Lesson 2: Your First Gather (15 Minutes)

About 15 minutes · What you'll have at the end: your closest DNA matches downloaded into your own local database.

“Gathering” is DNAGedcom's word for downloading your DNA data from a testing service into your local database. Today you'll run your first gather — small and fast on purpose, so you see results in minutes, not hours.

Step 1: Pick your service

Click Gather in the top menu. You'll see a tile for each supported service: A*, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), and GEDmatch (with more on the way). Pick the service where you have the most matches — for most people that's the one they tested with first.

Not sure whether a service is having a good day? Check the Service Status page before starting.

Step 2: Sign in through the embedded browser

When you open a service's gather page, the Client shows that service's own login page in an embedded browser window. You sign in there directly — your service password goes to the service, not to DNAGedcom. As you browse your matches, the Client captures the data the service sends and saves it into your database. Per-service details, including two-factor sign-in, are on the vendor pages: A*, 23andMe, FTDNA, GEDmatch.

Step 3: Matches first, 30+ cM

For your first gather, keep it simple:

1. Turn on Matches and leave the other data types (ICW, trees, segments) off for now — they're Lesson 4.
2. Set the minimum threshold to 30 cM. That captures your closest, most reliable cousins and typically finishes in minutes. (You'll lower the threshold in later lessons — each pass only fetches what's new, so nothing is wasted.)
3. Start the gather and let it run. You can watch the progress as matches stream into your database.

Why this order? Matches are the foundation every other data type attaches to, and a small first pass proves everything works before you commit to a long run. The full reasoning is in Tips & Tactics; per-option details are in the Gather Overview.

When the gather completes, you own a local copy of your closest matches. In Lesson 3 you'll open the Matches tool and take a proper look at what you just collected.