Claris Connect is a cloud-based integration platform developed by Claris. It allows organizations to connect FileMaker applications with other software and automate the exchange of information between them.
In technical terms, Claris Connect is an Integration Platform as a Service, commonly abbreviated as iPaaS. Instead of developing and maintaining custom integrations for every application, users create automated workflows called flows. You can compare it to services like Zapier or n8n.
A flow can detect an event in one application and automatically perform one or more actions in FileMaker or another connected service.
What Is Claris Connect Used For?
Most organizations use several applications to manage their activities: databases, accounting software, CRM systems, email platforms, document-signing services, online forms, support applications, and collaboration tools.
Without integration, information must often be copied manually from one system to another. Claris Connect automates these transfers.
For example, a flow could:
- create a FileMaker record when someone submits an online form;
- send a Slack or Microsoft Teams notification when a FileMaker record changes;
- add a contact to a marketing platform;
- transfer information between FileMaker and an accounting application;
- start a FileMaker script when an event occurs in another service;
- send a document for electronic signature;
- synchronize information between different business applications.
These are only examples. The purpose of Claris Connect is not to provide one particular integration, but to offer a common platform on which many different workflows can be built.
How Does Claris Connect Work?
A Claris Connect automation is called a flow. Each flow begins with a trigger and continues with one or more actions.
The trigger is the event that starts the flow. It could be the submission of a form, the creation of a record, the arrival of a message, a scheduled time, or a request sent from a FileMaker script.
The actions are the operations performed after that event. An action might create a record, update information, run a FileMaker script, send a notification, or pass data to another application.
For example:
When a new customer is created in FileMaker, add the customer to a mailing list and notify the sales team.
In this example, the new FileMaker customer is the trigger. Adding the customer to the mailing list and sending the notification are the actions.
Claris provides a more detailed explanation of flows, connectors, triggers, actions, projects, and templates in the Claris Connect documentation.
What Is a Connector?
A connector allows Claris Connect to communicate with another application or service.
Connectors translate the capabilities offered by an application’s API into triggers and actions that can be selected when building a flow. This makes it possible to create many integrations through a visual interface rather than writing the complete integration code.
Claris Connect includes connectors for Claris products and a wide range of third-party services, including applications for communication, accounting, customer relationship management, marketing, file storage, electronic signatures, and project management.
Claris also supports custom connectors for services that expose a REST API but do not already have a suitable predefined connector.
The current selection can be explored through the Claris Connect connector reference.
Claris Connect and FileMaker
Claris Connect is particularly relevant to organizations using FileMaker because it provides a bridge between FileMaker custom apps and external services.
The current Claris FileMaker connector can work with files hosted by FileMaker Server or FileMaker Cloud. It can perform operations such as finding and working with records or running FileMaker scripts.
A FileMaker script can also trigger a Claris Connect flow. This allows a process initiated inside a FileMaker solution to continue across several external applications.
For example, a FileMaker order-management solution could use Claris Connect to:
- receive an order from an online form;
- create or update the customer in FileMaker;
- send information to an accounting service;
- notify the appropriate team;
- archive the resulting documents in cloud storage.
The flow coordinates the process, while FileMaker remains the custom application in which the organization manages its business information.
Claris explains the connection requirements and available options in Working with the Claris FileMaker connector.
Claris Connect vs. the FileMaker Data API
Claris Connect and the FileMaker Data API can both participate in an integration, but they are not the same type of product.
The FileMaker Data API is a REST API through which developers can access data stored in hosted FileMaker files. Using it requires writing or configuring software that sends API requests and processes the responses.
Claris Connect is an integration and workflow-automation platform. It provides connectors and a visual environment for linking FileMaker with other applications.
In simplified terms:
- FileMaker Data API: a developer interface for accessing FileMaker data.
- Claris Connect: a platform for coordinating automated workflows between applications.
Claris Connect may use FileMaker APIs behind the scenes, but its purpose is to provide a higher-level integration environment.
Claris Connect vs. FileMaker Server Admin API
The FileMaker Server Admin API is intended to administer a FileMaker Server environment. It manages elements such as hosted files, clients, schedules, and server configuration.
Claris Connect is intended to automate business processes involving FileMaker and other applications.
However, Claris Connect also provides dedicated connectors for the FileMaker Server and FileMaker Cloud Admin APIs. An automated flow can therefore include certain server-administration operations when appropriate.
Main Claris Connect Features
Claris Connect includes tools for creating workflows of varying complexity, including:
- prebuilt connectors for Claris and third-party applications;
- custom connectors for REST APIs;
- triggers and actions;
- conditional steps;
- repetitions and error-handling steps;
- variables and data transformation utilities;
- schedules and webhooks;
- reusable workflow templates;
- flow history and execution monitoring;
- an on-premise agent for connecting systems located behind a firewall.
The available features and connectors evolve over time. The Claris Connect Help should therefore be used as the current reference.
Does Claris Connect Require Programming?
Many Claris Connect flows can be created without traditional programming. Users select a trigger, connect their application accounts, configure actions, and map information from one step to another.
More advanced integrations may still require an understanding of APIs, JSON, authentication, data structures, and the systems being connected. FileMaker development knowledge is also useful when a flow must run scripts or interact with a custom FileMaker solution.
Claris Connect can therefore be used both as a no-code automation tool and as part of a more advanced integration architecture.
Why Use Claris Connect?
Claris Connect can reduce repetitive data entry and the number of isolated applications within an organization. It also makes business processes more consistent because the same predefined actions are performed whenever the corresponding event occurs.
For FileMaker users, its main benefit is the ability to extend a custom application beyond the FileMaker platform without developing every external connection from scratch.
A FileMaker solution hosted on fmcloud.fm can therefore remain at the center of a business workflow while Claris Connect exchanges information with the organization’s other cloud services and applications.
Where Can I Find the Documentation?
The principal official resources are:
- About Claris Connect
- Claris Connect concepts
- Creating a flow
- Connecting to Claris and FileMaker apps
- Claris Connect connector reference
- Claris Connect product page
Conclusion
Claris Connect is a cloud integration and workflow-automation platform. It connects FileMaker, other Claris products, and third-party services so that information and actions can move automatically from one application to another.
It is especially useful when FileMaker forms part of a broader information system involving online services, accounting platforms, communication tools, document management, or other business applications.
Rather than replacing FileMaker or its APIs, Claris Connect complements them by providing a central environment in which complete multi-application workflows can be defined and automated.
