rdeknijf/myheritage

MyHeritage — Matches, Records & Cross-Reference Research

Search 39 billion records and browse matches on your MyHeritage family site. MyHeritage is used read-only as a secondary research tool — Gramps Web (or your local GEDCOM) is the source of truth.

Requires login — credentials stored in .env as MYHERITAGE_USER and MYHERITAGE_PASSWORD.

Browser automation via playwright-cli

All browser interaction uses playwright-cli via Bash with a named session:

# Open browser (once per session)
playwright-cli -s=myheritage open

# Navigate
playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/research"

# Get page snapshot (written to .playwright-cli/*.yml)
playwright-cli -s=myheritage snapshot

# Interact using refs from snapshot
playwright-cli -s=myheritage fill <ref> "search text"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage click <ref>

# Run JavaScript (e.g., remove overlays)
playwright-cli -s=myheritage run-code "document.querySelectorAll('.cookie_banner_overlay, .modal_overlay, #cookie_preferences_banner_root, #cookie_preferences_dialog_root').forEach(el => el.remove()); 'done'"

# Save/load auth state for reuse across sessions
playwright-cli -s=myheritage state-save .playwright-cli/myheritage-auth.json
playwright-cli -s=myheritage state-load .playwright-cli/myheritage-auth.json

# Close when done
playwright-cli -s=myheritage close

Important: After each action that changes the page (click, fill+submit, goto), take a new snapshot to get updated refs. Refs change between snapshots.

Setup

Before using this skill, set these variables in your .env:

MYHERITAGE_SITE_ID=your-site-id-here

Find your Site ID by logging into MyHeritage and checking the URL on your family site page — it's the long alphanumeric string in the URL path.

When to use MyHeritage vs other sources

| Source | Use when | |--------|----------| | WieWasWie | Need structured Dutch civil registry records (Tier B) | | OpenArchieven | Wide net across 363M+ Dutch/Belgian records | | FamilySearch | International records, church records, scanned images | | MyHeritage matches | Want to cross-reference a person against other trees + record databases. Good for finding birth/death places, occupations, parents, siblings you haven't found elsewhere | | MyHeritage SuperSearch | 39B records including 19B newspapers, family trees from other platforms. Broader than Dutch-only sources | | Connected sites | Want to check large trees from other researchers for overlapping family lines |

Confidence: MyHeritage data is Tier C or D — use it to guide archive lookups, not as authoritative evidence. Smart Matches are user-contributed trees (Tier D). Record Matches from indexed civil records are Tier C (cross-reference with the original archive for Tier B).

Reading your Site ID

At session start, read the MYHERITAGE_SITE_ID from .env. All MyHeritage URLs below use {SITE_ID} as a placeholder — substitute your actual value.

Login workflow

MyHeritage requires authentication. The playwright-cli session persists cookies, so login is only needed once per browser session. Use state-save/state-load to persist auth across sessions.

1. Check if already logged in

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/research"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage snapshot

Read the snapshot file. If it shows a user name button with "Rekeningopties" in the header, you're logged in. Skip to the appropriate workflow below.

If it shows button "Log in", proceed to step 2.

2. Remove cookie overlays

MyHeritage has aggressive cookie banners that block interaction. Remove them BEFORE trying to click anything:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage run-code "['cookie_preferences_banner_root', 'cookie_preferences_dialog_root'].forEach(id => { const el = document.getElementById(id); if (el) el.remove(); }); document.querySelectorAll('.cookie_banner_overlay, .modal_overlay').forEach(el => el.remove()); 'Overlays removed'"

3. Log in

Take a snapshot to find the "Log in" button ref, then click it:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage snapshot
playwright-cli -s=myheritage click <login-button-ref>
playwright-cli -s=myheritage snapshot

A dialog appears with email and password fields. Find the refs and fill them:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage fill <email-ref> "$MYHERITAGE_USER"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage fill <password-ref> "$MYHERITAGE_PASSWORD"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage click <submit-ref>

Important: Read credentials from .env using the Read tool — do NOT hardcode them.

After login, a banner may show "De grens van de stamboom is overschreden" (tree limit exceeded). This is normal on the Basic plan — ignore it.

Save auth state for reuse:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage state-save .playwright-cli/myheritage-auth.json

4. Ensure correct site

After login, check the header for your site name. If it shows a different site, the session defaulted to another one. The Site ID in the URLs below ensures the correct site is used.

Workflow A: Browse matches for a person (Discovery Hub)

1. Navigate to Discovery Hub

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/discovery-hub/{SITE_ID}/matches-by-people"

This shows a paginated list of persons sorted by match value, with tabs:

• Alle overeenkomsten — all matches (Record + Smart combined)
• Record Matches — matches to historical records
• Smart Matches — matches to other users' trees

Each person entry shows:

• Person name and relationship to tree owner
• Spouse and children
• "Nieuwe info:" summary of what the match offers (dates, places, parents, etc.)
• "Beoordeel N matches" link to review matches for that person

2. Find a specific person

Click the "Vind een persoon" (Find a person) button to search by name within the matches list. Alternatively, use the direct URL:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/discovery-hub/{SITE_ID}/matches-for-person/{personId}"

Person IDs can be found from the matches list (in the href of each person's link).

