filemaker-patchwork 0.1.0

Quick start · Examples · Connect your agent · What it can change · Field guide · Français

Friday, 4 PM. A client asks for "just one more field" on the detail layout. You know the drill: define the field, copy the label, nudge every object below it, stretch the part… then do it all again on the next layout.

Patchwork lets your AI agent do those clicks for you. Just ask, in your own words, the way you would ask a colleague. Your agent adds the field and places it right where you said, writes scripts, creates value lists and restyles layouts, in a real .fmp12 file. Every change is checked, every change can be undone, and your original file is never touched.

Free and open source. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Antigravity.

_{▶ Watch the 90-second intro on YouTube · Version française}

Quick start

Three commands, then you just talk to your agent.

pip install filemaker-patchwork
patchwork doctor          # finds the Claris command-line tools
patchwork init .          # wires this folder for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Antigravity

No install with uv: uvx filemaker-patchwork doctor, and uvx filemaker-patchwork mcp as the MCP server command.

Then ask your agent: "Open Invoice.fmp12 and add a Status field to Clients." That's it.

Good to know

• It changes structure, not records. Fields, scripts, layouts, value lists, themes. For your data, use the Data API or OData.
• It works on closed files, not hosted ones. Edit a copy, test it, then deploy it as you usually do.
• It needs the Claris command-line tools (FMUpgradeTool and FMDeveloperTool). They come with the FileMaker Server installer, the free trial works, and no server has to run: install the Claris tools. Patchwork itself has no other dependency.

See it in action

Four real sessions on the free Claris Invoice solution. For each one: what was asked, what the agent did, and the file before and after. No mockups.

How it works

Why can't your agent just do this on its own? A FileMaker file is a binary file, and its structure hides behind dialogs an agent cannot click. Claris does ship a command-line way in, FMUpgradeTool, but it is picky: every object is addressed by a UUID, and a patch that is slightly wrong is silently skipped, while the tool still prints Patch File Applied.

Patchwork is the careful assistant in between:

More in how it works.

Connect your agent

One command sets everything up. Run patchwork init . in your project folder, new or existing: it adds the rules, the skills and the MCP configuration for every agent, and keeps the files you already have.

Agent	Configuration written by init	Then
Claude Code	.mcp.json · CLAUDE.md · .claude/skills/	Run claude in the folder and approve patchwork
Cursor	.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/skills/	Enable patchwork in Settings › MCP
⌨️ Codex	.codex/config.toml · AGENTS.md · .agents/skills/	Trust the project when Codex asks
Antigravity	.agents/mcp_config.json · AGENTS.md · .agents/skills/	Open the folder as a workspace

Every agent gets the same 21 tools through patchwork mcp, a stdio MCP server. Your file's password stays yours: set it once in your shell with PATCHWORK_PASSWORD, and agents never see it. Manual setup and the full tool list: AI agents.

What it can change

Fields, plain-text scripts, value lists, colors and fonts, even a full rebrand. Every operation below was tried on real files and confirmed by re-exporting them.

What FMUpgradeTool cannot do (record data, a brand-new theme, a single layout object on its own) is listed in the field guide.

Use it without an agent

Prefer the terminal? Everything the agent does is a plain command you can run yourself:

patchwork open "Invoice.fmp12" --account Admin     # working copy, version v000
patchwork add-field Clients "Loyalty Tier"
patchwork add-value-list "Loyalty Tiers" Bronze Silver Gold
patchwork log                                       # every version and what changed
patchwork undo
patchwork save "Invoice v2.fmp12"

The FMUpgradeTool field guide

The field guide collects every trap FMUpgradeTool sets without telling you, found the hard way on real files. Useful even if you never use Patchwork. A taste:

• without --generateGUIDs, theme and field patches are skipped;
• a layout's UUID is not the first <UUID> inside it;
• replacing one layout object is skipped, replacing the whole layout works;
• deleting a script step needs a ScriptReference inside each ScriptStepReference.

Found another one? Add it.

FAQ

Contributing

Found a new FMUpgradeTool trap, wrote a recipe, or want a new operation? Everything is welcome: start with CONTRIBUTING.md. And if Patchwork gives you your Friday afternoon back, a ⭐ helps other FileMaker developers find it.

License

MIT. Patchwork is a community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Claris International Inc. FileMaker and Claris are trademarks of Claris International Inc. Other product names and logos belong to their owners.