oceans droplet account. There is also a hosted version called Grampshub, which does not require any installation, offered by one of the developers.

Uploading fresh tree data to Gramps Web

Gramps Web Sync addon synchronizes the Gramps Web online database with Gramps Desktop from the Tools -> Family Tree Processing submenu. It supports import and export of genealogical data in all formats supported by Gramps.

The most current Source code for the addon is in David Straub's Gramps Web Sync GitHub repository and periodically published to the official Gramps 5.2 Addon Repository. Documentation is in the User Guide on Grampsweb.org

Gramps Web Permissions Roles

The Frontend presented by Gramps Web provides access to different sets of features based upon the user permissions Role assigned to the logged in User.

Available permissions Roles:

Feature Admin Owner Editor Contributor Member Guest unconfirmed disabled
Command line access
multi-tree admin
website admin
user management
edit tree records
delete tree records
add tree records
browse private tree records
browse public tree records
login/logout
                                               

See the project documentation on GitHub and the User Documentation on GrampsWeb.org.

Features

  • Browse all objects in your family tree: people, families, events, places, repositories, sources, citations, media objects, and notes
  • Two different interactive pedigree views
  • Display all places on an interactive, searchable map
  • Blog section with blog articles stored in Gramps
  • Switch the language of the interface between any of 40 languages
  • Multi-user system with different levels of permissions
  • Edit all objects collaboratively and add new objects
  • Fully responsive & mobile friendly
  • Export the tree as Gramps XML or GEDCOM from the web interface
  • Import a tree (in Gramps XML or GEDCOM format)
  • Generate any report supported by Gramps from the web interface
  • Synchronize with your local Gramps database and use Gramps desktop in parallel
  • Tag people in photos with automatic face detection

Setup Requirements

Gramps Web is a web app that runs on a server and is accessed via the web browser. It is meant to be made accessible to authenticated users via the internet.

Server Requirements

The most convenient way to host Gramps Web is via Docker Compose. While this is not possible with ordinary "shared hosting" providers, this makes it possible to host the app on Linux, Mac, or Windows; it can be hosted on a virtual server or on a Raspberry Pi (we provide Docker images for the ARM architecture) in your basement.

Apart from Docker, you will also need some storage space to store your media files (images, documents).

Finally, Gramps Web is only secure when served via HTTPS, so you will require an SSL/TLS certificate.

See Also