2025 Q2 FamilySearch Developer Newsletter
This quarter’s newsletter highlights exciting updates to our developer documentation and recommends using an API client to simplify integration and troubleshooting.
New Developer Documentation Platform
We’ve migrated the FamilySearch Developer Documentation to a new platform: https://developers.familysearch.org
Key Benefits:
- Improved navigation and search across all content
- Q&A forum for collaboration and troubleshooting with other developers
- Updated API reference with built-in “Try It” functionality in the Beta environment
- Extensive example requests to help you get started faster
- Enhanced changelog with newsletters and maintenance updates between releases
⚠️ As we finalize the migration, you may encounter a few issues. Please report any problems to [email protected]. You can still access the legacy API Reference while the new version is being finalized. Stay up to date with our new RSS feed for changelog updates and newsletters.
Documentation Release Plan
The initial release includes:
- Guides
- Newsletters
- API Reference (PREVIEW) - coming soon
- Example Requests
- Q&A forum
- Early Access for User-Owned Tree Feature (CETs) - Documentation for the User-Owned Tree (CETs) feature is now available: https://developers.familysearch.org/main/docs/cet-api-guide. Interested in joining the early adopter program? Contact us at [email protected].
Documentation release (Q3):
- Restricted Documentation Access - Some documentation—such as for service accounts, record exchanges, and Latter-day Saint ordinances—requires special authorization. If this applies to your use case, please reach out to [email protected] to request access.
Documentation release (Q4):
- Redesigned Developer Dashboard - We’re working on a redesigned Developer Dashboard to help you manage your developer keys and redirect URLs more efficiently. Stay tuned for more details in upcoming newsletters.
Developer Best Practices - API Client
If you're new to API clients, here’s a quick overview:
An API client is a tool that helps developers interact with APIs by sending requests, receiving responses, and debugging functionality without writing a lot of code. You can specify headers, parameters, and endpoints to see how the API behaves in real time.
Recommended Tools:
- Bruno – A powerful, open-source API client with many features found in commercial tools.
- Postman – The industry standard. Start free, or upgrade for team collaboration features.
Stay Connected
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the FamilySearch developer notification list, email us at [email protected].