Workbench

Workbench is the Coding Access review queue for script, DATA, layout, and ChangeSet handoffs from Local MCP clients such as Codex, Cursor, Claude Desktop, or another local IDE agent.

It keeps external-agent work visible and user-controlled. MCP staging does not run providers, mutate FileMaker, Apply code, or Execute DATA during the tool call. The former Local MCP beta that auto-ran Create Script is shelved.

In-app AGENT uses the same local MCP contracts for evidence gathering, but script artifacts produced inside Genie are promoted directly into the normal native review card. They do not need a Workbench detour.

Where it appears

Open Workbench from the tool belt with the checklist icon.

Workbench items show:

• title
• artifact type: Script, DATA, LAYOUT, or ChangeSet
• source client
• status
• target script or handoff target when available
• prompt, notes, or artifact summary
• reviewer notes
• warnings
• action buttons

The top switch separates:

• Pending: items waiting for review or action
• Submitted: items already sent to Genie, with a submitted status, source label, target script, and the same visible warnings/actions where they still apply

On the Submitted tab, use the small trash button to remove all submitted items at once. Genie asks for confirmation first and leaves every Pending item untouched.

Depending on the staged item, Workbench can show:

• Run: send it through Genie
• Apply: apply a reviewed create or current-script artifact through the normal guarded path
• Preview: inspect the human-readable staged result before acting
• Copy: copy the staged prompt or artifact
• Remove: dismiss it from the queue

New-script cards use a New Script badge and do not show a Target script row — there is no existing script to open. Edit cards use a Script Edit badge and show the Target script name so you can open that script in Script Workspace before Apply; the copy icon beside the name copies it for quick search.

MCP agents can inspect and remove queue items with fm_workbench; deletion is queue cleanup and has no FileMaker authority. Apply, Run, and DATA Execute remain user actions.

Workbench may retain legacy or expert native-artifact carriers internally. Cards keep the view human-readable: badges, notes, warnings, and actions remain visible without exposing raw XML. Target script is shown only for edits and current-script pastes.

What happens when you run an item

Running an item does the same kind of work as sending a prompt from the composer.

Genie:

1. applies any stored metadata selection from the staged item
2. adds the prompt to chat
3. presents the matching reviewed artifact or compatibility workflow
4. preserves the normal native safety boundary

For scripts, preview/copy/create/apply review and native Script Workspace safety still apply. For DATA, the sealed card and fresh confirmation still apply. For LAYOUT, generated objects stay copy-only for manual paste in FileMaker Layout mode.

How MCP agents should stage work

An IDE agent should use fm_session action:status when the task needs session identity. The nine-tool contract separates scripts, DATA, fm_query, layout copy output, confirmed fm_run, report_issue telemetry, planning, and manual FileMaker instructions without a capabilities-first ritual.

For script work, the agent should discover Script Schema and targeted catalog/step/function records with fm_search, then read genie://context/scripts or call fm_read target:script with an exact identity before edits. For metadata-grounded work, use fm_read target:selection and pass the returned metadata_selection into the same staged item.

Script staging contract

Script Workbench items are intentionally narrow.

Stage script artifacts only for:

• one new FileMaker script
• one edit grounded in exact live script content or attached/selected context

Use fm_stage kind:script for both new scripts and active-script edits. Use result_type: "new_script" for one new script, and result_type: "delta_edit" for one edit anchored against the live script context.

For delta_edit, agents should read exact live content with fm_read target:script (or use genie://context/scripts) and anchor edits to one-based numbered_text rows. merge_ready reports whether whole-script safe merge is available; merge_ready:false does not block validation or Workbench staging. Before Apply, open the reviewed target shown on the Workbench card in FileMaker Script Workspace. Workbench Apply edits the script currently open there and never selects or switches scripts.

Workbench can hold more than one independent delta draft for the same target script. Each is reviewed and applied separately; Genie does not merge or rebase them. After applying one draft, reread exact live content and restage any later draft whose line anchors may have changed.

Do not stage:

• multiple scripts in one prompt
• create or replace script prompts
• named-script edits without exact live or attached authoring evidence
• CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, TRUNCATE, or other DATA SQL
• ASK/planning prompts
• read-only QUERY prompts
• table occurrences, relationships, layouts, buttons, Web Viewers, portals, layout objects, or privilege/security work

If an IDE agent needs several scripts, it should make one fm_stage kind:script call per script.

LAYOUT staging contract

Use fm_stage kind:layout for copy-only FileMaker layout objects. It accepts exactly one of layout, figma_import, import_json, or compiled fmxmlsnippet LayoutObjectList XML.

LAYOUT staging never creates layouts, parts, themes, fields, value lists, scripts, table occurrences, or relationships. The user reviews the item and copies the layout objects for manual paste in FileMaker Layout mode.

Whole-layout preview/proof resources are diagnostic only. Host-layout import/apply remains blocked until the required FileMaker import, rollback, visual-render, and completion-audit proof gates are satisfied.

Legacy native carriers

Expert clients may stage a completed FileMaker native carrier when the typed Script Schema path is not applicable. Genie keeps the handoff visible and presents a human-readable review surface rather than raw XML.

For raw fmxmlsnippet operations that paste into or edit the current script, the MCP must supply the exact reviewed target as script_name (scriptName is also accepted). If the name is missing, Genie returns a retryable staging result and creates no Workbench item; the agent should ask only for the name when it is not already known, then retry the same stage call.

External native drafts are not Stage A/B validated model output. Review their human-readable projection and warnings before using a native action. Warnings are reserved for genuine residual risk, not for restating provenance.

DATA and read-only Query routing

QUERY is not a Workbench stage. Use fm_query for read-only SELECT preview or run work outside Workbench.

Use fm_stage kind:data for supported FileMaker SQL writes and table/field DDL that the user will confirm in Genie. For table creation, the IDE agent should inspect exact Genie metadata first, stage only missing supported tables or fields, and use wording like:

Create the following tables:

Do not stage DATA prompts that rely on IF NOT EXISTS, CREATE INDEX, index-management instructions, or manual relationship/layout work.

Do not mix DATA and CODE in the same item. Script creation/editing belongs in a separate CODE stage.

For related-table DATA work, inspect relationships and fields with exact fm_read targets first and pass a metadata_selection bundle into fm_stage kind:data.

Rejections are guidance

Unsupported Workbench submissions return normal ok: false MCP results. They are not usually transport errors.

Those results may include:

• recommended_actions
• recommended_tool_calls
• recommended_resources
• stage_prompt_template
• metadata_precheck

That payload is for the IDE agent. It should inspect, split, rewrite, or present manual FileMaker instructions locally, then restage only supported Genie work.

Current MCP tools

The current external MCP surface is exactly:

• fm_session
• fm_search
• fm_read
• fm_query
• fm_evaluate
• fm_stage
• fm_workbench

Related pages

• Local MCP Bridge
• Use MCP with Your Web IDE
• Capabilities and Access
• Safety and Confirmation Model