.gedcom GEDCOM family history
Documents & office
| MIME type | text/vnd.familysearch.gedcom |
|---|---|
| Description | GEDCOM family history |
| Acronym | GEDCOM – GEnealogical Data COMmunication |
| Category | Documents & office |
| Signature (magic bytes) | 30 20 48 45 41 44 (0 HEAD) |
| Based on | text/plain |
| Other extensions | .ged |
Frequently asked questions
What is a .gedcom file?
A .gedcom file is a “GEDCOM family history” (MIME type text/vnd.familysearch.gedcom). GEDCOM stands for GEnealogical Data COMmunication.
How do I open a .gedcom file?
With an office suite: LibreOffice (free, Windows/macOS/Linux) opens most document formats, as do Microsoft Office or the vendor’s own app.
How can you tell a genuine .gedcom file?
By the bytes at the start of the file, the signature (magic bytes): 30 20 48 45 41 44 (0 HEAD). On Linux and macOS, file --mime-type example.gedcom checks the real type regardless of the extension.
Which format is .gedcom based on?
Technically a .gedcom file is a subtype of “Plain text document” (text/plain), so programs for that base format can often read it too.
Which MIME type belongs to .gedcom?
The MIME type is text/vnd.familysearch.gedcom. In the Apache web server: AddType text/vnd.familysearch.gedcom .gedcom; in nginx: types { text/vnd.familysearch.gedcom gedcom; }.