User Guide

How to Use Roots Archive

Everything you need to know — from creating your account to messaging family members and never missing a birthday again.

Registering & Logging In

Roots Archive uses OTP-based login — no passwords to remember. The same flow is used for both new users and returning users.

First Time (Registration)

1
Go to Get Started Click Get Started in the top navigation or visit /auth.
2
Enter your email or mobile number Type your email address or mobile number and click Send OTP.
3
Verify the OTP Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email or phone. It's valid for a short time — check your inbox.
4
Complete your profile Since you're new, you'll be asked for your name, date of birth, and gender. Fill these in and your account is ready.

Returning Users (Login)

Same flow — enter your email or mobile, verify the OTP, and you're in. No password needed.

If you registered with email, always use that same email. If you used mobile, always use that number. Both are tied to the same account.

Your Dashboard

After logging in you land on your Dashboard — your family's home base. Here you'll find:

  • Your profile card with a link to your full member profile
  • Upcoming important dates — birthdays, anniversaries, and events in your family within the next 30 days
  • Quick navigation to all major sections via the sticky user nav bar at the top
The sticky navigation bar (Dashboard · Family Tree · Today's Events · Messages · Profile) follows you as you scroll on every user page — so you're always one click away from anywhere.

Family Tree

The Family Tree is the core of Roots Archive. Every person in your family gets a card in the tree, connected by their relationship to you.

Adding a Family Member

1
Open Family Tree Click Family Tree in the top nav bar.
2
Click the + button on any member card Each card has a small dropdown — click it and choose Add Member. Select the relation (Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Brother, Sister, or Spouse).
3
Fill in their details Enter name, date of birth, gender, and optionally upload a photo. For spouses, a Marriage Details section also appears.
4
Save The member appears in the tree immediately. Other family members are notified by email and in their message inbox.

Adding a Member Who's Already on Roots Archive

If the email address or mobile number you enter belongs to someone who already has a Roots Archive account, the form will detect this and show you their profile card instead of letting you create a duplicate entry.

1
Enter their email or mobile As soon as you leave the field, the app checks automatically. If a match is found, their name, gender, and bio are shown.
2
Confirm it's the right person Review the details shown. If it's not someone from your family, go back and use a different email / mobile, or leave those fields blank.
3
Send a Family Link Request Click Send Link Request. The other person is notified instantly via system chat, push notification, and email.
4
They approve the connection The notification contains a direct link. Once they tap Approve & Connect, both of you are added to each other's family tree automatically.
The link request expires after 7 days. You can see its status in your system chat. The connection is only created after the other person explicitly approves — neither side is added silently.

Navigating the Tree

Click any member's avatar to view their full profile. Use the View in Tree button to re-centre the tree on a specific person and explore their branch.

Who can edit a member? Only the person who added them, or the member themselves (if they have an account), can edit their details.

Supported Relations

Father Mother Son Daughter Brother Sister Spouse

Building Multiple Generations

These seven relations are all you need to map your entire family history — across as many generations as you like. There's no separate "Grandfather" or "Great-grandmother" option because you build them naturally by chaining relations:

  • Add your Father → then open your Father's card and add his Father → that becomes your Grandfather in the tree automatically.
  • Go one level further and add his Father again → that's your Great-grandfather.
  • The same works downward — add a Son, then add his Son, and so on for future generations.
Every member card has its own + Add Member button. So you can open any ancestor's or descendant's card and keep extending the tree in either direction — there is no generation limit.

Member Profiles

Each family member has a rich profile page. Click any member's name or avatar anywhere in the app to open it.

What You Can Store

Basic Info

Name, date of birth, gender, profile photo, bio, blood group, hometown

Marriage Details

Marriage date, place, type; divorce status and date. Anniversary syncs to both partners automatically.

Health History

Hereditary conditions, known medical history — for the awareness of future generations

Life Events

Graduations, awards, moves, and any custom milestone with a date and description

Education & Work

Highest qualification, profession, and workplace

Passed Away

Date and reason of passing — honoured with a death anniversary reminder each year

Family Relations on the Profile

The right column of every profile shows that member's parents, spouses, siblings, and children as compact cards — click any one to jump to their profile.

Today's Events

Click Today's Events in the navigation to see every birthday, marriage anniversary, and special occasion happening in your family today.

What Appears Here

  • Birthdays — with age turning today
  • Marriage Anniversaries — shown once per couple (never duplicated), with years together
  • Death Anniversaries — quietly honoured, without confetti
  • Custom Events — anything you've added to a member's life events

Sending Wishes

Happy events (birthdays, anniversaries, custom) show a Wish button. Clicking it opens the Messages page with that person pre-selected and a warm wish message already written — just review and hit send.

