---
title: "Get the variant family tree"
method: GET
path: "/v1/firearms/{id}/family-tree"
tags: ["Firearm Analysis"]
---

# Get the variant family tree

`GET /v1/firearms/{id}/family-tree`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.gunspec.io`
- URL: `https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/{id}/family-tree`
- Auth: one of:
  - API key in header `X-API-Key`
  - HTTP bearer

Walks the parent chain upward and the variant chain downward, returning ancestors (up to 20) and descendants (up to 50) around the given firearm.

**Requires Builder tier or higher.**

## Path parameters

- `id` string, required

## Response `200`

Get the variant family tree

- object
  - `success` boolean, required: Always true on a successful response. Every error carries `false` and an `error` object instead.
  - `data` FamilyTree, required: The firearm plus its ancestor and descendant variants, walked recursively.
    - `ancestors` FamilyMember[], required: The parent chain, nearest first, up to 20 deep.
      - `id` string, required: URL-safe slug identifying the related firearm, e.g. `type-58`.
      - `name` string, required: Display name, as the maker writes it.
      - `manufacturerId` string, nullable: Slug of the manufacturer that makes it. Resolve against `/v1/manufacturers/{id}`.
      - `categoryId` string, nullable: Slug of the category it belongs to. Resolve against `/v1/categories`.
      - `parentFirearmId` string, nullable: The firearm this one is a variant of, or null when it is not a variant. Variant relationships are what `firearm.variant.updated` webhooks and `/v1/firearms/{id}/variants` follow.
      - `variantType` string, nullable: How this record differs from its parent: `optics_ready`, `compact`, `threaded` and so on. Null when the record has no parent.
      - `yearIntroduced` integer, nullable: Year it entered production or service. Null where the date is disputed or unknown.
      - `status` 'in_production' | 'discontinued' | 'out_of_production' | 'in_service' | 'limited_production' | 'prototype': Production status of a firearm. Closed: these are every value the catalog holds.
      - `countryOfOrigin` string, nullable: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of where it was designed, e.g. `AT`.
      - `svgLineArtUrl` string, nullable: Line-art silhouette, or null where none has been drawn.
      - `updatedAt` string: When a field we serve last changed. Maintained by the database rather than by whatever wrote the row, so it moves for a corrected specification and does not move for a re-run of the importer.
      - `version` string, nullable: Opaque fingerprint of this record. It changes when and only when a field we serve changes, so a client holding the same value already has the record and need not fetch it. Equality is the only supported operation: do not parse it, and do not assume how it is computed. Null means the record has not been written since versioning began, not that it is unchanged.
    - `current` FirearmRecord, required: A firearm as stored: every specification column we serve, with no nested relations. `FirearmDetail` is this plus them, and `/v1/firearms/{id}/family-tree` returns this shape for `current`, since the walk reads the row and does not load the relations.
      - `has3dModel` integer: Integer flag, `1` when a 3D model is on file. Stored as the database holds it rather than as a boolean.
      - `svgLineArtUrl` string, nullable: Line-art silhouette, or null where none has been drawn.
      - `model3dUrl` string, nullable: GLB model, or null where none is on file.
      - `defaultAmmoId` string, nullable: The ammunition load ballistics figures are quoted against, where one is nominated.
      - `sourceMuzzleVelocityMps` number, nullable: Muzzle velocity in metres per second **exactly as the source stated it**, kept beside our own figure so a reader can see what was quoted and what was derived.
      - `sourceMuzzleEnergyJ` number, nullable: Muzzle energy in joules exactly as the source stated it.
      - `sourceEffectiveRangeM` number, nullable: Effective range in metres exactly as the source stated it.
      - `sourceMaxRangeM` number, nullable: Maximum range in metres exactly as the source stated it.
      - `ballisticsSource` string, nullable: Where the ballistics figures came from, named in prose.
      - `ballisticsSourceUrl` string, nullable: URL of the ballistics source, where it is a page rather than a book.
      - `id` string: URL-safe slug identifying the firearm, e.g. `glock-g17-gen5`. Stable: it is what a mirror keys on.
      - `name` string: Display name, as the maker writes it.
      - `manufacturerId` string: Slug of the manufacturer that makes it. Resolve against `/v1/manufacturers/{id}`.
      - `categoryId` string: Slug of the category it belongs to. Resolve against `/v1/categories`.
      - `parentFirearmId` string, nullable: The firearm this one is a variant of, or null when it is not a variant. Variant relationships are what `firearm.variant.updated` webhooks and `/v1/firearms/{id}/variants` follow.
      - `variantType` string, nullable: How this record differs from its parent: `optics_ready`, `compact`, `threaded` and so on. Null when the record has no parent.
      - `yearIntroduced` integer, nullable: Year it entered production or service. Null where the date is disputed or unknown.
      - `yearDiscontinued` integer, nullable: Year production ended, or null while it is still made.
