nFamily

Private family social + genealogy platform. Self-hosted. Flutter app for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, and web. Powered by the nSelf CLI + the nFamily plugin bundle.

Status

Scaffolding — not yet functional. Full v1.0 implementation roadmap lives in the nSelf ecosystem planning docs.

What it is

nFamily is a private alternative to Ancestry.com, Geni.com, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch, combined with a photo-sharing + activity-feed layer for living family members. You own the data and the hardware. Migrate your existing tree in from Geni (OAuth + photo download) and keep working.

The family tree engine (family plugin) is GEDCOM 5.5.1-compatible, so you can export your data any time.

How it works

• Backend runs on your own nSelf instance via the nFamily plugin bundle ($0.99/mo or free via ɳSelf+)
• This app is MIT-licensed and free forever
• Bundle plugins: family, family-geni, social, photos, activity-feed, moderation, realtime, cms, chat

Install

Status: Not yet available. Full v1.0.0 ships in a future release. Backend scaffold + Flutter app are in progress.

When v1.0.0 ships, installation will follow the standard nSelf pattern:

# 1. Install nSelf CLI
brew tap nself-org/nself && brew install nself

# 2. Initialize a new nSelf project
mkdir my-nfamily && cd my-nfamily
nself init

# 3. Install the nFamily plugin bundle (requires $0.99/mo or ɳSelf+ license)
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxxxxx...
nself plugin install family family-geni social photos activity-feed moderation realtime cms chat

# 4. Build + start the backend
nself build
nself start

# 5. Run the Flutter app
flutter run

Install failure troubleshooting:

• License error: verify your key at https://nself.org/account
• Plugin not found: update nSelf CLI (brew upgrade nself)
• Backend offline: check nself status for service health
• App cannot connect: confirm NSELF_API_URL env var points to your backend

For now, see the nSelf ecosystem roadmap for the timeline.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.