Tree Splitter
If the Upload Readiness Checker flagged your file as too large or too complex, this tool extracts a smaller, valid subset — without making you rebuild anything by hand in your genealogy software.
Runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
Drop your GEDCOM file here
Everything happens inside your browser — the file is never uploaded, and we never see it.
Choose a fileWhat this tool does
FamilySearch Community members with large trees repeatedly land on the same manual workaround: break the tree into smaller pieces — a branch, a line, a generation range — and upload those individually instead of the whole file at once. This tool automates exactly that.
You'll be able to extract a subset by relationship (direct ancestors of a chosen person, or all descendants of someone), or by a simple filter like birth year, and export the result as a standard GEDCOM file that stays under the size and count thresholds covered in FamilySearch GEDCOM Size and Individual Limits: What We Found.
Who this is for
Anyone whose full family tree file is too large to upload in one piece, or who wants to share just one branch of a tree with a relative without exporting everyone in the file.
Part of one continuous flow
This tool is designed to be reached directly from the Upload Checker's diagnostic report, not used cold — diagnosis and fix are meant to happen in the same visit, so a flagged problem doesn't turn into a separate research task.
Common questions
- Does this tool upload my GEDCOM file anywhere?
- No. Splitting happens entirely in your browser. Your original file and the extracted subset are never sent to our servers.
- What ways can I split my tree?
- Direct ancestors only, descendants of a person you select, or everyone born after a given year — the same practical splits genealogists on FamilySearch's own community forum recommend when a file is too large to upload as one piece.
- Will the split file still be valid GEDCOM?
- Yes — the tool preserves the level/tag/value structure and pointer references described in Understanding GEDCOM's Level/Tag/Value Structure, so the extracted file opens cleanly in any GEDCOM-compatible software.
- Do I need to run the Upload Checker first?
- It helps, since the checker tells you specifically why your file is too large or too complex, which informs which split makes sense — ancestors-only versus a single branch, for example.