Adding connections

Creating a database connection is a four-step process that walks you through connecting to your FileMaker database and configuring the available tools.

Step 1: Connection details

  1. Click + Add Connection in the sidebar.

    Claris MCP, Add Connection

  2. Enter the following information.

    • Connection Name - A descriptive name for this connection that will appear in your connection list

    • Domain - The FileMaker Server domain

      • For example: example-server.com

        Note  Do not include https:// or a trailing slash (/). Must also be a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN).

    • Database - The exact name of your FileMaker file

      • For example: my-file

    • Username - Your file account username

    • Password - Your file account password

    Claris MCP, Add Connection, Connection Details completed

  3. Click Next to continue to table selection.

For connection requirements, see System requirements.

Step 2: Select tables

After you make the connection, you'll see all the available tables in your FileMaker file. Here, you can:

  • Search tables - Use the search box to filter tables by name

  • Select or deselect tables in bulk - Click Select All to include all available tables or Clear All to remove all selected tables

  • Select individual tables - Select or unselect specific tables

Claris MCP, Add Connection, Select Tables

The tables you select will be accessible via the Claris MCP when connected to AI assistants and MCP clients.

Step 3: Select scripts

Similar to table selection, this step allows you to choose which FileMaker scripts to include. Here, you can:

  • Search scripts - Filter scripts by name using the search box

  • Select or deselect scripts in bulk - Click Select All to include all available scripts or Clear All to remove all selected scripts

  • Select individual scripts - Select or unselect specific tables

Claris MCP, Add Connection, Select Scripts

The scripts you select will be accessible via the Claris MCP when connected to AI assistants and MCP clients.

Best practices

  • Only include scripts that are safe to run via external API calls.

  • Avoid scripts that might cause data corruption or system issues.

  • Consider scripts that provide useful functionality for AI assistants.

Step 4: Review selections and save

The final step provides a comprehensive review of your configuration:

Connection Details - Shows Name, Domain, Database, and User name of the connection are displayed for verification

  • Password is not shown for security reasons

Selected Tables - Shows all selected tables

Selected Scripts - Shows all selected scripts

Final steps

  1. Review all information carefully.

  2. Click Create Connection to create the connection, click Back to make more changes, or click Cancel to back out entirely.

Claris MCP, Add Connection, Review and Save

After setup, the connection is tested. If the connection test is successful, a set of tools are generated that AI assistants and MCP clients can use to interact with your tables and scripts.

If the connection test fails, you'll receive an error message with details about what went wrong (for example, invalid credentials, database not found, network issues, etc.).

Next steps

Once your connection is created successfully, you can: