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GEDCOM Explorer
by
justinhartbiz
· GitHub ↗
· v1.0.0
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Install in OpenClaw
/install gedcom-explorer
Description
Generate an interactive family tree dashboard from any GEDCOM (.ged) file. Creates a single-file HTML app with 5 tabs (Dashboard, Family Tree, People, Timeline, Daily Alerts), search, person modals, charts, and "On This Day" events. Use when asked to visualize genealogy data, explore family history, build a family tree viewer, or work with GEDCOM files. Triggers on "family tree", "genealogy", "GEDCOM", "ancestors", "family explorer", "family history dashboard".
README (SKILL.md)
GEDCOM Explorer
Parse any GEDCOM file and generate a self-contained interactive HTML dashboard.
Quick Start
python3 scripts/build_explorer.py \x3Cinput.ged> [output.html] [--title "Title"] [--subtitle "Subtitle"]
Examples
# Basic — outputs family-explorer.html in current directory
python3 scripts/build_explorer.py ~/my-family.ged
# Custom output path and title
python3 scripts/build_explorer.py ~/my-family.ged ~/Desktop/hart-family.html \
--title "Hart Family Tree" --subtitle "Six generations of history"
# Demo with bundled US Presidents data
python3 scripts/build_explorer.py assets/demo-presidents.ged presidents.html \
--title "Presidential Family Explorer" --subtitle "US Presidents & Their Ancestors"
Features
- Dashboard — Stats grid (people, families, places, generations), On This Day events, top surnames, geographic origins, people by century, party breakdown (for presidential data)
- Family Tree — Interactive tree visualization with zoom/pan, select any person as root, color-coded by gender/president status
- People — Searchable/filterable directory with gender and president filters, pagination, click for full detail modal
- Timeline — Chronological events (births, deaths, marriages) with filters and search
- Daily Alerts — Today's anniversaries, random ancestor spotlight, fun facts
- Person Modal — Full detail view with parents, spouses, children (all clickable links)
- Global Search — Search across all tabs by name, place, or year
How It Works
build_explorer.py parses the GEDCOM, extracts all individuals + families, computes stats, and embeds everything as inline JSON in a single HTML file. No server needed — just open the HTML.
Auto-detects US Presidents from OCCU (occupation) fields. Works with any GEDCOM; presidential features simply won't appear if no president data exists.
GEDCOM Sources
Users can export .ged files from:
- Ancestry.com → Tree Settings → Export Tree
- FamilySearch.org → Download GEDCOM
- MyHeritage → Family Tree → Export → GEDCOM
- Any genealogy software (Gramps, RootsMagic, Legacy, etc.)
Demo Data
assets/demo-presidents.ged — Public domain US Presidents GEDCOM (2,322 people, 1,115 families, 44 presidents). Source: webtreeprint.com.
Serving Locally
cd /path/to/output/dir
python3 -m http.server 8899
# Open http://localhost:8899/family-explorer.html
Extending
The generated HTML is fully self-contained. To customize:
- Edit CSS variables in
:rootfor theming - The dashboard adapts to whatever data is in the GEDCOM — no presidential data required
- For OpenClaw cron integration: parse GEDCOM daily events and send "On This Day" notifications via Telegram
Usage Guidance
What to consider before installing or running this skill:
- Source verification: The homepage/source is unknown. Prefer skills with a known author and repository. Ask the publisher for a public repo or release tarball so you can audit the full code.
- Inspect the full script: The provided build_explorer.py was truncated in the package listing. Before running, open the entire file and search for any network or subprocess activity (look for imports or strings: requests, urllib, http, socket, subprocess, os.system, popen, ftplib, smtplib, telnet, ssh, eval, exec). If you see any outbound endpoints (URLs, IPs) or hidden obfuscated strings, do not run it until you understand them.