3. Review matches for a person

Click "Beoordeel N matches" to see all matches for that person. Each match shows:

• Source: other user's tree name, or historical record collection
• Match type: Smart Match (tree) or Record Match (historical record)
• Data available: names, dates, places, relationships
• Side-by-side comparison of your data vs the match

4. Extract useful data

From the match detail, extract:

• Birth date and place (if missing from your tree)
• Death date and place
• Occupation
• Parents' names
• Siblings
• Marriage details
• Archive references (for Record Matches)

Do NOT confirm or reject matches — this would modify the tree.

Workflow B: SuperSearch (historical records)

Search 39 billion records across all categories.

1. Navigate to SuperSearch

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/research?s={SITE_ID}"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage snapshot

2. Fill the search form

| Field | Label | Type | |-------|-------|------| | First names | "Voorna(a)m(en)" | textbox | | Last name | "Achternaam" | textbox | | Birth year | "Geboortejaar" | textbox | | Place | "Plaats" | textbox |

Find refs in snapshot, then fill and submit:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage fill <firstname-ref> "Jan"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage fill <lastname-ref> "de Knijf"
playwright-cli -s=myheritage click <search-button-ref>

Click "Voeg details toe" (Add details) to expand additional fields:

• Father, Mother, Partner (each with first name + last name)
• Death year and place
• More options (gender, etc.)

3. Submit and read results

Results are grouped by category with counts. Each result shows: person name, dates, place, collection name.

4. View a result

Click a result to see details. On the free plan:

• Summary data is visible (names, dates, places, relationships)
• Full record details may require a Data subscription for some collections
• Original images are typically behind the paywall

5. Record categories (with counts)

| Category | Records | |----------|---------| | Kranten (Newspapers) | 19.4B | | Stambomen (Family Trees) | 9.5B | | Geboorte/Huwelijk/Overlijden (BMD) | 4.7B | | Volkstellingen (Censuses) | 1.8B | | Adreslijsten (Directories) | 1.0B | | Boeken (Books/Publications) | 856M | | Foto's (Photos) | 472M | | Immigratie (Immigration) | 294M | | Scholen (Education) | 282M | | Leger (Military) | 275M | | Publieke records | 265M | | Overheid/Eigendom/Rechtbank | 172M |

Workflow C: Browse connected family sites

After login, navigate to your family site settings to find connected sites. These are other researchers' trees where you've been added as a member. Each connected site has its own Site ID in the URL.

To browse a connected site's tree:

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/family-trees/{site-slug}/{CONNECTED_SITE_ID}"

Connected sites with PremiumPlus plans may show more data than your own plan allows.

Workflow D: Photo tools

playwright-cli -s=myheritage goto "https://www.myheritage.com/photo-world/{SITE_ID}"

Available tools (limited free uses per day):

• In Color — colorize black & white photos
• Photo Enhancer — improve resolution and quality
• Deep Nostalgia — animate still photos
• LiveMemory — create video from photos

Output format

For Discovery Hub matches

## MyHeritage Match — [Smart Match / Record Match]

**Person:** [name]
**Relationship:** [relationship to tree owner]

**New info from match:**
- Birth: [date] in [place]
- Death: [date] in [place]
- Occupation: [occupation]
- Father: [name]
- Mother: [name]
- Siblings: [names]

**Match source:** [other tree name / record collection]
**Person ID:** [personId from URL]

**Confidence:** Tier D — Smart Match from user-contributed tree
(or Tier C — Record Match from indexed historical record)

For SuperSearch results

## MyHeritage SuperSearch Result — [record type]

**Person:** [name]
**Event:** [type], [date] in [place]

**Father:** [name]
**Mother:** [name]
**Spouse:** [name] (if applicable)

**Collection:** [collection name]
**Category:** [BMD / Census / Military / etc.]
**Full record:** [visible / requires Data subscription]

**Confidence:** Tier C — indexed record via MyHeritage SuperSearch
(verify with original archive for Tier B)

Key quirks

• Language: The UI is in Dutch (myheritage.nl). Button labels, field names, and messages are all Dutch.
• Cookie overlays: Must be force-removed before any interaction — they block clicks even after "accepting" them. Always run the overlay removal code first.
• Tree limit banner: "De grens van de stamboom is overschreden" appears on every page on the Basic plan. Ignore it — it doesn't block read operations.
• Site switching: If the account has multiple sites, always use URLs with the correct Site ID from .env to ensure you're on the right site.
• Do NOT edit: Do not confirm/reject matches, add people, or modify anything. The tree is read-only. Your local GEDCOM / Gramps Web is the source of truth.
• Name prefixes: Dutch name prefixes ("de", "van", "van de") may be handled differently. Try with and without prefix if results are sparse.