      - `status` 'in_production' | 'discontinued' | 'out_of_production' | 'in_service' | 'limited_production' | 'prototype': Production status of a firearm. Closed: these are every value the catalog holds.
      - `countryOfOrigin` string, nullable: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of where it was designed, e.g. `AT`.
      - `weightEmptyG` number, nullable: Unloaded weight in grams, without magazine.
      - `weightLoadedG` number, nullable: Loaded weight in grams, with a full magazine.
      - `overallLengthMm` number, nullable: Overall length in millimetres, stock extended where it folds or collapses.
      - `barrelLengthMm` number, nullable: Barrel length in millimetres, measured from the breech face.
      - `heightMm` number, nullable: Height in millimetres, including sights and a fitted magazine.
      - `widthMm` number, nullable: Width in millimetres at the widest point.
      - `sightRadiusMm` number, nullable: Distance between front and rear iron sights in millimetres. Null on a record with no iron sights.
      - `actionType` string, nullable: How the action cycles: `short_recoil`, `gas_operated`, `blowback`, `bolt_action` and so on. An open vocabulary: the values in use are published on the schema as `x-gunspec-vocabulary`, and `GET /v1/firearms/action-types` is the live list.
      - `firingMechanism` string, nullable: What releases the striker or hammer: `striker_fired`, `hammer_fired`.
      - `triggerType` string, nullable: Trigger arrangement: `single_action`, `double_action`, `safe_action`.
      - `triggerPullN` number, nullable: Trigger pull weight in newtons. Divide by 4.448 for pounds-force.
      - `magazineCapacity` integer, nullable: Rounds in the standard magazine. Null where the firearm is not magazine-fed.
      - `magazineType` string, nullable: Magazine pattern: `detachable_box`, `internal`, `drum`, `belt`.
      - `muzzleVelocityMps` number, nullable: Muzzle velocity in metres per second, for the default load.
      - `muzzleEnergyJ` number, nullable: Muzzle energy in joules, for the default load.
      - `effectiveRangeM` number, nullable: Effective range in metres against a point target.
      - `maxRangeM` number, nullable: Maximum range in metres. Where the projectile lands, not where it is useful.
      - `rateOfFireRpm` integer, nullable: Cyclic rate in rounds per minute. Null on anything that is not automatic.
      - `barrelRifling` string, nullable: Rifling description, e.g. `6 grooves, right-hand twist`.
      - `riflingTwistMm` number, nullable: Rifling twist rate in millimetres per turn. Divide by 25.4 for inches.
      - `numberOfGrooves` integer, nullable: Number of grooves cut in the bore.
      - `frameMaterial` string, nullable: What the frame or receiver is made of.
      - `slideMaterial` string, nullable: What the slide is made of. Null on anything without one.
      - `barrelMaterial` string, nullable: What the barrel is made of.
      - `stockMaterial` string, nullable: What the stock or furniture is made of.
      - `finish` string, nullable: Surface finish, e.g. `nitride`, `parkerized`, `cerakote`.
      - `safetyMechanisms` string[], nullable: Safety mechanisms the design carries.
      - `features` string[], nullable: Notable features of the design.
      - `feedSystems` string[], nullable: How the firearm is fed.
      - `gameDamage` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. **Not a measured figure.** These are balance numbers for game use and are not derived from the ballistics above.
      - `gameAccuracy` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameRange` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameFireRate` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameMobility` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameRecoilControl` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameReloadSpeed` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `gameConcealment` integer, nullable: Editorial game statistic, 0-100. Not a measured figure.
      - `description` string, nullable: Prose summary of the record, where one has been written.
      - `notes` string, nullable: Free-text notes that do not belong in a specific field.
      - `designer` string, nullable: Person or team credited with the design, where it is known.
      - `foldedLengthMm` number, nullable: Length with stock folded (mm)
      - `alternateNames` string[], nullable: Other names and designations the same firearm is known by.
      - `firingModes` string[], nullable: Firing modes the selector offers.
      - `conflicts` object[], nullable: Conflicts the firearm saw service in.
        - `name` string: The conflict.
        - `years` string: When it ran, as written.
        - `sides` string[]: The belligerents.
      - `productionNumbers` object, nullable: How many were made, and over what period.
        - `estimated_total` integer, nullable: Units believed produced.
        - `production_years` string, nullable: The production run, as written.
        - `notes` string, nullable: What the estimate covers.
      - `lore` string, nullable: Historical trivia / game-dev flavor text
      - `sources` string[], nullable: Source URLs the record was compiled from. Check a specific figure against these rather than against `dataConfidence`. The same list is in `provenance.sources`.
