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ANCESTRIS, A FREE GENEALOGY PROGRAM running on all computer systems

Ancestry will run on different computer systems but each computer system (Windows, MacOs or Linux) will require a different installation process.


Ancestris on Windows


  1. Ancestris runs on Windows, provided you have installed javascript first, since this computer program has been written in Java.

  2. Go on ancestris.org website (a link will be provided below). By default, the website page is often displayed in French (at least on my web browser this is so ... ) but if you want to switch to another language you just have to look for a little blue flag on the right hand corner of the page and you will see a list of different languages scrolling down, just select the one you want and the website will turn to your own language of choice.

  3. To download the installation package, scroll down the page till you find the Windows section, click on it and the file download will start right away.

  4. Once your file is downloaded, copy-paste this file to your SSD / hard drive on your computer and open it .

  5. Follow the different steps till the installation process is complete.

  6. You will find a new screen icon named Ancestris and you will just have to click on it to open the program.

  7. But be careful, make sure you have installed javascript first or the program might not open at all.

  8. Click on the following link if you want to visit the Ancestris webpage and download this program : https://www.ancestris.org/index.html

Ancestris on MAC OS


  1. Ancestris runs on MacOS aswell, provided you have installed javascript first, since this computer program has been written in Java.

  2. Go on Ancestris website (a link will be provided below).

  3. Once you have downloaded the installation file, just click on the ‘ancestris’ file location to open the Finder.

  4. The ‘Downloads’ directory will appear.

  5. Just click on the 'ancestris' main folder as it is already unpacked for MacOS and it will start Ancestris.

  6. There is a step-by-step installation procedure on the Ancestris website (look for the step-by-step on mac os installation section).


Ancestris on Linux distros


Ancestris on Fedora


  1. Install a free version of Java that you will find in the Fedora app store, just type ‘Java’ and install the first one you encounter with the penguin icon.

  2. Go to the Ancestris website, scroll down till the Linux section and click on Fedora, Redhat, Mandriva type of file to download the rpm file.

  3. The RPM package manager should be enabled first on your system.

  4. Download the file, open it with your package manager and go through the installation process.


Ancestris on Ubuntu-based distributions

Ubuntu,Xubuntu, Kubuntu,FerenOS,Linux Lite,ElementaryOS


  1. Go to the Ancestris website, scroll down and find the Linux section.Click on the Ubuntu, Mint, Debian type of file and the download will start right away.

  2. On Ubuntu-based distributions you will need a package manager called Gdebi to open and install the Ancestris program (or another speedy package manager called Eddy on ElementaryOS or PopOS).

  3. Make sure you have this package manager installed on your system or copy-paste this line command in the terminal and follow instructions in the terminal:

sudo apt install gdebi


and follow instructions in the terminal until the installation process is finished.


Ancestris on Debian and Mint


You'd rather use another package manager called Synaptic.


Ancestris on Arch-based systems like Manjaro


  1. Use the AUR repository in Pamac which is the Manjaro graphical package manager.

  2. Click on the AUR tab.

  3. Type ‘Ancestris’ in the search bar of the AUR section.

  4. Click on the ‘Ancestris’ build file and let Pamac build it and install it on your system.





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