FAQ

Is my data locked in?

No — that's the whole point. Your family history is a folder of plain, readable Markdown files, and you can export a standard GEDCOM on top of that any time. If Oakbough Family disappeared tomorrow, you'd lose nothing: the files open in any text editor, and the GEDCOM imports into any other genealogy program.

Do I need to understand the files?

Not at all. The app gives you everything through its own windows — the files are just there underneath, so you're never trapped. Curious people can open them and read along; everyone else can happily ignore them.

Where do the files live?

In a folder the app creates under its own data directory. On first run you are asked for a name for your archive, not for a location — "pick a folder" is a decision nobody can make well before they have seen the program, and the wrong answer (a network drive, someone else's synced folder) causes trouble months later. Nothing is hidden: the full path is in Settings, and it is an ordinary folder of ordinary files. The one folder question the app does ask is where to keep your backups.

Is the app the only way to edit my tree?

In practice, yes — and on purpose. The app keeps the identity of every note and the links between them straight; nothing else knows those rules. If you do edit a file by hand, Oakbough Family copes: it picks the change up from disk, leaves anything it doesn't understand untouched in the file, and reports a note it could not read in Archive Health instead of silently dropping it. Treat that as a safety net, not as a second front door.

Does it work offline?

Completely. The world map and a place-name index are built right into the app, so nothing needs the internet. Looking a place up online to find its coordinates is the one optional extra, and it only happens when you ask. No account, no tracking.

What if I delete something, or my computer dies?

Point Settings → Backups at a folder on another drive and the app takes care of the rest: a verified copy when you close it, the last ten kept, and a word in the status bar when the newest one is getting old. Restoring a copy builds a separate archive, so it never overwrites what you are working in. Anything that could overwrite notes — a replacing import, a mass rename — asks first and moves the old ones into a dated folder inside the archive. The full story: Backups and safety.

Windows says it "protected your PC"

It is not a virus warning — SmartScreen is saying "I don't know this file". It trusts programs by how many people have downloaded them and whether the publisher holds a certificate, and a new program from a one-person author has neither yet. Click More info → Run anyway and you're in. Oakbough Family installs for your account only and never asks for administrator rights. A publisher certificate comes once there are enough downloads for it to mean anything — bought today it would not remove that screen a day sooner.

Which platforms?

Windows first. The app is cross-platform under the hood, so Linux (.deb/AppImage) and macOS (.dmg) installers are on the roadmap.

How big a tree can it handle?

Big. A 30,000-person tree imports, saves and reloads without drama, and the test suite exercises the import pipeline, the map and the Registry on generated archives of that size. Person-focused views stay instant no matter how large your tree grows; the "show me everyone at once" views offer a narrower scope instead of bogging down.

I research Polish records — does it help?

Yes, that's home ground. Paste a Geneteka or Szukaj w Archiwach result link and it becomes a ready source with the register, years and names filled in; feast-day dates from Latin church books are understood (see Dates in old records); and the whole interface is available in Polish, German, French and Spanish besides English.

What does it cost?

The core app is free forever — no limits, nothing expires. The researcher's workbench (sources and citations, the research log, the Registry, PDF reports, the family website, historical maps) is the PRO pack: a single purchase, no subscription of any kind — $29.99 at the early-access price, $59.99 later. You can try PRO free for 30 days inside the app first. Details on the pricing section.

I found a bug, or I have an idea

Please write to contact@oakbough.com. Before 1.0 every message genuinely shapes what gets built next.