Reading the OData Metadata Document

Intermediate

Use the $metadata endpoint to discover the schema of a FileMaker database exposed via OData.

What you'll learn

What the OData $metadata document contains
How FileMaker field types map to OData types
Reading entity type and property definitions
How BI tools use $metadata for schema discovery

Every OData service exposes a metadata document at $metadata -- an XML document that describes the complete schema: entity types (tables), properties (fields), their data types, and navigation properties. BI tools like Power BI parse this automatically; developers can read it to understand exactly how FileMaker field names and types are exposed.

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The $metadata URL

Request the metadata document:

HTTP

GET /fmi/odata/v4/MyDatabase/$metadata
Authorization: Basic {credentials}
// Returns EDMX (XML) schema document

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