The ADT agent plugin

The coding agent plugin is ADT's primary deliverable. It gives a supported coding agent the adt toolset, the ADT MCP server, and the skills that explain how to use them. The installer configures the plugin for supported agents, so you do not need to create an MCP configuration by hand.

What the plugin includes

The plugin packages the parts of ADT that belong to your coding agent:

Part What it does
adt toolset Sets up projects, connects FileMaker files, manages file components, creates Web Viewer apps, generates typed data clients, deploys apps to FileMaker, and diagnoses ADT
adt-mcp server Makes ADT's FileMaker tools available during an agent session
Agent skills Teach the agent how to set up ADT projects, build Web Viewer apps, work with FileMaker, and apply FileMaker standards
Plugin manifest Identifies FileMaker Agentic Development, its version, and its publisher to the coding agent

The installed plugin currently carries these skills:

  • adt-project-setup

  • adt-webviewer-app

  • filemaker-help

  • filemaker-standards

  • fm-cli

  • fm-mcp-guide

See Skills reference for the skill inventory, ADT toolset reference for what the agent can do with adt, and MCP tool reference for the tools available during a session.

Why adt belongs to the plugin

adt coordinates ADT's agent workflows. The installed skills call it when your agent sets up a project, connects a file, adds components, builds an app, or diagnoses a problem. It is packaged inside the plugin so the skills and the toolset stay on the same version.

adt is not added to your PATH, and the documentation does not ask you to run it. Tell your coding agent what you want to accomplish; the agent chooses the appropriate operation.

Why filemaker is separate

filemaker performs native FileMaker authoring work, including schema, scripts, and layouts. The installer places it at /usr/local/bin/filemaker, where supported coding agents can reach it. The agent plugin includes the fm-cli skill that teaches the agent how to use it, but the filemaker executable itself is not part of the plugin.

Agent plugin and FileMaker plug-in

ADT installs two unrelated components whose names include "plugin":

  • The coding agent plugin loads in your coding agent. It contains the agent-facing tools and instructions described on this page.

  • The ADT FileMaker plug-in loads in FileMaker Pro. It provides the temporary local bridge used by the current ADT release.

Web Viewer projects also use the fmBridge() Vite plugin during development. That is build configuration inside an app, not either of the installed plugins above.

Where the files are installed

The installer stages both supported plugin formats under ~/Library/Application Support/ADT/MCP/:

Copy 
MCP/
├── agent-plugin/                  Agent Plugin standard package
│   ├── plugin.json
│   ├── mcp.json
│   ├── bin/
│   └── skills/
├── .agents/plugins/marketplace.json
└── claude-plugin/                 Claude plugin marketplace
    ├── .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
    └── adt/

These are installed files. Do not edit them: running a newer ADT installer replaces them.

Versioning

The coding agent plugin ships as part of the ADT installer and uses the same release version. Installing a newer ADT package updates the plugin, its skills, the MCP configuration, and the bundled adt toolset together. Restart any coding agent that was open during installation so it loads the new version.

Supported coding agents

ADT supplies the same capabilities in two plugin formats:

Plugin format Installed for
Agent Plugin standard Cursor, Codex CLI, ChatGPT desktop, and VS Code
Claude plugin Claude Desktop and the Claude Code CLI, when detected during installation

Both formats provide the same ADT toolset, MCP server, and skills. The difference is how each coding agent discovers and loads the package.

See Install ADT to confirm that the plugin is installed in your coding agent.