FileMaker Admin API for server management

Expert

Use the FileMaker Admin API to open and close databases, manage connected clients, and run server-side scripts programmatically.

What you'll learn

How to authenticate to the Admin API
How to open, close, and pause databases programmatically
How to trigger a scheduled script from the Admin API

FileMaker Server exposes an Admin API (separate from the Data API) that allows programmatic control of server operations: opening and closing databases, disconnecting clients, pausing and resuming databases for backup, running schedules, and reading server status. This enables DevOps automation, zero-downtime deployments, and monitoring integrations.

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Authenticating to the Admin API

The Admin API uses HTTP Basic Auth with the FileMaker Server admin console credentials. The base URL is /fmi/admin/api/v2/ (not /fmi/data/). The login endpoint returns a bearer token.

HTTP

POST /fmi/admin/api/v2/user/login
Authorization: Basic base64(admin:adminpass)
Content-Type: application/json
Body: {}

// Response:
{
  "response": { "token": "eyJ..." },
  "messages": [{ "code": "0", "message": "OK" }]
}

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