| name | Updating genealogy data |
| description | Updates person records in the auntruth genealogy database (3,004 people across 10 lineages) while maintaining bidirectional relationship consistency. Use when the user asks to update birth/death dates, add marriages, add children, or modify biographical information for any person in the database. |
Updating Genealogy Data
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when the user requests:
- Update death/birth dates or locations
- Add or modify marriage information
- Add children to family records
- Update contact information (email, phone, address)
- Modify biographical details (occupation, notes)
- Any change to person records in the
data/people/ directory
Do NOT use for reading/browsing person data or generating new HTML pages.
Critical Constraints
- Source of truth: JSON files in
data/people/{lineage}/{person_id}.json
- NEVER edit HTML: Files in
docs/new/htm/L*/ are auto-generated (CI/CD regenerates them)
- No backup files: Use git for version control - NEVER create .backup files
- Bidirectional consistency: Relationships must match both directions (if A is spouse of B, B must be spouse of A)
- Always validate: Run validation script after every update before committing
Database Structure
- 3,004 people across 10 lineages
- Person IDs: Format
XF### (e.g., XF100, XF2451)
- Lineages: Hagborg-Hansson (L1), Nelson (L2), Pringle-Hambley (L3), Lathrop-Lothropp (L4), Ward (L5), Selch-Weiss (L6), Stebbe (L7), Lentz (L8), Phoenix-Rogerson (L9), Other (L0)
For detailed schema, see REFERENCE.md in this skill directory.
Standard Workflow (Copy-Paste Checklist)
For every update request, follow these steps:
☐ 1. UNDERSTAND REQUEST
Parse what needs updating and identify person ID(s)
☐ 2. FIND PERSON FILES
grep -r '"id": "XF###"' data/people/
Identify all affected files (person + related records)
☐ 3. READ CURRENT DATA
Read all affected JSON files
Show user current values and confirm changes
☐ 4. MAKE UPDATES
Edit JSON files with new values
Update metadata.lastUpdated: $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
Ensure bidirectional consistency for relationships
☐ 5. VALIDATE
python3 PRPs/scripts/both/validate_json_data.py --input data/people/{lineage}/{person_id}.json
Fix any validation errors before proceeding
☐ 6. COMMIT JSON DATA ONLY
git add data/people/{lineage}/*.json
git commit -m "Update XF###: [description]"
git push
IMPORTANT: Do NOT regenerate HTML pages manually!
GitHub Actions will automatically regenerate ALL HTML pages on push.
☐ 7. REPORT
Show summary: files changed, validation status
Explain: GitHub Actions will auto-regenerate HTML pages within 3-5 minutes
Tell user to wait for the automated workflow to complete before checking the live site
Common Update Patterns
Death Date Update (1 file affected)
User request: "Update XF100 death date to December 31, 1920 in Winnipeg, MB"
Fields to update:
deathDate: "1920-12-31"deathLocation: "Winnipeg, MB"deceased: truemetadata.lastUpdated: current ISO timestamp
Example:
{
"id": "XF100",
"deathDate": "1920-12-31",
"deathLocation": "Winnipeg, MB",
"deceased": true,
"metadata": {
"lastUpdated": "2025-10-21T15:30:00Z"
}
}
Add Marriage (2 files affected - both spouses)
User request: "Add marriage between XF100 and XF101 on June 20, 1875"
Files to update:
data/people/{lineage}/XF100.json - add XF101 to spouses arraydata/people/{lineage}/XF101.json - add XF100 to spouses array
Critical: Both files must reference each other with identical marriage date.
Example spouse entry:
{
"spouses": [
{
"id": "XF101",
"name": "Spouse Full Name",
"url": "/auntruth/new/htm/L1/XF101.htm",
"marriageDate": "1875-06-20"
}
]
}
Add Child (3 files affected - mother, father, child)
User request: "Add child XF106 (Anna, born 1876-03-15) to parents XF100 and XF101"
Files to update:
- Mother's file - add to
children array
- Father's file - add to
children array
- Child's file - set
mother and father references
Child entry in parent's file:
{
"children": [
{
"id": "XF106",
"name": "Anna Full Name",
"url": "/auntruth/new/htm/L1/XF106.htm",
"birthDate": "1876-03-15"
}
]
}
Parent reference in child's file:
{
"mother": {
"id": "XF100",
"name": "Mother Name",
"url": "/auntruth/new/htm/L1/XF100.htm"
},
"father": {
"id": "XF101",
"name": "Father Name",
"url": "/auntruth/new/htm/L1/XF101.htm"
}
}
Finding Records
Find person by ID:
grep -r '"id": "XF100"' data/people/
Find person by name (case-insensitive):
grep -ri '"name":.*"johanna"' data/people/
Get lineage directory number for URL construction:
- See
REFERENCE.md for complete lineage mapping (L0-L9)
Validation & Safety
Always run after updates (EXECUTE this script):
python3 PRPs/scripts/both/validate_json_data.py --input data/people/{lineage}/{person_id}.json
Validation checks:
- ✓ JSON syntax valid
- ✓ Required fields present (id, name, lineage)
- ✓ ID matches pattern XF\d+
- ✓ Arrays are properly formatted
- ✓ URLs follow correct pattern
If validation fails: Fix errors before committing. Do NOT proceed with invalid data.
URL Construction Pattern
All person URLs follow this pattern:
/auntruth/new/htm/L{lineage_num}/{person_id}.htm
Example: Person XF100 in Hagborg-Hansson (L1) lineage:
/auntruth/new/htm/L1/XF100.htm
Timestamp Generation
Always update metadata.lastUpdated with current ISO timestamp:
date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"
Error Recovery
If updates fail:
- Check validation output for specific errors
- Fix schema issues (missing required fields, wrong types)
- Verify bidirectional relationships match
- Re-run validation
- If still failing, use
git checkout to revert (NO .backup files)
Post-Update - Automated Workflow
After successful git push:
- GitHub Actions workflow triggers automatically
- Validates all JSON data (30 seconds)
- Regenerates ALL 3,004 HTML pages from JSON (2-3 minutes)
- Auto-commits regenerated HTML back to repo
- Deploys to GitHub Pages (1-2 minutes)
Total time: 3-5 minutes from push to live site update
IMPORTANT: User does NOT need to manually regenerate HTML pages!
The workflow handles everything automatically.
