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Import & Export

The PastPaths Import & Export page lets you bring in data from other programs, export your own tree, and back up everything.

Import and export
Import and export genealogy files and blogs

Import GEDCOM

GEDCOM is the standard format for moving family trees between programs. PastPaths supports import from:

  • Standard GEDCOM 5.5.1 — works with most programs
  • Ancestry.com — _APID and other Ancestry markers are handled correctly
  • MyHeritage — _MHID and MyHeritage-specific fields are preserved
  • TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding) — TNG-specific fields are handled

Click Import GEDCOM file to open the import dialog. There you choose a file and confirm the import.

Detailed guides for each format:

Place Library

Ready-made packs of reference places (counties, provinces, dioceses, ports, etc.) that you can import with one click instead of typing them in by hand — handy for avoiding the same place spelled differently depending on when you entered it.

The Place Library has a tab of its own: Administration → Library. That's where you browse the available packs and import the one you want. The import shows up in the same history as GEDCOM imports at the bottom of this page, and can be undone from there.

Requires internet

Unlike the rest of PastPaths, the Place Library's pack list and pack files are fetched from pastpaths.se — an internet connection is needed for this feature specifically.

→ More about the Place Library

Export GEDCOM

Click Export GEDCOM file to export your entire tree to a .ged file. The file is saved in your Downloads folder, and a notification shows the exact path. From there you can open the folder or copy the path.

The export includes persons, relationships, events, sources, and media references. Places carry their coordinates, and PastPaths' own subtags preserve each place field separately so a re-import into PastPaths is exact.

Citations on places aren't carried over

The GEDCOM format has no place for a citation attached to a place. The sources are included in the file, but the link to individual places is not.

Re-import

An exported GEDCOM file can be imported into PastPaths again — for example, to move your data to a new installation. Use the regular GEDCOM import for this.

Import a WordPress blog

Do you have a WordPress blog you want to move to PastPaths? You can import posts, categories, and tags from a WordPress XML export file.

Export from WordPress:

  1. Log in to your WordPress site
  2. Go to Tools → Export
  3. Choose All content
  4. Download the generated .xml file

Import into PastPaths:

  1. Choose your .xml file in the Choose WordPress XML file field
  2. Click Import
  3. Once the import is done, a summary is shown with the number of posts, categories, and tags

Images from WordPress:

The WordPress export doesn't include the actual image files — only links to them. Click Download WP images (shown after the import) to fetch the images from your WordPress site and add them to the media library. The site needs to be reachable online for this to work.

→ More about WordPress import

System backup

The system backup creates a ZIP file with the entire database and all media files — a complete snapshot of your installation.

Download a backup

Click Download backup. The file is saved in the backups folder in the PastPaths installation directory. The size is shown in the notification once it's done.

Back up regularly

Make a backup before upgrading PastPaths or importing large amounts of data. It's the fastest way back if something goes wrong.

Restore from backup

  1. Choose a previously saved backup ZIP in the Choose backup ZIP field
  2. Click Restore
  3. Confirm in the dialog — an automatic backup of your current data is created before the restore begins

Restoring replaces all data

Restoring overwrites the entire database and media folder with the contents of the backup. Anything added after the backup was created will be lost.

Import/export history

At the bottom of the page, a table shows all imports and exports. Here you can see the status, progress, and statistics for each entry.

Undo an import

Imports with the status Done can be undone. Click the undo icon (↩) next to the row. A preview shows how many persons, events, places, media files, sources, and citations will be removed — then confirm to carry out the undo.

Cannot be undone again

The undo operation is permanent. There's no "undo the undo."

Tags that were created automatically during the import (e.g. -gedcom-import-2026-05-09) are not removed — only the actual entities.

→ More about import history and undoing