Update Family
update_familyChange an existing family: father, mother, relationship type, children, family events, citations, notes, media, tags, attributes or the private flag. Pass only what changes; omitted arguments stay as they are.
Instructions
Change an existing family: father, mother, relationship type, children, family events, citations, notes, media, tags, attributes or the private flag. Pass only what changes; omitted arguments stay as they are. Link lists (…Handles, …Refs) follow linkMode: replace (default) sets the whole list, add appends, remove drops the given handles; in replace mode [] REMOVES every link of that kind. Returns the handle and Gramps ID; a missing family returns a not-found message. To add one child, pass it in childRefs with linkMode add. Formats of every argument: get_reference(topic: "input-guide").
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| handle | Yes | The family to change. Handle or Gramps ID (e.g. I0001), resolved automatically; find it with search or list_objects. | |
| linkMode | No | How to apply all supplied link lists: replace (default) replaces each full list, and a link it keeps keeps its stored privacy, citations, notes and crop unless the call sends new values; add appends missing handles and preserves existing link metadata; remove removes all links matching supplied handles (reference metadata is ignored). Omitted lists stay unchanged; empty lists clear only in replace mode. Does not affect attributes, names, addresses or URLs. Use separate calls to add and remove, or replace to edit existing link metadata. | replace |
| childRefs | No | Children with their relations to the parents. In replace mode the list must hold every child the family keeps. Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Child references (handles, not Gramps IDs): JSON array of {ref, frel, mrel}, strings "HANDLE::RelType" (sets both frel and mrel; default: Birth), comma/pipe/newline-separated, or a single handle. A relation must be a standard Gramps one (Birth, Adopted, Stepchild, Sponsored, Foster, Unknown, None) or a custom one the tree already uses. JSON objects accept snake_case (frel, mrel, tag_list) or camelCase (fatherRel, tagList, etc.). | |
| eventRefs | No | Family events (Marriage, Divorce, …). Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Event references (handles, not Gramps IDs): JSON array of {ref, role}, strings "HANDLE::Role" (default role: Primary), comma/pipe/newline-separated, or a single handle. A role must be a standard Gramps role or a custom one the tree already uses; anything else is rejected with suggestions. JSON objects accept snake_case or camelCase list fields (note_list / noteList). | |
| isPrivate | No | true makes the record private, false public. Omit to leave unchanged. | |
| attributes | No | Attributes. Omit to keep; a value replaces the whole list and [] clears it, whatever linkMode says. Attributes: JSON array of objects {type,value,...}, or strings "Type: Value" (first colon), or one string with lines or | between entries. A type must be a standard Gramps attribute type or a custom one the tree already uses; anything else is rejected with suggestions. Full grammar: gramps://input-guide. | |
| sortEvents | No | true sorts all event links by event date after the other changes, keeping each link's role and metadata; alone it sorts the stored list. Undated Birth, Baptism and Christening go first and other undated events last, ending with Death, then Burial and Cremation. On the same date: "before" dates, then Residence and Occupation, Birth, Baptism, other events, Death, Burial, then "after" dates. Default false keeps the order (linkMode add appends at the end). | |
| tagHandles | No | Tags. Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Handles, not Gramps IDs: JSON array ["h1","h2"], one handle, or a comma/semicolon/newline-separated string; entries may also be objects {"ref":"…"}. | |
| noteHandles | No | Notes. Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Handles, not Gramps IDs: JSON array ["h1","h2"], one handle, or a comma/semicolon/newline-separated string; entries may also be objects {"ref":"…"}. | |
| fatherHandle | No | New father. Omit to leave unchanged. Handle or Gramps ID (e.g. I0001), resolved automatically; find it with search or list_objects. | |
| mediaHandles | No | Media. Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Handles, not Gramps IDs: JSON array ["h1","h2"], one handle, or a comma/semicolon/newline-separated string; entries may also be objects {"ref":"…"}. | |
| motherHandle | No | New mother. Omit to leave unchanged. Handle or Gramps ID (e.g. I0001), resolved automatically; find it with search or list_objects. | |
| citationHandles | No | Citations. Omit to keep; applied per linkMode. Handles, not Gramps IDs: JSON array ["h1","h2"], one handle, or a comma/semicolon/newline-separated string; entries may also be objects {"ref":"…"}. | |
| relationshipType | No | Relationship type (Married, Unmarried, Civil Union, Unknown). Omit to leave unchanged. Must be a standard Gramps type or a custom one the tree already uses; anything else is rejected with suggestions. List: get_reference(topic: "types"). |