Confirm the window
Launch Gramps from the Start menu, Applications, or snap entry. The Family Trees manager should appear. If Windows SmartScreen blocked the AIO, return to the GitHub Releases URL you typed instead of a second mirror.
Create a Family Tree
Create a new Family Tree on a disk path you can back up. Name it clearly. Avoid putting the only copy on a USB stick you lose weekly.
Add a Home Person
Add yourself or a research starting person. Fill birth or death events only when you have sources. A thin accurate person beats a fictional full chart.
Link one relationship
Add a parent, child, or spouse so the pedigree view has structure. That proves the family tree UI before bulk import.
Import GEDCOM carefully
If migrating, keep the export file, then Family Trees → Import. Spot-check ten people and media links. Guide: switch from online genealogy.
Backups
Export GEDCOM or Gramps XML before risky merges. Store exports beside dated notes. Living-person privacy matters when you share files.
Charts later
Open Charts or Reports after a few dozen people exist. Install Graphviz when graph reports need it. Geography views can wait.
Update door
Windows AIO users return to Releases. Brew users run brew upgrade --cask gramps. Snap users run snap refresh gramps. Document which door this PC used. More: first run, update and uninstall.
Why exact filenames matter
Search results for a family tree install are crowded with renamed wrappers. Matching the upstream asset on GitHub Releases, or a verified brew or snap package, is the difference between a clean Family Tree and a second cleanup afternoon. Prefer stable tags over betas when your research PC needs predictability.
Write down which door this computer used. The next volunteer who opens the archive should not have to guess whether the machine used an AIO, a dmg, Homebrew, or snap. That note belongs beside your GEDCOM backups.
Local database habits
A family tree only helps when the database path is intentional. Create trees on disks you back up. Export GEDCOM or Gramps XML before risky imports. Keep media folders in the same backup set. Living-person details deserve the same care you would give any other personal archive.
Charts and reports can wait until a handful of people exist. Graphviz helps some graph outputs on Linux and other systems; install it when a report asks. Geography views and maps are optional power features, not first-hour requirements.
Parallel research without cloud lock-in
Many researchers keep a local family tree as the system of record while browsing online genealogy sites for clues. That hybrid approach works when you export carefully and avoid deleting the only copy of either side too early. GEDCOM remains the bridge when you need to move.
If a society already standardized on a commercial suite, evaluate migration cost before you switch for branding alone. Gramps wins when GPL-2.0 and offline disks matter. Online SaaS wins when you cannot install software or you need hosted hints every day.
Update discipline
Return to the same door forever. Windows users take the next AIO from Releases. Homebrew users upgrade the cask. Snap users refresh. apt users follow distro tools. Do not stack three mirrors “just in case.” One honest door prevents dual launches and confusion after a reimage.
When a newer stable tag appears, read the release notes, back up Family Trees, then upgrade. Beta tags are for testers. This family tree guide defaults to stable assets so classrooms and societies can reproduce installs.
Where to go next
Home install panel: family tree install. Windows deep dive: Windows. Safety: is it safe. First hour: installed. Guides hub: guides.
Corrections to filenames or package ids belong on the contact page with a source URL. Software bugs belong on the upstream GitHub issues list for gramps-project/gramps in a new tab.