InspectorPro 10 Read Me

InspectorPro is a FileMaker code-analysis and collaboration tool from Beezwax. It analyzes a hosted FileMaker solution, tracks changes across analyses, and optionally syncs that history to GitHub or GitLab so teams can diff, blame, and review FileMaker schema and code changes the same way they would source code.

The InspectorPro folder contains:

  • InspectorPro.fmp12, the FileMaker solution. The best user experience is hosted.
  • AddOn, the InspectorPro Integration add-on (v3.0) for FileMaker Pro.
  • inspectorpro-mcp, an MCP server that connects AI clients such as Claude and Codex to a FileMaker database via OData, with a dedicated built-in script-insight tool that lets you ask questions of your scripts.

A brief history of InspectorPro

InspectorPro originally started life as a product called DocuScript. It eventually evolved into a product called Analyzer, and then, one more time, we changed the name to InspectorPro.

It has now been almost 35 years, and during that time it has gone through so many evolutions and transformations.

The latest evolution is one of my proudest achievements.

Version 7 was a significant improvement over the previous versions, but it still had one fundamental limitation: every time you ran an analysis, InspectorPro imported all of the items from your solution again. If you ran 100 analyses, the InspectorPro file could easily grow to several gigabytes.

Then FileMaker's XML evolved.

With the addition of modification attributes, a timestamp indicating when an item was last changed along with the account name, user name, and UUID, we were able to identify exactly which items had changed and process only those items.

That changed everything.

InspectorPro 8, 9, and now 10 are all built around this incremental approach. Instead of processing your entire solution every time, InspectorPro can focus on what has changed.

This means that if you have just made changes to your solution and run InspectorPro, you have the current state of your solution available for analysis, and ready to provide answers to your questions.

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What's new in version 10

In version 10, we have added another important piece of flexibility: you can now add or remove files that make up your solution even after you have created it. This was a feature requested by some of our users, and we're happy to finally make it available.

FileMaker 26 also introduced a change to its XML output. Beginning with FileMaker 26, the XML is generated as UTF-8 instead of UTF-16, which results in smaller XML files.

InspectorPro 10 can process both formats, so you can analyze XML generated by FileMaker 22 and later, as well as XML generated by FileMaker 26.

GitHub-inspired FileMaker Activity Heatmap

A first for the FileMaker community. If your developers run InspectorPro at the completion of each sprint, you can build a high-level view of activity across your solution over a 26-week period.

You can also select an individual UserName from the pop-up menu to focus on that person's activity during the same 26-week period.

The heatmap can be viewed in several ways. In addition to viewing overall activity, you can focus specifically on Additions, Modifications, or Deletions.

It's a great way to visualize development activity over time and quickly see when, and where, the most work is happening in your FileMaker solutions.

Table Occurrence Hops Explorer

Both the GitHub-inspired FileMaker Activity Heatmap and the Table Occurrence Hops Explorer were vibe-coded into existence with the help of ProofKit. Thank you, Proof! It was fun, exciting, addictive, and amazing, and if this is a glimpse of what's ahead, the future is going to be incredible.

Back to the Table Occurrence Hops Explorer. Both of these features are currently in a preview state and we would love to hear your feedback.

The Hops Explorer packs a tremendous amount of information into an interactive visualization. It lets you explore how Table Occurrences are connected throughout your solution. Select a From and To Table Occurrence, and the explorer displays the details of the connections between them below.

It's also a great way to explore your relationship graph and determine whether data can flow between two Table Occurrences, and, importantly, whether that flow can work in both directions.

Privilege Set Comparison

With the InspectorPro MCP there is another skill called privilege-set-comparison and giving it the same information as you would for the script-insight tool ... the only difference is that you would provide it with 2 privilege set names to compare. And this is the kind of report it can generate for you. Also note that you can filter it to show you something specific.

Inspector MCP

The InspectorPro MCP came about through a series of conversations with Fabio Bosisio. Thank you so much, Fabio, for helping bring this together.

We put it together so the MCP has access to all the metadata about your FileMaker solution. This means you can ask questions such as:

  • "Give me a report on all the calculations in my solution."
  • "Look for calculations with high cyclomatic complexity."
  • "Identify calculations that could be improved for readability."
  • "Are there any potential issues or areas where my calculations could be refactored?"

Because InspectorPro provides the MCP with the underlying metadata, it can go much deeper than simply looking at the surface of your solution.

AREA ID decoding

InspectorPro uses an AREA ID to identify different types of objects within the solution. To translate an AREA ID into its English equivalent, you can include the following decoding JSON object in your prompts.

You'll primarily need this when asking questions about the Calculation and Dependency tables.

{ "1" : "ACCOUNT", "10" : "FILE", "11" : "EXTENDED_PRIVILEGE", "12" : "FIELD", "13" : "EXTERNAL_DATA_SOURCE", "14" : "LAYOUT", "15" : "LAYOUT_FOLDER", "16" : "LAYOUT_OBJECT", "17" : "LAYOUT_PART", "19" : "PRIVILEGE_SET", "191" : "RELATIONSHIP_PREDICATE", "192" : "LIBRARY", "2" : "FILE_ACCESS", "20" : "PRIVILEGE_SET_FIELD", "21" : "PRIVILEGE_SET_LAYOUT", "22" : "PRIVILEGE_SET_SCRIPT", "23" : "PRIVILEGE_SET_TABLE", "24" : "PRIVILEGE_SET_VALUE_LIST", "25" : "RELATIONSHIP", "26" : "SCRIPT", "27" : "SCRIPT_FOLDER", "28" : "SCRIPT_STEP", "3" : "BASE_DIRECTORY", "33" : "TABLE", "34" : "TABLE_OCCURRENCE", "35" : "THEME", "37" : "STYLE", "38" : "VALUE_LIST", "4" : "CONDITIONAL_FORMATTING", "40" : "TABLE_OCCURRENCE_NOTE", "41" : "PERSISTENT_DATA_STORE", "5" : "CUSTOM_FUNCTION", "6" : "CUSTOM_MENU", "7" : "CUSTOM_MENU_ITEM", "9" : "CUSTOM_MENU_SET" }

And here is an example of the kind of detailed analysis the InspectorPro MCP can generate for you.

Calculations are one thing, but we also built a dedicated Script-Insight tool. You can ask it to analyze the execution of a script, including all of its sub-scripts, and generate a detailed report explaining what the script does.

It can also identify things like variable declaration and reference mismatches, helping you spot potential issues that might otherwise be difficult to find.

I turned it loose on a script from InspectorPro, and it generated a set of outputs worth looking at.

It's always fascinating to see what AI can uncover about your solution. It's becoming an endless source of insight and a powerful tool for ongoing maintenance and improvement.

I hope it can bring you a lot of value and, like I said before, I think the future is going to be amazing.

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A thank you

InspectorPro is the result of almost 35 years of work, but it is also the result of the contributions of many talented people at Beezwax over the years.

I could not have done this without the incredible team behind it. To all of you who have contributed to InspectorPro over the years, I want to say a very sincere thank you.

And finally, a big thank you to you for downloading InspectorPro.

I hope it provides you with valuable insights into your FileMaker solutions and helps you better understand, troubleshoot, and improve the work you've created.

All the very best,

Vince

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Getting started with InspectorPro

First login

The first time you open InspectorPro, you'll see the FileMaker login dialog.

Account Name: InspectorPro
Password: leave this field blank.

Click Sign In.

The InspectorPro account does not have a password initially. FileMaker will require you to create one before you can continue.

Create your password

You'll then see the Change Password dialog. Enter the following:

  • Old Password: leave this field blank.
  • New Password: enter the password you want to use.
  • Confirm New Password: enter the same password again.

Click OK to continue.

Important: make sure you remember this password. There is no way to recover it if you forget it.

InspectorPro accounts

InspectorPro includes five privilege sets, but there are four accounts that you may need to work with.

InspectorPro. This is the primary account used to access InspectorPro. It has the InspectorPro Admin privilege set, which allows you to:

  • Create, update, and delete solutions.
  • Manage InspectorPro configuration.
  • Perform other administrative functions.

INSP-M. The migration account. This account is used when performing data migrations. You may need it in the future if a new version of InspectorPro includes changes that require your existing data to be migrated.

INSP-O. The add-on and integration account. This account is used by the InspectorPro add-ons for integrations. If you install an add-on into one of your FileMaker solutions, you will need to provide the INSP-O account password. Note that this account uses OData, and that OData will also need to be turned on under the Connectors section of your Server.

INSP-MCP. The MCP integration account, used if you want to connect a local MCP server to your copy of InspectorPro. The MCP integration provides access to metadata about the solution you analyzed with InspectorPro. There is a dedicated script-insight tool that lets you ask questions about any of the scripts in your solution. More about how to set this up, and what is possible with it, later.

Note: since you've already set up your InspectorPro account, we recommend setting passwords for the other three accounts as well: INSP-M, INSP-O, and INSP-MCP. That way you'll have all four accounts configured and ready to use when needed. Be sure to store your passwords securely, you'll need them when these accounts are used.

Register InspectorPro

After setting your passwords, the next step is to register your copy of InspectorPro.

Use the activation code you received when you registered your download. If you haven't registered yet, then the first time you log in you'll be presented with the registration screen. Enter those details there.

Note: you can access this information at any time by pressing the Licensing button.

We provide two license codes: one for Mac and Linux and one for Windows. This makes it easy to use InspectorPro in mixed-platform environments, where team members may be working on different operating systems.

Enter your Registered To name and License Codes, then click Activate.

A note about each privilege set

InspectorPro includes five privilege sets:

  • InspectorPro Admin. Full administrative access, including the ability to create, update, and delete solutions.
  • InspectorPro User. Standard user access. Users can work with the solutions they are associated with. An administrator can optionally grant additional permissions to allow users to create, update, and delete solutions.
  • INSP-M. Used for data migration.
  • INSP-O. Used by the add-on integrations. Requires the server to have OData turned on.
  • INSP-MCP. Used for MCP integration.

The Admin and User privilege sets are the two intended for people who log into InspectorPro. The other three accounts are used by InspectorPro for specific functions and integrations.

Plug-in installation

The InspectorPro plug-in is included with the InspectorPro file and will automatically install itself when it is needed.

If you have used a previous version of InspectorPro, please remove the older version of the plug-in and restart FileMaker before opening InspectorPro. There have been some minor changes to the plug-in in this version, so starting with a fresh installation is recommended.

We're also happy to finally offer an updated Windows version of the plug-in, which means InspectorPro 10 can be run on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Installing the plug-in on the client and server. If you are using InspectorPro with both a FileMaker client and FileMaker Server, there is an important setting to be aware of. FileMaker provides separate plug-in installation settings for the client and the server.

  • Client: go to FileMaker Settings > Plug-ins.
  • Server: go to Connectors > Plug-ins.

On FileMaker Server, you must enable Install Plug-in File Script Step. This allows InspectorPro to install the plug-in on the server when it is needed. Once installed you can disable it, but the one that needs to stay on is the FileMaker Script Engine Plug-ins option. This needs to stay enabled for InspectorPro to process XML on the server.

The Windows version. As of this writing, we've identified some issues with the plug-in auto-installation process on Windows 11. We tracked down the 1550 error code and found a helpful article from Productive Computing that explains the issue and provides some troubleshooting steps: Installation: Error 1550 (Windows).

Your first solution

To create a solution, click + Solution in the upper-right corner of the main window. A solution card will appear.

For now, don't worry about all of the available options. Simply enter a solution name, such as My FileMaker Solution, and click Create.

Once the solution has been created, you should see a new row highlighted in InspectorPro, with a Solution ID displayed on the far left. You are now ready to import your first XML.

The gear icon gives you access to the solution's settings, where you can make changes to the solution and reset or delete it.

For now, click the Integration arrow next to the solution name. Its tooltip reads: "Click to run API integrations and kick off processing right from InspectorPro". This is where you'll begin the process of importing and analyzing your FileMaker solution.

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Integration: Window Names

There are three integration types available. When you click the Integration arrow, a card window will appear showing the three options.

By default, the integration type is set to Manually Upload. For this first import, select Window Names, then set it as the default integration method.

Create a new file using one of the Starter Templates. For this example, choose Contacts as the file to create. You can save the file anywhere you like.

In the Window Names section, you'll see two fields: Analysis Comment and Window Names. The Analysis Comment is optional, and you can enter multiple window names if needed.

Note: for the Window Names integration, all of the specified window names must be files that are currently open with Full Access privileges.

For this example, leave Analysis Comment blank and enter Contacts in the Window Names field. Then click Run, or simply press Return.

The process should take just a few seconds. When it is complete, you should see a Completed message at the bottom of the window.

When running InspectorPro locally, the progress bar may not update frequently during processing. This is expected. When InspectorPro is hosted, the progress bar will update as the processing progresses.

When InspectorPro is hosted, all three integration methods are available. However, the Integration API is the preferred method because everything runs on the server, both the XML generation and the subsequent processing. This provides the most efficient workflow and keeps the processing off your local machine.

Note: hosting InspectorPro on a FileMaker Server is the preferred method. This allows you to continue working on your FileMaker solution while InspectorPro performs the processing on the server.

Now that your analysis is complete, you can open the Dashboard while the solution row is selected. Simply press Return or double-click the row to open the main Dashboard window.

There is a lot to explore in this single window, but for now, think of the Dashboard as your jumping-off point for investigating your solution. We'll cover many of its features in more detail later.

A few things are worth pointing out right away. InspectorPro 10 introduces two new menus, the Visualization menu and the Dashboard menu, along with a number of keyboard shortcuts.

The navigation bar at the top contains popover buttons that provide quick links to different areas of your solution. This navigation bar is available throughout InspectorPro, except when viewing reports.

If you're looking for something specific, the Global Search lets you search across your Schema, Calculations, and History.

The Analysis Health and Changes dashboards become especially useful once you've imported multiple snapshots of your solution. We'll look at some examples of these features later.

Note: both Manually Upload and Window Names require the XML to be transferred to the server when InspectorPro is hosted. Window Names has the additional overhead of first generating the XML before it can be transferred to the server.

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Integration: Manually Upload

The second integration option is similar to the way InspectorPro 7 worked. You first generate the FileMaker XML, then upload the XML to InspectorPro for processing.

If you'd like to try this method, you can generate the XML for the Contacts file you currently have open. From the Tools menu, choose Save a Copy as XML.

When generating the XML manually, FileMaker gives you the option to include specific catalogs. Make sure all Catalogs are selected, and select Include details for analysis tools. Leave Automatically open summary when done unchecked.

You can generate XML for as many files as you have open. Remember that each file must be open with Full Access in order to generate its XML.

Once the XML files have been generated, place only the XML files generated by this process into a dedicated folder. When you run this integration method, InspectorPro will prompt you to select the folder containing your XML files. From there, the process works much like the Window Names integration: if InspectorPro is hosted, the XML files are moved to the server and processed there.

Warning: do not generate XML for a large solution over a WAN or LAN. The process can be extremely slow, and FileMaker's progress dialog provides very little useful feedback while the XML is being generated.

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Integration: Integration API

This integration method is by far my favorite, and it's also the fastest. InspectorPro includes an add-on that provides the Integration API functionality.

To install the add-on, copy both INSP_Integration and INSP_Integration.fmaddon into your FileMaker AddonModules folder, then restart FileMaker.

Windows: C:\Program Files\FileMaker\Extensions\AddonModules\
Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/FileMaker/Extensions/AddonModules/

Once FileMaker has restarted, return to the Contacts file and switch to Layout mode. Select the Add-ons tab, then click + Install Add-on in the lower-left corner. This will display the available add-ons. Select InspectorPro and click Choose.

Note: it is best to install the add-on before hosting your file. Installing an add-on while a file is hosted can be extremely slow.

Once the add-on has been installed, you should see InspectorPro in the Add-ons panel on the left.

Simply click and drag the InspectorPro icon onto your layout. The icon is a button that triggers the Integration API.

Don't worry if the default button doesn't fit the design of your solution. You can use your own button instead. Just make sure your button calls the same script and passes the same parameters as the InspectorPro button.

Now that the add-on has been added to your layout, switch to Browse mode and click the InspectorPro button. The Integration card window should appear, ready for you to configure and run the integration.

Click Settings to open the configuration options and begin setting up the integration. The configuration options are fairly straightforward:

  • Server Address. The address of the server where InspectorPro is hosted.
  • InspectorPro Name. The name of the InspectorPro file. You can change this if you like.
  • INSP-O Password. If you have already configured an INSP-O password, enter it here. If not, now is a good time to set one up.
  • Solution ID. Enter the Solution ID. If you have already created a Solution record in InspectorPro for this FileMaker file, enter its ID here. It is located right next to the gear icon on the solution record on the far left.

Click Save when you're finished.

Before running the integration, make sure the FileMaker file you're analyzing is hosted on the same server as InspectorPro. When you're ready, click Process. A card window will appear, allowing you to enter a short analysis comment. Press Return, and the processing will begin.

The XML is generated and processed directly on the server. InspectorPro should communicate with the FileMaker file, and you should see the progress dialog update as the analysis runs.

Skip the analysis comment. If you don't want to enter a comment every time you run the integration, you can bypass the comment prompt. On Mac, hold Option. On Windows, hold Alt. Then click Process. The integration will skip the comment prompt and begin processing immediately.

This is why the Integration API is my favorite method: the XML is generated directly on the server and sent immediately to InspectorPro for processing. Nothing needs to be generated or transferred from your local machine.

Integration API: support for multiple files

When you install the InspectorPro add-on, it adds several components to your FileMaker file. You will see a script folder named INSP | Integration containing three scripts:

  • INSP Controller
  • INSP Process XML
  • INSP Generate Single XML

Let's say your Contacts file is also connected to another file called Contacts_Log. This assumes you already have a file reference to the related file. To include Contacts_Log in the integration:

  1. Copy the INSP Generate Single XML script into your Contacts_Log file.
  2. In your main Contacts file, open the INSP Process XML script.
  3. Duplicate steps 100 to 102.
  4. In the new section, call the INSP Generate Single XML script from the Contacts_Log file.
  5. Repeat these steps for each additional file that is part of your solution.

Your script should look something like this:

Integration API: setting up a script schedule

You kick it off, and it immediately starts the entire workflow on the server. That means anyone on your team can stay current and continue their work without having to wait for the process to finish.

We designed InspectorPro to get out of your way as quickly as possible so you can get back to your work. Meanwhile, InspectorPro continues running on your server and keeps you updated on its progress.

But what if someone on your team forgets to run it after they finish their work? No problem, we've got you covered there too.

You can simply create a script schedule to run the process every 10 minutes, every hour, or whatever interval works best for your team. And setting up the schedule is incredibly easy. All you have to do is create a script schedule that calls the INSP Process XML script. That's it.

Because you've already configured all of the settings, the scheduled script simply dovetails into the workflow you set up with the InspectorPro add-on. Your team can keep working, while InspectorPro quietly keeps everything up to date in the background.

Here is what the schedule might look like.

Remember, the script needs to run with Full Access, unless you provide an account that has full access.

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Adding users

From the main window, click the Users button to open the Users window, where you'll see a list of users. By default, InspectorPro creates one user: InspectorPro.

To add a new user, click + User. The New User card window will appear, where you can enter the user's Name, Email, Account Name, and associated Privilege Set. The Slack Member ID and Git Access Token are optional and can be added if you want to use those associated features.

There are two privilege sets you can assign a new user:

  1. InspectorPro Admin
  2. InspectorPro User

The InspectorPro Admin role gives the user full access to InspectorPro and allows them to perform any available action.

The InspectorPro User role provides more limited access and includes an additional option: Allow user to Create, Edit, and Delete Solutions. If this option is enabled, the user can create, modify, and delete solutions. If it is disabled, the user can still be added as a member of a solution, but they will have view-only access to that solution. They will not be able to reset or delete the solution.

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Adding members to a solution

From the main window, you'll see two columns: M (Members) and A (Analysis for Solution).

By default, each solution has one member. Click the number in the M (Members) column to open the Members card window. From here, you can add additional members to the solution and assign each member a specific role. Once added, that user will show up in the list of members for that solution.

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Getting started with Git

InspectorPro optionally integrates with GitHub and GitLab. By allowing InspectorPro to upload your solution analyses to Git, you can see the current state of code and metadata, diff the current state against any prior analysis, and review attributions for all code changes.

Before using Git, make sure you're familiar with the basics of InspectorPro. See Getting started with InspectorPro above.

Create an access token

InspectorPro's Git integration requires creating an access token in Git and configuring your solution in InspectorPro. Choose GitHub or GitLab and follow the matching steps, then continue with Configure InspectorPro below.

GitHub

  1. Account. Create an account at github.com if you don't already have one.
  2. Settings. Go to Settings > Developer Settings > Personal Access Tokens > Tokens (Classic) > Generate New Token > Generate New Token (Classic).
  3. Name. Give the token a note of your choosing.
  4. Expiration. Choose an appropriate expiration. You'll need to update the token in InspectorPro before it expires, so consider No Expiration.
  5. Scopes. Select repo (all), user (all), and delete_repo.
  6. Generate. Click Generate Token. Save it somewhere safe, you won't be able to see it again.
  7. User. On the InspectorPro dashboard, click Users, select your user account, and click the gear icon to edit.
  8. Paste. Paste your token into the Git token field and save.

GitLab

  1. Account. Create an account at gitlab.com if you don't already have one.
  2. Settings. Go to Settings > Personal Access Tokens > Add New Token.
  3. Name. Give the token a name. Description is optional.
  4. Expiration. Choose an appropriate expiration, and consider No Expiration.
  5. Scopes. Select api, read_api, and read_user.
  6. Create. Click Create Personal Access Token. Save it somewhere safe, you won't be able to see it again.
  7. User. On the InspectorPro dashboard, click Users, select your user account, and click the gear icon to edit.
  8. Paste. Paste your token into the Git token field and save.

Configure InspectorPro

Git integration must be configured when you create the solution in InspectorPro. If you already have an existing solution, you'll need to create a new one to use Git. The instructions below are identical for GitHub and GitLab.

  1. New Solution. Click the New (+) Solution button.
  2. Name. Enter a solution name of your choosing.
  3. Location. Enter the Solution File Name and File Hosted Location. We recommend hosting your solution on the same server as InspectorPro.
  4. Toggle. Enable Enable Git Integration.
  5. Git. Choose GitHub or GitLab.
  6. Metadata. Enable Include Metadata to include all possible information in your analyses.
  7. Owner. Enter your Git organization or username.
  8. Repo. Enter a repo name of your choosing.
  9. Token. Paste your Git token, the same one added to your user account.
  10. Custom. Optionally specify a custom branch or host. It is fine to leave this blank.
  11. Create. Click Create. Check the Git website, you should see a new repository for your solution.
  12. Members. On the InspectorPro dashboard, under the M column, click the button to add additional members of this solution.
  13. Add. Select each user working in the solution and enter the account name they use to log in to the development application. If members use separate tokens per solution, each should click the gear icon in this window to paste their own token, overriding the general token on their InspectorPro account.
  14. Done. Click Done once all members are added.

Use Git integration

While you could view analysis data directly on the Git website, it is organized by FileMaker's internal identifiers, so it likely won't make much sense there. The best way to view it is directly within InspectorPro.

  1. Open. In the InspectorPro solution list, double-click your solution to open the solution dashboard.
  2. Navigate. Go to an area you're interested in, for example Calculations from the top navigation bar, or Fields from the areas on the right.
  3. Icon. Throughout the InspectorPro interface, you'll see Git icons next to analyzed items.
  4. View. Click the icon to open a Git popover and choose Current, Blame, or History. Current shows the current state of code as of the most recent analysis. Blame shows attribution for who edited each line of code. History shows the diff of code over time, letting you compare any two analyses.
  5. Window. A new window opens to the Git website. Log in with your Git credentials the first time.
  6. Review. Review the change just as you would within Git itself, then close the window to return to InspectorPro.

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InspectorPro MCP

The InspectorPro download includes a folder called inspectorpro-mcp/. You can rename this folder if you like, then move it somewhere in your Documents directory. This folder will become your local inspectorpro-mcp project.

Once you've placed the folder where you want it, you're ready to start configuring it.

Drag the folder onto Visual Studio Code, then choose Terminal > New Terminal from the menu.

Click on the README.md file and locate the section Claude Desktop — local (stdio). Copy this to a text editor window, because we'll start filling it in.

{ "mcpServers": { "insp-mcp": { "command": "node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/insp-mcp/dist/index.js", "--stdio"], "env": { "FM_PAT": "<base64 from step 2 above>", "FM_SERVER": "https://your-fm-server.com", "FM_DATABASE": "YourDatabase" } } } }

Back in the terminal, type npm install and press Return. This will install the npm packages that InspectorPro MCP needs. It should only take a few seconds.

Once that's finished, run npm run build. This should complete almost instantly.

Open the dist folder. You should see a file called index.js. Right-click on it and choose Copy Path. Paste that path into the JSON object you have open in the other window.

Generate FM_PAT. Next, you need to generate your FM_PAT. This is a Base64-encoded version of your FileMaker username and password.

Remember when you set up your INSP-MCP account and created your password? For example, let's say your password is ABCDE. In the terminal, run the following command, replacing the username and password with your own:

echo -n "INSP-MCP:ABCDE" | base64

The terminal will return a Base64-encoded string. Copy that value and paste it into the FM_PAT field in your JSON configuration.

{ "mcpServers": { "insp-mcp": { "command": "node", "args": ["/Users/vmenanno/Documents/i-mcp/dist/index.js", "--stdio"], "env": { "FM_PAT": "SU5TUC1NQ1A6QUJDREU=", "FM_SERVER": "https://your-fm-server.com", "FM_DATABASE": "InspectorPro" } } } }

Copy the JSON configuration and open Claude. From the Claude menu, choose Settings, then select Developer. Click Edit Config.

Paste the JSON into the configuration file. There may already be other JSON in the file, so be careful to add the InspectorPro MCP configuration without overwriting anything you want to keep.

Save the file, then quit Claude completely and relaunch it.

Congratulations. You've successfully set up your InspectorPro insp-mcp.

If you want to use the Script Insight tool, three parameters are required:

  1. File Name
  2. Script Name
  3. InspectorPro Solution ID

Here's an example prompt:

Using the insp-mcp tool, look at the script called "on first window open" in the file called "My_File" in Solution ID 12. Review the script for any issues and give me a report on variable declarations and references.

That's it. You can now start asking Claude to explore and analyze your FileMaker solution using the InspectorPro MCP.

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About InspectorPro MCP

The insp-mcp connects AI clients, including Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, Claude Code and Cursor, to a FileMaker database over OData 4.01, so an AI assistant can query and act on your solution's data and metadata directly.

This section is pulled from inspectorpro-mcp/README.md for reference.

Environment variables

VariableRequiredDescription
FM_SERVERAlwaysFileMaker server URL, for example https://fm.example.com
FM_DATABASEAlwaysDatabase name
FM_PATstdio onlybase64(username:password)
SESSION_SECRETHTTP only32+ character secret for token encryption
TOKEN_TTLNoToken lifetime in seconds. Default 2592000, which is 30 days.
PORTNoHTTP port. Default 3000.
BASE_URLNoPublic HTTPS URL of this server, if behind a reverse proxy

Local development

cd inspectorpro-mcp cp .env.example .env # fill in your values npm install npm run dev # watch mode, rebuilds and restarts on changes

Self-hosted with Docker

cd inspectorpro-mcp cp .env.example .env # fill in real values docker compose up -d

Connecting an AI client

  • Claude.ai: Settings > Integrations > Add custom integration, using the server's /mcp URL. Claude.ai handles OAuth and prompts for FileMaker credentials.
  • Claude Desktop or Claude Code, remote: run via mcp-remote with a Bearer token. See inspectorpro-mcp/README.md in your download for the full config snippet.
  • Claude Desktop or Claude Code, local stdio: point directly at inspectorpro-mcp/dist/index.js --stdio with FM_PAT, FM_SERVER, and FM_DATABASE set in the client's env config.

For the full environment variable reference, API reference, OAuth token flow, and the bundled filemaker-script-analyst Claude Skill, see inspectorpro-mcp/README.md in your download.

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