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MyopicVicar is an open-source Ruby on Rails application developed by Free UK Genealogy that provides free access to UK genealogical records. Volunteers transcribe scanned source images (parish registers, census returns) into searchable records; coordinators manage that transcription pipeline; researchers search the results.
One codebase, three sites
The same codebase runs three separate public sites, switched by a template_set config value (config/freeukgen_application.yml):
- FreeREG (
freereg) โ parish register transcriptions. The most actively developed skin, and the default scope for this wiki unless a page says otherwise. - FreeCEN (
freecen) โ census transcriptions. A near-separate sub-app sharing infrastructure (accounts, syndicates, csvfile upload) with FreeREG. - FreeBMD2 (
freebmd) โ birth/marriage/death records; the smallest and least-developed of the three in this codebase.
Stack: Rails 6.1 + Mongoid/MongoDB as the primary datastore, with an optional legacy MySQL/Refinery CMS path that most development can ignore entirely. See Architecture for how the skin switch actually works under the hood, and Development-Setup for why config/database.yml still has to exist even though nothing uses it.
Getting started
- Development-Setup โ environment setup, tiered onboarding (code-only vs. full local data), troubleshooting, git workflow
- Architecture โ stack details, how the multi-skin system actually works under the hood, domain glossary
Developer Documentation
- Communication-and-Engagement โ Contact, Feedback, Message, DonateCtaFeedback, ReminderToDonate
- Transcriber-and-Coordinator-Workflow โ Assignment, Image Server, Csvfile, Syndicate, UseridDetail, Favorite Actions, Coordinator Admin Tools
- FreeREG-Core-Records โ the gazetteer (Place/Church/Register), batches and entries, CSV processing, search indexing and querying, embargoes and gaps, emendation, county management, content statistics, Open Data, operations
Shared infrastructure:
Everything else โ FreeCEN, FreeBMD2, legacy transreg migration, CMS/system โ isn't written up yet.