Gramps 6.1 JSON export to Gramps 5.1 / 5.2 — BETA

Addon version 0.1.0, status BETA, source release series Gramps 6.1.

This is a separate beta package alongside the stable Gramps 6.0 exporter. It has its own folder, registration ID, module names and menu label. It does not replace or modify the 6.0 package.

Requirements

• Gramps 6.1 to run the exporter. Registration targets 6.1 and rejects the 6.0 and 5.x release series.
• No separate JSON Export addon is required in Gramps 6.1: serialization uses Gramps' own JSON functions.
• The receiving Gramps 5.1 or 5.2 installation needs its matching JSON Import addon.
• Use a test family tree for beta testing.

Install alongside the Gramps 6.0 exporter

Close Gramps and extract the complete GrampsV61ToV5ExportBeta folder into the Gramps 6.1 user plugin directory. Include the locale and po folders.

Default Windows location:

%APPDATA%\gramps\gramps61\plugins\GrampsV61ToV5ExportBeta

With GRAMPSHOME:

<GRAMPSHOME>\gramps\gramps61\plugins\GrampsV61ToV5ExportBeta

Keep the existing stable GrampsV6ToV5Export folder in the Gramps 6.0 plugin directory. The two packages have different IDs and names; their version gates select the appropriate source series. Neither depends on the other.

Restart Gramps 6.1 and open the test family tree.

Use

1. Select Family Trees → Export / Slægtstræer → Eksportér.
2. Choose JSON from Gramps 6.1 to 5.1 / 5.2 (BETA) / JSON fra Gramps 6.1 til 5.1 / 5.2 (BETA).
3. Select the target version, Gramps 5.1 or 5.2.
4. Choose a new .json filename and complete the assistant.
5. Inspect the English .report.md report and import into a new, separate test family tree in the selected target version.

The exporter writes the entire open tree to temporary Gramps61_export.jsonl, converts it, and removes the temporary file. The permanent output is one JSON object per line, with a .json extension for the receiving JSON Import addon, plus one English report. The interface is Danish or English according to Gramps' language setting. Family-tree text retains its original language.

All ten primary record categories are exported: Note, Event, Person, Family, Repository, Place, Source, Citation, Media and Tag. Private records are included; there are no person filters. Media references are exported, but the media files themselves are not copied. The open database is read, not modified.

Gramps 6.1-specific adjustment

Person.familysearch_sync is removed from each top-level Person record because the receiving Gramps 5.x classes cannot represent FamilySearchSync. FamilySearch synchronization state is deliberately omitted. This is not a lossless copy. The report counts how many fields were removed.

Every top-level gramps_id is compared before and after conversion, including long IDs and leading zeroes. A mismatch stops conversion before output is written. Handles and references are preserved by the existing conversion rules and checked in local regression fixtures. Ordinary user text is not translated or renumbered.

Type classes handled

The compatibility conversion actively handles these eleven Gramps type classes:

For these classes:

• Supported standard types retain their numeric value; the string field is removed so the receiving Gramps version can localize the type itself.
• Custom types retain their text name; their class-specific CUSTOM value is removed. CUSTOM is 0 except for FamilyRelType (4) and ChildRefType (7).
• Text-only types that exactly and unambiguously match an English standard name supported by the target are converted back to numeric values. Other text-only names remain custom text.
• V6 standard types absent from the target are preserved as English custom text, rather than an unsupported numeric value.
• Unknown numeric values, invalid value/string combinations and unnamed custom types in the handled classes stop conversion before output is written.

Type classes not actively converted

Passing a class through unchanged does not establish compatibility for every possible value or data form. Other fields and classes are also passed through unchanged, except for Person.familysearch_sync removal and the Gramps 5.1 date adjustments below.

Date compatibility

The Gramps 5.1 adjustment is an approximation, because that release series does not support From/To. The 5.1 report records the affected dates and their original values. Other date modifiers are not changed by this conversion.

Verification and limitations

The type-conversion functions, supported-value tables, FamilySearch field removal and Gramps-ID verification are preserved from the two supplied scripts:

• Gramps61_JSON_to_51_beta.py
• Gramps61_JSON_to_52_beta.py

The package adds the export assistant, Danish translation, English reports, documentation and independent registration. The eleven type classes and date rules match the previously tested Gramps 6.0 compatibility core. That earlier testing does not establish native Gramps 6.1 compatibility.

See TEST_STATUS.md for the checks performed and the remaining native acceptance test. Rare or custom data forms may still reveal problems.

The converter preserves the tested Gramps data structures and performs compatibility adjustments required by Gramps 5.1/5.2. Because Gramps databases may contain custom and rarely used data types, an exact 1:1 conversion of every possible database cannot be guaranteed.

Existing output and report files are refused, even if the export assistant offers to overwrite them. Choose a new filename. A write failure can leave a partial output file. Reports may contain original place names, custom types and date text from the input; English report wording does not translate that data.

Package files

Standalone conversion:

python V61_to_V51_0_1_0.py INPUT.jsonl OUTPUT.json
python V61_to_V52_0_1_0.py INPUT.jsonl OUTPUT.json

References

• Gramps 6.1.0-beta2 release and Windows beta2-1 installer
• Gramps addon development

License

GNU General Public License v2 or later, like Gramps.

PROJECT WEBSITE

https://myown-project.dk/