genealogy-research MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

GPS evidence levels: Proven / Probable / Possible / Unproven
80+ database references across 15+ countries
Region-specific naming convention guides (Slavic, Germanic, Romance, Scandinavian)
Obsidian templates for People, Places, Documents, process tracking
Handles multi-language document analysis including handwritten scans

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

genealogy-research-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "genealogy-research-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
        "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "genealogy-research-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
        "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "genealogy-research-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
        "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "genealogy-research-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
        "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "genealogy-research-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
        "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "genealogy-research-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research",
          "~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add genealogy-research-skill -- git clone https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research ~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use genealogy-research

Analyze a 19th-century parish record scan

👤 Family historians working through European parish books ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You have a scan in Latin / Cyrillic / German script and can't parse it alone.

Prerequisites

Skill cloned — git clone https://github.com/sliday/genealogy-research ~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research
Obsidian vault (optional but recommended) — Create a vault; skill provides templates

Flow

Share the scan

Using the genealogy-research skill — here's a parish record from 1847 Galicia. Transcribe and interpret.✓ Copied

→ Line-by-line transcription with language notes, not guesswork
Record in the vault

Create an Obsidian note for this document using the Document template. Link to the People and Places.✓ Copied

→ New note with proper frontmatter and cross-links
Plan follow-ups

What are the GPS-recommended next searches to corroborate this record?✓ Copied

→ Specific databases + search parameters, not generic 'search ancestry.com'

Outcome: A documented artifact with evidence level + a research plan.

Pitfalls

Claude transliterates Slavic names inconsistently across notes — Pick a convention (the skill offers standard ones) and tell it to stick with that convention

Combine with: filesystem

Document a negative search properly (a GPS requirement)

👤 Researchers past the beginner stage ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: You couldn't find a record and need to note it correctly so future-you remembers.

Flow

Record the search

genealogy-research — document a negative search: Łódź State Archive, 1898-1902 birth records, surname Kowalski. Couldn't find.✓ Copied

→ Structured negative-search note per GPS standards
Suggest alternatives

What other record types could fill this gap?✓ Copied

→ Specific alternatives (civil vs church, neighboring parishes, censuses)

Outcome: A proper negative-search record that makes your evidence base actually GPS-compliant.

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

genealogy-research-skill + filesystem

Save and cross-link notes directly into your Obsidian vault

Create the People note for Anna Kowalski and save to ~/genealogy/People/.✓ Copied

genealogy-research-skill + planning-with-files

Multi-year research projects — keep findings.md and progress.md across sessions

Use planning-with-files to track the Galicia line research across months.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
transcribe_document	scan + language hint	New historical document lands in your vault
plan_search	research question + known facts	Before starting a new line of research
record_negative_search	what you looked for + where + when	Every failed search worth remembering
obsidian_template_apply	person / place / document + details	Adding an entity to your vault

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None from the skill
Tokens per call: Transcription of scans can be large
Monetary: Free — skills are local files. External databases may have their own fees.
Tip: Feed Claude one scan at a time; batch transcription gets muddled across records.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: No credentials — pure prompts

Data egress: None from the skill. Your scans and notes stay local.

Living-person data is sensitive — don't upload scans of people still alive without consent.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Skill not invoked — Claude guesses names without GPS framing

Say 'use genealogy-research skill' explicitly.

Verify: ls ~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research/SKILL.md

SKILL.md frontmatter wrong

Re-clone; description drives activation.

Verify: head ~/.claude/skills/genealogy-research/SKILL.md

Wrong trigger keywords — no template applied to Obsidian note

Ask for 'the Document template' or 'the People template' by name.

Alternatives

genealogy-research vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
FamilySearch / Ancestry tools	You want commercial database access with auto-matching	Paid; less flexible; no Obsidian integration
Vanilla Claude	One-off transcription with no method framing	No GPS discipline; inconsistent naming across sessions

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills