Projects, connected files, and apps

If you have built in FileMaker for any length of time, the file has been the whole project. Tables, scripts, layouts, security, and data all live in one .fmp12, and there is nothing else to keep track of. ADT does not change that. Your solution still lives in the file. What ADT adds is a second thing to know about: a folder on your computer that holds what a coding agent needs in order to work on that file.

The file is still your solution

ADT never moves anything out of a .fmp12. When an agent adds a field, writes a script, or builds a layout, the change lands in your FileMaker file exactly as if you had made it in FileMaker Pro. An agent can also create a brand-new file for you when you ask, and that file is an ordinary .fmp12 that you own from the moment it exists. The file can be local on your computer or hosted on FileMaker Server; either way it stays where it is, and you keep opening it, backing it up, and deploying it the way you always have.

The project folder

Coding agents work from files on disk. They read instructions from files, keep history in git, and write code into folders. A FileMaker file gives them none of that, so ADT gives each solution a small folder beside it. That folder is the project.

A new project is nearly empty. It holds:

  • A manifest named adt.json that records which FileMaker files this work is about and how to reach them. Think of it as the address book for the solution.

  • Notes for the agent, in AGENTS.md, that point it at the ADT plugin and any rules specific to this solution. This is where your conventions live in a form the agent can read.

  • A git repository, so the agent's instructions, standards, and any code it writes have a history you can review.

There is no JavaScript, no package.json, and no dependencies. The project is a record of what the agent is working on and how it should behave, not a build toolchain. A solution that only needs schema, script, and layout work never gets one.

Note  Two places, one solution Structure and data stay in your FileMaker file. Instructions, standards, and any app code stay in the project folder. Nothing is duplicated between them, and removing the folder leaves your file untouched.

Connected files

A connected file is one entry in the manifest: a name of your choosing, the file's address, and the account the agent should use. The address is either a path to a .fmp12 on your computer or an fmnet:// address for a hosted file.

Connecting a file records that address. It does not open the file, copy it, or change it. A multi-file solution connects each file to the same project, so one folder covers the whole solution and the agent can work across all of its files.

Apps

An app is a Web Viewer app: a small web application built with React and TypeScript that runs inside a Web Viewer on one of your layouts. It is the one part of ADT that puts real code in the project folder. Each app gets its own directory under webviewer-apps/, is bound to exactly one connected file, and brings the JavaScript toolchain with it.

You only take this on when you want a Web Viewer interface. Until then, the project stays a folder with a manifest and some notes.

What this means day to day

  • You still open your file in FileMaker Pro and work in it as before. The agent works on the same file from the project folder.

  • One project per solution is a good starting point, not a rule. A single-file solution has one connected file, and a multi-file solution can connect all of its files to the same project. Organize your project folders however suits the way you work.

  • The folder is safe to commit and share. It holds instructions and code, not your data. Credentials for connected files are stored in the keychain, not in the folder.

  • Order of creation is project, then connected file, then app, if you want one. Your agent does all three when you ask it to.