Public Builds

Public Builds

Public builds are builds that are hosted on a webserver and are accessible to anyone. They are used to distribute your app to your users. How widely you distribute your app is up to you. You can distribute it to a small group of testers, or you can distribute it to the entire world.

There are two ways to get your build public: publish it in the HTTP folder, or place it on a seperate webserver.

Option #1: Publish a build in the HTTP folder

Since FileMaker Server is running on a web server, you can use your FileMaker Server's HTTP folder to host your builds. This is the easiest way to get your build public. You can use the Publish Builds page to learn more about how to publish a build to the HTTP folder.

Once your build is published to the HTTP folder, you will be able to deploy from it from a url similar to https://[server]/[subfolder (if defined)]/[build_id]/manifest.json. For example, if I made a build with the id my-build and I published it to the HTTP folder with a subfolder of 'example_1', I could deploy it from the url https://[server]/example_1/my-build/manifest.json.

Option #2: Host a build on a webserver

If you want to use a different webserver or web publishing service, you'll need to set it up manually.

Use OttoDeploy to configure your build.

OttoDeploy's build interface walks you through the process of choosing the files to include in the build, and whether to clone or copy them, and how to run a script before the build to prepare your files.

Run the build

Kick off the build with OttoDeploy. OttoFMS will process the files according to your configuration and create a zip archive of the build.

Download the build

Use OttoDeploy to download the build. Unzip the archive and extract the manifest.json file. Leave the archive intact. You will need both the manifest.json file and the archive to distribute your build.

Upload the build to a webserver

Upload the build to a webserver. You can use any webserver you like. You can use a service like AWS S3, or you can use your own webserver. The only requirement is that the files are accessible via a url. See the example file system below for the best practices for hosting your public builds.

Webserver File System Example

Place the zip archive and the manifest.json file next to each other on a webserver. You would use a structure like this to host your public builds.

      • manifest.json
      • MyApp_v1.0.1.zip
      • manifest.json
      • MyApp_v1.1.0.zip
      • manifest.json
      • MyApp_v2.0.0.zip
  • If the url to your web-accessible folder is https://myserver.com/public-builds, then the url to the first build would be https://myserver.com/public-builds/MyApp_v1.0.1/manifest.json.

    OttoDeploy and SimpleQ (opens in a new tab) are both available as public builds.