FMDojo v1.0: Built for the Way FileMaker Developers Actually Work
After months of building in public, FMDojo is officially v1.0. Here's what we shipped, what we learned, and what's coming next.
FMDojo v1.0: Built for the Way FileMaker Developers Actually Work
Today we're shipping v1.0.
That might sound like a small version bump, but for us it marks something real: a product we're proud to put in front of every FileMaker developer, not just the early adopters willing to tolerate rough edges.
We launched FMDojo in February as a quiet early access. No launch post, no fanfare — just a link, a handful of subscribers, and a list of things we wanted to build. Six weeks and thirty-something releases later, we have something that looks a lot like what we set out to make.
Here's what that looks like.
What We Built
The vision from day one was a workspace purpose-built for FileMaker development — not a generic AI wrapper with "FileMaker" in the tagline, but something that understands how FileMaker developers actually work.
That meant going deep on a few things:
The AI actually knows FileMaker. We spent serious time on the knowledge layer — verified edge-case behavior for calculation functions tested against a real FileMaker instance, structured argument catalogs, an understanding of script XML structure, and a strict policy of flagging uncertainty rather than confidently inventing answers. If you ask about IsNumeric(), the AI will tell you it doesn't exist. That kind of honesty matters.
Snapshots as a first-class concept. Your database structure — tables, fields, relationships, layouts, scripts — is the context for everything else. Snapshots let you bring that context into FMDojo without a live server connection. Upload a Save a Copy as XML file and the AI, code editor, and diagram tool all know your schema. Multi-file uploads, chunked transfers for large databases, GitHub and GitLab auto-commit, and a full diff panel with step-by-step script comparison.
FMS Admin that earns its place. Managing FileMaker Server from a web UI sounds simple until you try to build it. We now support Linux, macOS, and Windows (via WinRM), with SSH-based log access, backup restore, file upload, database open/close/pause/verify, a command library, watchdog alerts, and OttoFMS XML sync. Cloud accounts (AWS, GCP, Linode, Azure) link directly to servers for automatic SSH authentication.
Tools that close the loop with FileMaker Pro. The code editor generates XML you can paste directly into FileMaker — scripts, calculations, table schemas, layout objects. The Clipboard Helper scripts move content between FMDojo and FileMaker Pro on macOS and Windows. The Diagram tool renders relationship graphs with anchor-buoy layout, real relationship predicates, and export. The Design tool produces layout object XML. None of this requires a plugin on the FMDojo side.
Everything else. SQL Fiddle with ExecuteSQL-compatible semantics. JavaScript Fiddle for web viewers. Shared chat links. Voice dictation. Image support. A clip manager with folder sharing. A split editor for side-by-side comparison. An Ask FMDojo widget with RAG-backed answers about the product itself. A Getting Started guide.
We shipped a lot. Looking at the changelog now, it reads like we were in a hurry — because we were. There's a version every two or three days going back to February. That pace is hard to sustain, but it got us to a product we actually want to use.
What We Learned
FileMaker developers are used to being underserved by tools. The ecosystem is smaller than mainstream web development, so most developer tooling either doesn't exist or was built a decade ago and hasn't moved. That means the bar for "this is useful" is low — but the bar for "this actually understands my problem" is high. Generic AI doesn't clear it.
Correctness beats completeness. Early on we added more functions, more coverage, more features. What resonated most was the opposite: the edge-case verification work, the strict function reference, the honest "I'm not sure" answers. FileMaker developers have been burned by wrong answers before. Getting something right, and being transparent when you don't know, builds more trust than breadth.
The XML round-trip problem is real and underappreciated. FileMaker's clipboard XML format is the only way to programmatically import content. It's complex, it's poorly documented, and it's different across object types. We've spent significant time on this, and there's still more to do. It's foundational to most of what we want to build next.
Pricing
V1 comes with real pricing: Personal plans (Apprentice, Journeyman, Ronin) and Business plans for teams.
If you signed up during early access, you're grandfathered at your current rate for six months. That's a promise we made in the last newsletter, and we're keeping it.
What's Next
We have something in the works that we're not ready to talk about yet.
It's bigger than any single feature we've shipped. It's the thing several of you have asked about, usually framed as "is there any way to..." followed by something we'd thought about but hadn't built. We've been heads-down on it alongside everything else, and it's getting close.
When it's ready, you'll know.
In the meantime: keep the feedback coming. The Issues page is live — you can submit and track bugs directly from the site. We read everything.
Thanks for building with us.
FMDojo is available at fmdojo.com.