      - `verifiedAt` string, nullable: When a source was last read against the record's figures. Null until one has been. The same value is in `provenance.verifiedAt`.
      - `verifiedFields` string[], nullable: The figures a source confirmed: read off the manufacturer's own page, within the published tolerance, and accepted by a person. The same list is in `provenance.verifiedFields`.
      - `dataConfidence` number, nullable: How completely the record is specified and how well it is sourced, 0 to 1. A record-level completeness and provenance measure, **not** a per-field probability of correctness. Use it to rank and triage; use `sources` to verify an individual number.
      - `createdAt` string: When the record was first added, `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS` in UTC.
      - `updatedAt` string: When a field we serve last changed. Maintained by the database rather than by whatever wrote the row, so it moves for a corrected specification and does not move for a re-run of the importer.
      - `version` string, nullable: Opaque fingerprint of this record. It changes when and only when a field we serve changes, so a client holding the same value already has the record and need not fetch it. Equality is the only supported operation: do not parse it, and do not assume how it is computed. Null means the record has not been written since versioning began, not that it is unchanged.
      - `provenance` Provenance: Where a record's figures came from and how far they have been checked, in one place. `sources` are the pages consulted; check a specific figure against those. `sourceKinds` says what each page is and `bestSourceKind` the strongest of them, on the hierarchy `SourceKind` defines: a maker or standards-body page is evidence for a figure, a retailer or forum page is evidence the item exists. `dataConfidence` is the 0 to 1 score set from what was actually sourced and never raised by hand. `verifiedAt` and `verifiedFields` say when a source was last read against the record and which fields it stated; null means the row is still seed knowledge. `updatedAt` and `version` are the same cache signals the record carries at the top level.
        - `sources` string[], required: The pages consulted when the record was compiled, as an array. Check a specific figure against these rather than against `dataConfidence`.
        - `sourceKinds` object[], required: What each cited page is, in `sources` order, on the `SourceKind` hierarchy. A host not in the source map is `other`, never guessed.
          - `url` string, required: Absolute, directly fetchable URL.
          - `kind` 'manufacturer' | 'standards_body' | 'government' | 'peer_reviewed' | 'reference' | 'aggregator' | 'press' | 'retailer' | 'community' | 'other', required: What kind of page a cited source is, strongest first: the maker's own page, a standards body (SAAMI, C.I.P.), a government or military document, an independent reference work, a specification aggregator, the press, a retailer or auction listing, a community site, or an unclassified page. Weigh a figure by the best kind behind it, never by how many pages were cited.
          - `archivedFrom` string, nullable, required: The original address when `url` is a Wayback Machine capture of it. A cited page that no longer answers is replaced by its last capture that answered 200, so the citation still shows what its author read; `kind` is the original page's.
          - `rank` integer, required: The kind's place in the source hierarchy: 0 is the maker, the strongest; higher is weaker.
          - `tier` 'authority' | 'classified' | 'unclassified', required: Where the site stands in the source registry (`/v1/data/sources`): an authority (the maker, a standards body, a government), a classified site, or one not yet classed.
          - `basis` 'declared' | 'maker' | 'rule' | 'unclassified', required: What the class rests on: classed by a person, a catalogued maker's own site, a .gov or .mil domain, or nothing yet.
          - `evidence` string, nullable, required: The words the site was classed on, where a person recorded them.
        - `bestSourceKind` 'manufacturer' | 'standards_body' | 'government' | 'peer_reviewed' | 'reference' | 'aggregator' | 'press' | 'retailer' | 'community' | 'other', required: What kind of page a cited source is, strongest first: the maker's own page, a standards body (SAAMI, C.I.P.), a government or military document, an independent reference work, a specification aggregator, the press, a retailer or auction listing, a community site, or an unclassified page. Weigh a figure by the best kind behind it, never by how many pages were cited.
        - `makerSource` string, nullable, required: The first cited page on the record's own manufacturer's website, or null when it cites none. A page on another maker's site does not count. Cited from the maker is not the same as checked against it: `verifiedFields` names the figures that were read against a source.
        - `evidence` 'verified' | 'maker' | 'authority' | 'secondary' | 'none', required: How far the record's figures are backed, strongest first, for a badge: `verified` when at least one figure was read against a source (`verifiedFields`), `maker` when it cites a page on its own manufacturer's site (`makerSource`), `authority` when it cites a maker, standards body or government page, `secondary` when it cites only press, retailers, references or forums, `none` when it cites nothing. Derived from the fields beside it.
