Can the API be used without the customer logging in to FS?

I would like to create a small web-app to let people conveniently search for ancestors, and then aggregate some of their results. I want to make the process simple and fast for those that have never done family history, and I fear that requiring a FamilySearch account will dissuade a lot of people.

Would I be able to submit API requests to search for a person and his/her ancestors without forcing each user to log in with Family Search?

tahooie wrote:I would like to create a small web-app to let people conveniently search for ancestors, and then aggregate some of their results. I want to make the process simple and fast for those that have never done family history, and I fear that requiring a FamilySearch account will dissuade a lot of people.

Would I be able to submit API requests to search for a person and his/her ancestors without forcing each user to log in with Family Search?

A login isn't required to perform a search on https://familysearch.org Those who DO login with an LDS account (and are members) are given additional information (ordinances).

If you have specific questions about the FamilySearch API, you'll get better responses by going to the FamilySearch Developer Center, then following the link to the FamilySearch Developer Network.

Thanks! Would the search be possible through the API? All the examples seem to require a user to be authenticated. Is there documentation that describes what is and is not possible for a logged in user?

tahooie wrote:Thanks! Would the search be possible through the API? All the examples seem to require a user to be authenticated. Is there documentation that describes what is and is not possible for a logged in user?

All the documentation is on the FamilySearch Developer Center, which is also the best place for you to ask these questions.