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0 @G@ GUIDE  ·  1 SOUR Ancestry

Export a GEDCOM from Ancestry.

Your Ancestry tree can be downloaded as a standard .ged file in about a minute — a backup of years of research, and the way to move your tree into any other program or tool. Here's the current route through Ancestry's menus.

  1. Open your tree on the Ancestry website

    Sign in at ancestry.com on a computer (the export lives on the website, not in the mobile app) and open the tree you want to download from the Trees menu. You must be the tree's owner — guests, contributors, and editors don't see the export option.

  2. Go to Tree Settings

    Click the tree's name (or the ⋯ More menu in the side toolbar) and choose Tree Settings. You'll land on the Tree Info tab.

  3. Click “Export Tree”

    In the Manage your tree box on the right side of the page, click Export Tree and confirm. Ancestry generates the file on its servers — a large tree can take a few minutes, and it's safe to leave the page and come back.

  4. Download your GEDCOM file

    When it's ready, the same box shows a Download your GEDCOM file button. Click it and the .ged file lands in your Downloads folder, named after your tree.

What's in the file: every person, relationship, event, note, and source citation. What isn't: photos, documents, DNA matches, and hints — GEDCOM is a text format, so media has to be saved separately from your Ancestry media gallery (or synced via Family Tree Maker / RootsMagic). Exporting never changes or deletes your tree — just don't confuse the Export button with the Delete link that sits below it.

Got the .ged file? Open it.

Drop it into the free viewer to explore every person, chart, and place — or convert it straight to PDF, Excel, or a shareable web page. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Open the viewerBrowse the tools

Which GEDCOM version does Ancestry export?

Ancestry exports GEDCOM 5.5.1, the version every genealogy program reads. If you're curious what that means — or what the newer GEDCOM 7 changes — see the plain-English guide to the GEDCOM format. And if the file ever behaves oddly in another program, run it through the free GEDCOM validator to see exactly what's inside.