How do I find my FamilySearch Access Token?

Log in to the [**FamilySearch Developer portal**](https://www.familysearch.org/developers/), and you can generate a Personal Access Token or use the OAuth flow to obtain one. Copy and paste it below.

Can the agent show my family tree?

Yes. Use the `get_person_pedigree` tool providing a starting person ID. Your agent will return the ancestry chart metadata instantly.

Are photos and stories included?

Yes. The `get_person_memories` tool retrieves any photos, stories, and documents (memories) associated with a specified person in the tree.

FamilySearch API MCP Server for Claude Desktop 6 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: FamilySearch API
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 6 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "familysearch-api": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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About FamilySearch API MCP Server

Empower your AI agent to orchestrate your entire genealogical research and ancestry auditing workflow with the FamilySearch API, the world's largest platform for family history. By connecting FamilySearch to your agent, you transform complex ancestor searches into a natural conversation. Your agent can instantly retrieve person details, audit pedigree charts, and query historical record collections without you ever touching a genealogy portal. Whether you are building your family tree or conducting deep-dive historical audits, your agent acts as a real-time genealogical consultant, ensuring your data is always verified and precise.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect FamilySearch API to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 6 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Person Auditing — Search for millions of persons in the FamilySearch global tree and retrieve detailed metadata, including lifespans and birth/death places.
Pedigree Oversight — Audit the ancestry charts for specific individuals to maintain a clear view of lineage distribution and scale.
Memories Discovery — Retrieve photos, stories, and documents associated with specific persons to identify relevant assets instantly.
Record Intelligence — List available historical record collections to understand the organizational reach of global archives.
Metadata Intelligence — Retrieve unique identifiers and display names for any genealogical record to assist in deep-dive classification.

The FamilySearch API MCP Server exposes 6 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect FamilySearch API to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the FamilySearch API MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using FamilySearch API

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 6 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the FamilySearch API MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with FamilySearch API through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

FamilySearch API + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the FamilySearch API MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

FamilySearch API MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (6)

These 6 tools become available when you connect FamilySearch API to Claude Desktop via MCP:

check_api_status

Check if the FamilySearch API is operational

get_person_details

Get full details for a specific person in the family tree by ID

get_person_memories

Get memories (photos, stories) associated with a person

get_person_pedigree

Get the ancestry (pedigree) for a specific person

list_historical_collections

List historical record collections available on FamilySearch

search_persons

Search for persons in the FamilySearch Family Tree

Example Prompts for FamilySearch API in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with FamilySearch API immediately.

"Search for 'George Washington' in FamilySearch."

"Show the pedigree for person ID 'KWCX-S58'."

"List available memories for person ID 'LZDP-H7Z'."

Troubleshooting FamilySearch API MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting FamilySearch API to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

FamilySearch API + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating FamilySearch API MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.