        - `checks` object: The checks the record has been through, on a single record's response only: every task the data agent (Redback) or a person was given about it, what each proposed, the pages it read, and whether a person accepted it. Nothing an agent proposes reaches the record until a person accepts it, so this is the trail behind `verifiedFields`. Who reviewed is not published; an agent's instance name is.
          - `raised` integer, required: Every task ever raised on the record, answered or not.
          - `open` integer, required: Tasks still waiting to be worked.
          - `history` object[], required: The latest twenty, newest first.
            - `task` string, required: The task id, stable across runs; the same id `/v1/data/tasks/{taskKey}` answers for.
            - `number` integer, nullable, required: The task's number; `/v1/data/tasks/{number}` loads it as its key does.
            - `check` string, nullable, required: The check that raised it, where one did.
            - `kind` string, required: `verify` reads the record against its maker's page, `gap` researches an empty field, `contradiction` judges fields that disagree, `vocabulary` a value outside a list.
            - `agent` string, nullable, required: `redback` when the agent worked it, `staff` when a person did, null when nobody has.
            - `worker` string, nullable, required: The agent instance that worked it; null for a person.
            - `status` string, required: `resolved` (a proposal was filed), `unverifiable` (nothing could be established; retried after a cooldown), `not_a_fault`, or open.
            - `decidedAt` string, nullable, required: When the task was answered; null while it is open.
            - `proposed` string, nullable, required: What it proposed, in its own words; null while it is open.
            - `fields` string[], required: Per-field completeness, keyed by column name.
            - `sources` string[], required: The pages it read and quoted.
            - `review` object, nullable, required: A person's decision on the proposal; null until reviewed.
              - …
            - `finding` object, nullable, required: What the check found, where a check raised the task: its own line for this record and the figures it measured, so a reader sees how the value breaks the method. The same the public task board serves with `include=research`.
              - …
        - `dataConfidence` number, nullable, required: The 0 to 1 score set from what was actually sourced, never raised by hand. See the confidence bands in the docs.
        - `verifiedAt` string, nullable, required: When a source was last read against this record. Null means the row is still seed knowledge.
        - `verifiedFields` string[], nullable, required: Which fields the source stated, as an array. Everything else on a verified row is still unverified. Null where no source has been read.
        - `specSource` string, nullable, required: Cartridges only: the page the drawing figures were taken from. Null on every other kind of record.
        - `updatedAt` string, required: When a served column last changed; the same value the record carries at the top level.
        - `version` string, nullable, required: The record's content version, equal to the top-level `version`; equal versions mean equal data.
    - `descendants` FamilyMember[], required: Everything derived from it, breadth-first, up to 50 rows.
      - `id` string, required: URL-safe slug identifying the related firearm, e.g. `type-58`.
      - `name` string, required: Display name, as the maker writes it.
      - `manufacturerId` string, nullable: Slug of the manufacturer that makes it. Resolve against `/v1/manufacturers/{id}`.
      - `categoryId` string, nullable: Slug of the category it belongs to. Resolve against `/v1/categories`.
      - `parentFirearmId` string, nullable: The firearm this one is a variant of, or null when it is not a variant. Variant relationships are what `firearm.variant.updated` webhooks and `/v1/firearms/{id}/variants` follow.
      - `variantType` string, nullable: How this record differs from its parent: `optics_ready`, `compact`, `threaded` and so on. Null when the record has no parent.
      - `yearIntroduced` integer, nullable: Year it entered production or service. Null where the date is disputed or unknown.
      - `status` 'in_production' | 'discontinued' | 'out_of_production' | 'in_service' | 'limited_production' | 'prototype': Production status of a firearm. Closed: these are every value the catalog holds.
      - `countryOfOrigin` string, nullable: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of where it was designed, e.g. `AT`.
      - `svgLineArtUrl` string, nullable: Line-art silhouette, or null where none has been drawn.
      - `updatedAt` string: When a field we serve last changed. Maintained by the database rather than by whatever wrote the row, so it moves for a corrected specification and does not move for a re-run of the importer.
      - `version` string, nullable: Opaque fingerprint of this record. It changes when and only when a field we serve changes, so a client holding the same value already has the record and need not fetch it. Equality is the only supported operation: do not parse it, and do not assume how it is computed. Null means the record has not been written since versioning began, not that it is unchanged.