- Remove/inspect hidden characters: The pre-scan found unicode-control-chars in SKILL.md. View the file in a hex editor or use a utility to show non-printable characters and remove them if they are not intended.
- Run in isolation: If you choose to run the script, do so on a disposable VM or sandbox with no sensitive network access and with a test GEDCOM file first. Verify the produced HTML contains no calls to remote resources (open it while offline) and that no unexpected outbound connections occur while generating the file.
- Privacy: GEDCOM files contain personal data. Be aware the tool embeds all data into a single HTML file — treat that file like the original GEDCOM with respect to privacy and sharing.
- Cron/notification note: SKILL.md mentions Telegram/cron integration as an extension. Do not enable or wire any notification integrations until you review the implementation and approve the destination endpoints and credentials.
If you can provide the complete build_explorer.py (full file) or a public repository URL, I can re-evaluate and raise the confidence level.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: gedcom-explorer
Version: 1.0.0
The Python script `scripts/build_explorer.py` itself appears benign, performing local file parsing and HTML generation without network access or suspicious system calls. However, the `SKILL.md` file, which is treated as an attack surface for prompt injection, contains an instruction in the 'Extending' section: 'send "On This Day" notifications via Telegram'. While the stated purpose of sending 'daily events' is benign, this instruction introduces a network communication capability for the AI agent that is not strictly necessary for the skill's primary function (generating a local HTML dashboard). This represents a risky capability that could potentially be leveraged for data exfiltration or other unauthorized actions if combined with a more targeted prompt injection.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
Name, description, SKILL.md, and the included script all align: parsing GEDCOM files and producing a self-contained HTML viewer is consistent with the files and runtime instructions. No unrelated binaries, env vars, or config paths are requested.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md only instructs running the provided script on a local .ged file and optionally serving the resulting HTML locally. However: (1) SKILL.md contains a note about sending notifications via Telegram for cron integration (external endpoints) which is not explained or required and could imply optional network integration, and (2) the provided script was truncated in the package listing so I could not review the entire code to confirm there are no network calls, telemetry, subprocess invocations, or other out-of-scope file accesses. The presence of unicode-control-chars in SKILL.md also suggests a potential prompt-injection attempt to influence an agent's behavior.
Install Mechanism
No install spec is present (instruction-only with a bundled script). That is low risk compared to remote downloads. The script is executed locally; nothing in the manifest indicates it will fetch remote archives during install.
Credentials
The skill declares no required environment variables, no primary credential, and no config paths. This is proportionate to the stated purpose of local file parsing and HTML generation. Still verify the full script does not read additional env vars at runtime (the truncated file prevents perfect verification).
Persistence & Privilege
always:false and no install-time modifications are declared. The skill does not request permanent/platform-wide privileges. Autonomous invocation is allowed by default (disable-model-invocation:false) which is normal; combine this with other concerns if you permit wide agent autonomy.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install gedcom-explorer - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/gedcom-explorer - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release: Interactive family tree dashboard from any GEDCOM file. 5 tabs, search, person modals, On This Day events. Bundled US Presidents demo.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is GEDCOM Explorer?
Generate an interactive family tree dashboard from any GEDCOM (.ged) file. Creates a single-file HTML app with 5 tabs (Dashboard, Family Tree, People, Timeline, Daily Alerts), search, person modals, charts, and "On This Day" events. Use when asked to visualize genealogy data, explore family history, build a family tree viewer, or work with GEDCOM files. Triggers on "family tree", "genealogy", "GEDCOM", "ancestors", "family explorer", "family history dashboard". It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 1890 downloads so far.
How do I install GEDCOM Explorer?
Run "/install gedcom-explorer" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is GEDCOM Explorer free?
Yes, GEDCOM Explorer is completely free (open-source). You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does GEDCOM Explorer support?
GEDCOM Explorer is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created GEDCOM Explorer?
It is built and maintained by justinhartbiz (@justinhartbiz); the current version is v1.0.0.
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