Connect Family Branches
Connect Family Branches
You and your cousin each built a tree. Your trees overlap — you share ancestors. Now you want to connect them so you can see each other's families and communicate across the boundary.
This is called a tree merge. It works by declaring a single person as the connection point — the ancestor you both have records for. After the merge, messages can flow between your two trees through that person's node.
This must happen in person. Both of you need to be physically present to complete the connection. This is not a limitation of the app. It is a deliberate choice: it prevents anyone from connecting your tree to a foreign tree without your knowledge.
Before you start
Both of you need:
- iwacu installed and running
- Your own family trees built
- Enough battery to get through the process (it takes about five minutes)
Pick a quiet moment. This is not something to rush through.
Step 1 — Open the Merge dialog
On your phone, open iwacu. In the terminal:
tree merge
A dialog opens showing a QR code. This is your merge link. Do not close this dialog.
Step 2 — Exchange QR codes
Show your screen to your cousin. They scan your QR code using the camera or QR scanner in their iwacu app (tap the scan icon in the merge dialog on their phone).
Then swap. They show you their screen. You scan their QR code.
You do not need to send anything over the internet. The scan happens phone-to-phone, in the room, in front of each other.
Step 3 — Pick the connection point
After scanning, each of you will see a prompt on your own phone: "Who in your tree are you connecting through?"
This is the person you both share. If you and your cousin share a grandfather, you each pick your grandfather's record in your own tree. If you are cousins through your mothers, you pick your mother's record (or her parents).
The two records do not need to have the same name — your cousin might have spelled the ancestor's name differently. You are saying "this person in my tree corresponds to that person in theirs."
Tap the correct person from the dropdown. Tap Confirm.
Step 4 — The connection is established
Both phones will show a confirmation. From this point:
- You can see the branch of your cousin's tree that is connected through the shared person.
- You can message your cousin directly from their person record.
- Your cousin can see the connected branch of your tree.
The connection is local. No central server holds this mapping. If either of you deletes the app, the connection on that side is gone. The other person's tree is unchanged.
What if you made a mistake?
If you connected to the wrong person, open the person's record in the side panel and remove the cross-tree link. Then start the merge process again.
What this does not do
This does not merge your trees into one. You each keep your own tree, with your own data. The merge creates a bridge — a passage between two separate cells.
This also does not give your cousin edit access to your tree, and it does not give you edit access to theirs. You can see, you can message. You cannot edit.
If you want someone to be a full member of your tree — able to add and update records — use the invite flow instead.
You have completed the Getting Started section. You can now: