Async and Long-Running Operations via the Data API

Expert

Handle slow FileMaker scripts and bulk operations asynchronously using job queues, polling endpoints, and server-sent events.

What you'll learn

How to design an async job queue for long-running FM operations
How to implement a polling endpoint for job status
How to use FileMaker scripts as async workers via the Data API
How to stream progress updates with server-sent events

Some FM operations take seconds or minutes: bulk imports, PDF generation, complex scripts. Synchronous API calls block the client and timeout at the gateway. The solution is an async job pattern: the client submits the job, receives a job ID, and polls for completion. This section implements that pattern on top of the FM Data API.

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Job submission endpoint

Accept the job request, write a job record to a FM table (or your own DB), return a job ID immediately. The client gets a 202 Accepted with a poll URL.

FileMaker Script

// POST /api/jobs/bulk-import
export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const body = await req.json();
  const jobId = crypto.randomUUID();

  // Write job to FM (or Postgres) -- status: "pending"
  await fm.createRecord('Jobs', {
    JobID: jobId,
    Type: 'bulk-import',
    Payload: JSON.stringify(body),
    Status: 'pending',
    CreatedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
  });

  return Response.json(
    { jobId, pollUrl: `/api/jobs/${jobId}/status` },
    { status: 202 }
  );
}

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