Do you use genealogy software? If you are here, you probably do. Does it support plugins, addons, or extensions, or styles? Since the 1980s and early DOS versions of Personal Ancestral File (PAF), various genealogy programs have supported plugins that do everything from changing how the software looks to how it handles various data input, manages non-standard data (think DNA information) to what reports are generated or can be printed, all the way to changing the type of database (Gramps) that powers your genealogy data. Somebody has decided to spend the time to add some additional functionality to their favorite program. Maybe it’s a trained or experienced programmer that enjoys genealogy and found something they wanted added to the software, or maybe it’s a genealogist that needed a function and spent the time to figure out how to incorporate it and released it for other genealogists.
And it’s not limited to programs – as I’ve written about before, if you use Apple’s Safari, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, or Opera, there are dozens of browser extensions out there that will change the way you interact with various genealogy services (Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, FindAGrave, etc.). In many cases, they can not only make you a more efficient genealogist, but they can help you find records that you may have overlooked (the link above will take you to a number of recently updated extensions).
Over 150 “current” genealogy programs, plugins, browser extensions, and genealogy software in general are tracked here. But not all plugins and browser extensions are tracked – there are hundreds of smaller plugins and extensions that are out there and available (that will eventually be listed with their respective programs). It looks like there are close to over a thousand plugins, modules, extensions, templates, and addons created over the last 5-10 years.
There are countless plugins/extensions for genealogy software that are out there on personal blogs/unofficial sites, but for now I’m sticking to known plugins on official websites (usually free, but not always). If you know of other programs that support plugins, please contact us.
Some programs only have a handful (Family Tree Maker) to hundreds of addons (Gramps, TNG), but if you use any of the programs below, you owe it to yourself to take a look at some of these software repositories at the software that can extend the functionality of your software.
Genealogy Software & Plugins/Extensions
- Familienbande – Windows/macOS/Linux genealogy program
- Family Historian – Windows genealogy program
- Plugin Store/List (starting with FH v5.0)
- Family Historian User Group – Knowledge Base (link)
- Plugins extend functionality – things like working with various types of sources, events, generating reports, templates, changing backup functionality, queries, customization in general.
- Family Tree Maker 2019/2024 – Windows/macOS genealogy program
- Family Book Creator (link)
- GEDitCOM II – macOS genealogy program
- Browser Styles – Change the way you view and edit genealogy data
- Extensions – can “can automate editing tasks, create web sites, compile reports, etc.“
- Gramps – macOS, Linux, Windows genealogy program
- Addons and Lists (hundreds)
- The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding – Online software program (PHP)
- Mods for TNG v14 – Over 300+ (and there are hundreds for v12 and v13)
- Scripts for TNG
- webTrees – Online software program (PHP)
- Modules and Themes – modifies and extends functionality
Note: Whether a genealogy program supports plugins/extensions should not be a primary reason to select a program – the best program is the one you use! But as I said, if you use any of the programs above, take a quick look at what’s available to extend the functionality.
Icon: Wikimedia Commons