← Guides

Getting started

Welcome. This page gets you from a fresh install to a tree you can click around in — it takes about five minutes.

1. Pick a folder for your family

The first time you open StemmaFiles it asks where to keep everything. We call that folder your vault, but it really is just an ordinary folder on your computer. Point it at an empty folder to start fresh, or at a folder that already holds a StemmaFiles vault to carry on. The app remembers your choice, so next time it opens straight to your tree.

Put the vault somewhere you already back up — your Documents folder, a synced Dropbox/OneDrive folder, anywhere. It's only files.

2. Bring your old tree in (or start from scratch)

Already have research in another program — Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Gramps, anything? Export a GEDCOM file there (every genealogy program can), then in StemmaFiles go to Settings → Data → Import GEDCOM. Every person, family, source and photo reference turns into a note in your vault. The migration guide has the exact menu for each program.

Starting with a blank page instead? Click + New Person in the People panel and you're off. From then on, right-click anyone in a tree to add a parent, child or spouse right where they belong.

3. What ends up on your disk

A vault is just folders of readable files:

MyFamily/
├── Persons/   Jan Kowalski (1888–1942).md
├── Places/    Warszawa.md
├── Sources/   1900 Census.md
├── Research/  Who was Anna's father.md
├── Media/     jan-portrait.jpg
└── .git/      ← automatic snapshots (when git is installed)

Each person is one note: the key facts (dates, places, who they're related to) at the top, room for your own story below. You never have to look at these files — the app gives you everything — but they're there, plain and readable, the day you want them. Open one in any text editor and it'll make sense at a glance. Edit it by hand and the app notices and updates itself.

4. Finding your way around

  • The bar across the top switches the big views: Tree, Graph, Map, Timeline, Snapshot, Stats, Research health and the Registry. The rail down the left edge opens the tool panels: People, Places, Sources, Research log, Anniversaries, Archive health, Settings…
  • Ctrl+P is the quickest way to jump to anyone — start typing a name (Polish accents optional) and hit Enter.
  • Click a person in any view to open their card. In the tree, Shift+click makes them the new centre.
  • The Inspector on the right shows the full details and is where you edit.

Spend a minute clicking around the Tree, Map and Graph — they're all the same family seen three ways, and they're the fun part.

5. Your safety nets

If you have git installed, StemmaFiles quietly saves a snapshot of your whole vault as you work — browse and roll back from the History panel any time. Anything that would delete or overwrite asks first and keeps a backup copy. For backups and using a second computer (or your phone), see Sync & backup.