Moving from an online genealogy habit into a local family tree means export, install, import, and verify. Gramps speaks GEDCOM, which most online tools can export.
Export first
In the online tool, find the GEDCOM export for your tree. Download it to a folder you control. Review living-person privacy settings before you export if the vendor offers them.
Install Gramps
Use the Windows AIO, brew cask, dmg, or snap path from the home install panel. Prove Gramps opens before you touch the GEDCOM.
Import
Create or select a Family Tree, then use Family Trees → Import and choose GEDCOM. Keep the original export until charts and people look right.
What may not transfer
Hints, DNA matches, and vendor-only media links often stay behind. Rebuild sources you still need. Media paths may need repair after import.
Parallel run
Keep the online account available until you trust the local family tree. Do not delete the cloud copy on day one.
Comparison
Longer notes: vs online family tree sites. Safety: is it safe.
Repeatable migration
Export, checksum or date-stamp the file, import once, spot-check ten people, then schedule a backup. That rhythm beats endless re-downloads from marketing pages.
Document the export date, the online tool name, and the Gramps Family Tree path in a short note beside the GEDCOM. That paper trail prevents duplicate imports when two volunteers work the same family tree archive a month apart.
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.