Perform Script on Server (PSOS): when to use it and how it works

Intermediate

PSOS runs a script on the FileMaker Server engine instead of on the user's machine. Learn when it helps performance, what the headless environment means for your script design, and the difference between synchronous and asynchronous execution.

What you'll learn

When PSOS improves performance and when it does not
What "headless" means and which script steps are unavailable on the server
How to use PSOS synchronously (wait for result) vs asynchronously (fire and forget)

Perform Script on Server offloads heavy work to the server engine, bypassing the network for each individual script step — making it dramatically faster for loops, finds, and batch operations.

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Call a script on the server

Use the Perform Script on Server step. Pass a JSON parameter just as you would a local script. Choose "Wait for completion" to receive the script result.

FileMaker Script

Set Variable [ $param ; Value:
  JSONSetElement ( "{}" ;
    [ "invoiceId" ; Invoices::id ; JSONNumber ]
  )
]

Perform Script on Server [ "Process Invoice" ; Parameter: $param ; Wait for completion: On ]

Set Variable [ $result ; Value: Get ( ScriptResult ) ]
Set Variable [ $error  ; Value: Get ( LastError ) ]

FileMaker script triggers: OnObjectEnter, OnObjectExit, OnObjectSave, OnRecordCommit Go to Related Record: navigating via relationship in FileMaker