Importing a GEDCOM file into Kunbaa
Years of research on MyHeritage, Ancestry or a desktop program should not have to be typed in again. Export it as a GEDCOM file, upload it on kunbaa.com, and Kunbaa matches it against the people you already have — and shows you exactly what it will write before it writes anything.
What a GEDCOM file is
GEDCOM is the plain-text format every genealogy program uses to move a tree between products — a .ged file holding people, their names and dates, and how they are related. Kunbaa reads GEDCOM 5.5.1 (what MyHeritage, Ancestry and Family Tree Maker export) and GEDCOM 7.0 (the newer standard). The file is your own export: Kunbaa has no connection to any genealogy site and fetches nothing from one.
Before you start
- You need an editor or admin role in the family — an import adds people to the tree.
- Importing is on the web: open kunbaa.com in a browser and go to Tools → Import a GEDCOM. The imported people appear in the app as soon as it is done.
- Files of up to 5,000 people import in one go. Larger research files can be split by branch in the program you exported from.
Upload, map, confirm, import
- Upload. Drop the
.gedfile on the page or choose it. It is read in your browser and you see what it holds — which program made it, how many people, families and events, and any notes about parts the importer leaves out. - Map. Kunbaa compares every person in the file with the people already in your family tree by name and birth year. A confident match is marked Same person and will be joined to that relative’s card. A possible match waits for your call: the same person, someone new, or skip. Everyone else is added as new. Filter by what needs review, search by name, and skip anyone you do not want in the tree.
- Confirm. A plain summary: how many people will be added, how many joined to existing cards, how many skipped, how many family links written — and every detail where the file and your tree disagree. Nothing has been written yet.
- Import. People are written in batches with a progress bar. If the browser closes, come back to the same page and it continues from where it stopped. When it is done you get a report and a link to the tree.
When the file and your tree disagree
Two records of the same grandmother will sometimes differ — 1931 in the file, 1932 on her card. The card keeps the value your family recorded, and the file’s value is noted on the event so it is not lost. You see every such detail on the Confirm step before importing, and the report counts them afterwards.
Privacy
Kunbaa reads the file in your browser. Only the names, dates and links you confirm are sent to your family’s tree — the file itself is not uploaded anywhere, and matching against relatives your access level hides shows you that a match exists without showing you their details.
Questions families ask
Where do I get a GEDCOM file?
From the program or site your tree lives in. MyHeritage: Family tree → Manage trees → Export to GEDCOM. Ancestry: Tree settings → Export tree. Family Tree Maker, Gramps, RootsMagic and Legacy all have Export → GEDCOM in their File menu. FamilySearch does not offer a direct download of Family Tree; the desktop programs that sync with it can export one. The result is a .ged file — that is what you upload.
Does Kunbaa connect to MyHeritage or Ancestry?
No. Kunbaa reads the file you exported, in your browser, and nothing else. There is no account link, no sync and no fetching from any genealogy site — the file is yours and you choose it.
Will it duplicate the people already in my tree?
That is what the Map step is for. Each person in the file is compared with the people already in your family tree by name and birth year. A confident match is proposed as 'Same person' and joined to that card; a possible match asks you to choose; everyone else is added as new. Nothing is written until you have seen the summary and pressed Import.
What if the file and my tree disagree about a date?
The card in your tree keeps the value your family recorded, and the file's value is noted on the event so it is not lost. The Confirm step lists every such detail before you import, and the report counts them afterwards.
Can I import in the app?
Importing is on the web only — open kunbaa.com in a browser on a computer, tablet or phone and go to Tools → Import a GEDCOM. The people you import show up in the app straight away, because it is the same tree.
Who can import?
An editor or admin of the family. An import adds people to the family tree, the same permission adding a relative by hand needs.
What does not come across?
Names, sex, birth, death, marriage, baptism, immigration and residence events with their dates and places, and the parent, partner and child links. Notes, sources, citations, photos and program-specific fields stay in your genealogy program. Dates in other calendars are kept as text rather than converted. Files of more than 5,000 people are refused — split the export by branch, or email support@kunbaa.com and we will bring it in.
Can I export a GEDCOM from Kunbaa?
GEDCOM export is not switched on in this release. Ask support@kunbaa.com for a copy of your family's archive and the tree comes with it — see Getting your data out.
What if my browser closes halfway through?
Come back to the same page in the same browser and it offers to continue from where it stopped. People already written stay; a part that was already written is never written twice.