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ggpedigree

ggpedigree provides modern tools for visualizing pedigree structures using both ‘ggplot2’ and ‘plotly’. It is designed to work seamlessly with the BGmisc package for simulated or empirical pedigree data, and extends the plotting capabilities of the base-graphics functions in kinship2.

The package supports:

  • Static, publication-ready pedigree plots using the ggplot2 framework

  • Interactive pedigree visualizations using plotly

  • Layout customization, complex mating structures, and duplicated individuals

ggpedigree is useful in behavior genetics, kinship analysis, and any research involving complex pedigree data.

Installation

You can install the released version of ggpedigree from CRAN with:

install.packages("ggpedigree")

To install the development version of ggpedigree from GitHub use:

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("R-Computing-Lab/ggpedigree")

Demonstration

Here is a basic example of how to use ggpedigree to visualize a pedigree structure. The potter dataset contains simulated pedigree data for the Weasley family from the Harry Potter series.

ggPedigree(potter,
  famID = "famID",
  personID = "personID"
)

Citation

If you use ggpedigree in your research or wish to refer to it, please cite the following:

citation(package = "ggpedigree")

Garrison S (2025). ggpedigree: Visualizing Pedigrees with ‘ggplot2’ and ‘plotly’. R package version 0.9.0, https://github.com/R-Computing-Lab/ggpedigree/.

A BibTeX entry for LaTeX users is

@Manual{,
  title = {ggpedigree: Visualizing Pedigrees with 'ggplot2' and 'plotly'},
  author = {S. Mason Garrison},
  year = {2025},
  note = {R package version 0.9.0},
  url = {https://github.com/R-Computing-Lab/ggpedigree/},
}

Contributing

Contributions to the ggpedigree project are welcome. For guidelines on how to contribute, please refer to the Contributing Guidelines. Issues and pull requests should be submitted on the GitHub repository. For support, please use the GitHub issues page.

Branching and Versioning System

The development of ggpedigree follows a GitFlow branching strategy:

  • Feature Branches: All major changes and new features should be developed on separate branches created from the dev branch. Name these branches according to the feature or change they are meant to address.
  • Development Branch: The dev branch is the main development branch where all feature branches are merged. This branch contains the latest changes and is used for testing and development purposes.
  • Main Branch (main): The main branch mirrors the stable state of the project as seen on CRAN. Only fully tested and approved changes from the dev branch are merged into main to prepare for a new release.

License

ggpedigree is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. For more details, see the LICENSE.md file.