Family Archive

Family Archive is a private, self-hosted family archive for preserving photographs, documents, stories and memories together with genealogy context.

It is designed for families who want to create their own digital archive where relatives can explore shared history through people, relationships and historical material.

Family Archive is not intended to replace dedicated genealogy platforms. Genealogy provides context and navigation, while the archive itself focuses on the memories and material connected to people.

Status

Family Archive 0.5.0 is the first public stable release.

Features

Family archive

• Private family archive behind WordPress authentication
• Person profiles with connected archive material
• Photographs and albums
• Documents and historical material
• Stories and memories
• Contributions from family members
• Review and moderation workflows

Native genealogy layer

Family Archive includes its own native genealogy data model:

• People
• Families
• Relationships
• Life events
• Genealogy provider architecture

Genealogy is used as a foundation for connecting archive material rather than as the primary purpose of the system.

GEDCOM import

Family Archive includes an independent GEDCOM import pipeline:

• GEDCOM 5.5.1 support
• Source-aware imports
• Persistent identity handling
• Protection against duplicate identities
• Regression testing for different GEDCOM sources

Supported and tested sources include:

• Gramps
• MyHeritage
• Ancestry-compatible GEDCOM files

Private media

Family Archive stores private archive material separately from normal WordPress media.

Files are delivered through permission-checked Family Archive routes instead of direct public URLs.

Server-level protection is still required. Administrators are warned if private storage protection cannot be verified.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.2+
• PHP 8.0+
• MySQL/MariaDB database

Installation

1. Download the latest release.
2. Install as a WordPress plugin.
3. Activate Family Archive.
4. Configure archive settings.
5. Import genealogy data if desired.

Contributions

Authenticated family members can submit photographs, documents and other archive material for review.

Submitted material can be reviewed before being added to the archive.

Development status

Current stable release:

Family Archive 0.5.0

Family Archive is under active development.

Version 0.5.0 represents the transition from a genealogy-plugin prototype into an independent family archive platform.

Current focus areas:

• Frontend design improvements
• User experience
• More archive workflows
• Additional document handling
• Further import compatibility

Documentation

Project documentation:

• Project overview
• docs/architecture/ - architecture decisions and technical design
• docs/testing/ - compatibility tests and regression documentation

Project

The public project is maintained by Jimmi:

• Repository: https://codeberg.org/Jimmi/family-archive

License

Family Archive is open source software licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.

About

Family Archive was created to preserve family history in a way that keeps photographs, documents and stories connected to the people behind them.