Birthdays and anniversaries trigger colourful confetti on the Today's Events page — a small way to make every celebration feel special.

On the Dashboard

The dashboard shows upcoming events for the next 30 days. Today's events also appear as a compact list on each member's individual profile page.

Email Reminders

Roots Archive sends you personalised email reminders so you never miss an important family occasion — not just on the day itself, but well in advance too.

When You're Notified

For every upcoming family event you receive three reminders:

7
7 days before An early heads-up so you have time to plan, send a gift, or book travel.
1
1 day before A timely reminder the evening before — so nothing sneaks up on you.
On the day The morning-of reminder, sent at 8 AM, with all events happening today.

What Triggers a Reminder

  • A family member's birthday
  • A couple's marriage anniversary — sent once, never twice for the same couple
  • A death anniversary — a quiet remembrance
  • Any custom life event you've added to a member
You only receive reminders for members who are part of your family tree. Reminders are sent to the email address on your account.
If a couple both have their anniversary date stored, only one reminder is sent — not one per person. No duplicate emails.

Messages

Click Messages in the nav to open your family inbox. You can have a private conversation with any member of your family tree.

Finding a Family Member

The left panel lists all your family members who are alive, plus anyone you've previously chatted with (even if they've since passed). Use the search box to quickly find someone by name.

Sending a Message

1
Click a name in the left panel Their conversation thread opens on the right.
2
Type your message The input box supports markdown — use **bold**, *italic*, `code`, and more.
3
Press Enter or click Send Message is delivered instantly. The input stays focused so you can keep typing.
Messages have an 800 character limit per message. A live counter shows how many characters you have left.

Emoji Support

Click the emoji button next to the message input to open the emoji picker. Select any emoji and it's inserted at the cursor position in your message. You can also type emojis directly — they're supported natively.

Fullscreen Mode

Click the fullscreen icon in the top-right of the messages panel to expand the chat to fill the entire screen. Tap it again (or press Esc) to exit. This is especially useful on mobile for a distraction-free chat experience.

Unread Badge

The Messages link in the nav shows a badge with the count of unread messages. It disappears automatically once you open the conversation.

Push Notifications

Roots Archive can send real-time push notifications to your device — even when you're not actively using the app — so you never miss an important message or family event.

Enabling Push Notifications

1
Open Messages or any user page Look for the Enable Notifications button in the top area of the page.
2
Allow the browser permission Your browser will ask if you want to allow notifications from Roots Archive — click Allow.
3
You're set Push notifications are now active on this device. You can enable them on multiple devices.

What You'll Be Notified About

  • New messages — a push arrives when a family member sends you a message and you're not on the messages page. Tapping it opens the conversation directly.
  • Family link requests — when someone wants to connect with you as a family member.
  • Birthday & anniversary greetings — the platform sends you a push on your special day.
  • New family member added — when someone is added to your family tree.
On iPhone / iOS, you need to first Add to Home Screen (via Safari's Share menu) and then open the app from the home screen icon before enabling push notifications — this is a browser requirement on iOS.

System Notifications

Roots Archive sends automatic messages to your inbox from Roots Archive — a pinned contact at the top of your message list.

What Triggers a System Notification

  • A new family member is added — you're told who was added and by whom
  • Family link requests — when someone wants to connect with you, and when they accept your request
  • Birthday wishes — a warm personal message from Roots Archive on your birthday, also sent via push notification and email
  • Marriage anniversary wishes — the platform congratulates both partners on their anniversary via system chat, push, and email
  • Custom event wishes — for any special dates you've added to your profile
  • Death anniversaries — a quiet remembrance message
Think of the Roots Archive contact as your family's activity feed — all important events and updates appear there so nothing is missed. Congratulations are also delivered via push notification and email, so you'll see them wherever you are.

Profile & Username

Click Profile in the nav to update your personal information at any time.

What You Can Update

  • Name — your display name across the platform
  • Username — your unique handle (letters, numbers, underscores, max 20 characters). This appears in your profile URL instead of a number, keeping your ID private.
  • Email & Mobile — your login identifier
  • Date of Birth & Gender
  • Profile Photo — upload a photo and crop it to a perfect square using the built-in image cropper before saving
Usernames are unique. If your chosen username is already taken, choose a different one. Your username is generated automatically when you register — you can change it any time in your profile.

Privacy

Your profile URL uses your username — for example /user/family-tree/member/your_username — so your internal account ID is never exposed in any link.

Ready to get started?

Create your account and start building your family's living archive today.

Get Started