If you need help finding more sources and citing them properly, WikiTree Sourcer might be the tool for you. It’s a free browser extension that searches for sources and generates source citations in seconds.
The extension was created for WikiTree, but here’s the thing most people don’t realise: you don’t have to be a WikiTree user to benefit from it. It works with several major genealogy websites, making it a versatile addition to your research toolkit.
What are WikiTree and WikiTree Sourcer?
WikiTree is a free, online collaborative family tree. Anyone can create an account and contribute. Each person on the tree has a profile linked to relatives such as parents, spouses and children. Profiles contain a standardised data section where details like names, dates and locations are recorded, and a biography section for narrative text.
Volunteers have developed browser extensions to make working in WikiTree easier. WikiTree Sourcer is one of the most popular because it supports both research and documentation.
What the extension does
According to WikiTree, the extension focuses on three goals:
- Search other genealogy websites for relevant records, using the details from an open person profile.
- Extract information and build a source citation from a record page on those websites.
- Search other sites for similar records. For example, helping you locate a free version of a source you first found on a subscription site.
Not just for WikiTree users
The name is misleading. Although the extension was designed for WikiTree, it can operate from a person profile on other platforms too. It just needs structured data such as a name, dates and places.
I have used it successfully from:
- Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage person profiles
- Civil registration index sites such as the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages.
So if you research on Ancestry or FamilySearch and have never touched WikiTree, you can still install WikiTree Sourcer and use it to search for sources and generate citations from those platforms. That alone makes it worth trying.
A citation tool for everyone, especially if you struggle with source citations
Let’s be honest: writing source citations is one of the tasks genealogists often skip or put off. Formatting can feel fiddly, and it’s tempting to save “just enough” detail and move on. Over time, this leads to a tree full of unsourced claims.
WikiTree Sourcer removes much of that friction. When you are viewing a record on a supported site, click the extension icon and it will generate a formatted citation for you instantly. You don’t need to know citation rules or remember which details to include. The extension does the work for you.
The citations may not be perfect for your preferred style, but they provide an excellent starting point. You can edit them if needed. The key benefit is this: you’ll actually have a citation, rather than a vague note or nothing at all. That’s a significant step forward for anyone who finds citation writing difficult or time-consuming.
How to use WikiTree Sourcer
- Install the extension and pin it to your browser bar so it is easy to access. You will see a [1] on your bar when it is successfully added.
- Open a person profile. This can be a WikiTree profile, or a profile on another supported site such as Ancestry or FamilySearch.
- Click the extension icon [1] and choose the website you want to search. The list is customised based on the details in the open profile and the list of supported sites. For instance, if the person was born and died in New South Wales Australia, the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages will appear as an option.
- Open a record from the results. Click the icon again to generate a citation. You will be offered three formats:
Build Inline Citation – a citation wrapped in <ref></ref> tags for WikiTree footnotes
Build Narrative with Citation – a sentence summarising the record followed by the citation
Build Source Citation – the citation without WikiTree ref tags, ready to use anywhere
Here are some examples so that you can see what each of these options will generate.
Note: You must be logged in to any subscription site in another tab before searching. The extension cannot bypass paywalls.
The citations are formatted for WikiTree by default, but the “Build Source Citation” option produces a clean citation you can paste into Word, your family history software or another online tree. Simply delete any remaining <br/> tags if they appear.
You can also create a citation without using the extension for the search step. If you already have a record open on a supported site, just click the icon and choose a citation format. This is one of the quickest ways to generate a citation.
Where it works and where it doesn’t
The extension works on supported websites and success depends on whether the page displays clear, labelled data that the extension can read.
It works best when data displayed is in labelled fields, like a name field, a date field and a place field. It is less likely to work when the same information is buried in a paragraph of text such as biographies on Wikipedia pages.
It does not work for non-supported websites or when you are working offline, such as viewing a family group sheet PDF or from inside desktop family history software.
A current list of supported sites is available on WikiTree.
My tips and observations
- Watch for over-specific searches. When searching the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages from a WikiTree profile, for example, the extension tends to include middle names for both parents and child. Exact searches like this can miss entries. Try editing the criteria within that website and rerunning the search with fewer details.
- It can find records you missed. The tool sometimes locates sources that I did not find with my own manual search, perhaps because it constructs the query differently. This is a good reason to use it even if you’ve already searched a site yourself.
- Use it alongside your existing workflow. You don’t need to change how you research. Simply install the extension and use it when you happen to be on a supported site. Over time, you’ll develop a feel for when it adds value.
Why I find it useful
WikiTree Sourcer encourages broader searching across multiple sites and saves time by filling in search fields for you. This makes it easier to find more evidence to support your conclusions. More importantly, it promotes good documentation by generating source citations for you.
Even if you ultimately modify the format, having a ready-made citation reduces the risk of leaving a source uncited. And because it works beyond WikiTree, it fits into whatever research platform you already use.
Where to get it
Installation instructions and links to the extension are available on WikiTree
About the Author
Danielle Lautrec is a genealogy educator, researcher, and author of The Good Genealogist. With qualifications in history, family history, and historical archaeology, she teaches for the Society of Australian Genealogists.
For more blog posts about source citations, see Citing family history sources – Generations Genealogy
