Data API Security Best Practices

Beginner

Secure your FileMaker Data API endpoints against unauthorized access, credential exposure, and over-permissioned service accounts.

What you'll learn

  • How to create minimal-privilege service accounts for API access
  • Token lifecycle: session limits and expiration
  • Network-level controls to restrict API access
  • Avoiding credential exposure in logs and client code

The FileMaker Data API is a public REST endpoint. Unlike FileMaker clients, it has no UI layer to protect against misuse -- it accepts any valid HTTP request. Securing it requires deliberate credential management, minimal privilege service accounts, token lifecycle control, and server-level network restrictions.

1/4
1

Minimal-privilege service accounts

Create a dedicated account for each API integration with only the permissions it needs. A read-only analytics integration should use a Read-Only privilege set. A CRM sync that only writes to Contacts should have write access to Contacts and nothing else. Never use a [Full Access] account for API calls.

TEXT
// Service account: svc-crm-sync
// Privilege set: APISync (custom)
// Access: Contacts table -- view + edit; all others -- no access
// Extended privileges: fmrest only
// fmapp: disabled (API only, no client login)
OAuth and SAML Authentication in FileMakerSQL Injection Risks in FileMaker

Sign in to track your progress and pick up where you left off.

Sign in to FM Dojo