## Other responses

- `400`: Validation error
- `401`: Missing or invalid API key
- `403`: The credential is valid and the caller is not permitted. Three causes, none of which reissuing a key changes: the plan is below the endpoint's tier, the account is suspended, or the key is not attached to the thing being acted on, meaning a user account for `/v1/me` or a shop for `/v1/vendor`. Distinct from 401, which means the credential is missing, malformed or expired and a new one can work.
- `404`: Resource not found
- `429`: A limit was reached. `RATE_LIMITED` is the per-minute limit: wait `Retry-After` seconds (a minute) and retry. `DAILY_CAP_EXCEEDED` is the plan's daily limit, per key: nothing will be served until the counters return to zero at midnight UTC. `MONTHLY_CAP_EXCEEDED` is the plan's monthly allowance, for the whole account: nothing will be served until midnight UTC on the first of next month, or until the plan changes. For both, `Retry-After` is the seconds until then and `error.resetsAt` says when as an instant. Calls made after a refusal are refused too and do not spend the month, and a free key that keeps calling is paused, so stop at the first one and resume at the reset.
- `500`: Internal server error

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/gunspec/apis/gunspec-io-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/gunspec/apis/gunspec-io-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/gunspec/apis/gunspec-io-api/revisions/f2e974d8b05c?raw)