Really interesting to hear about using Claude Code for the Swift conversion. We had a similar experience migrating our own company (Onroute) off FileMaker after running it for 10 years. Used Claude Code to rebuild the whole thing as a Next.js web app. What used to feel like a 6-month project took about 3 weeks.
The Runtime situation is a good example of a broader pattern with Claris. Features get deprecated, pricing goes up, and the migration paths they offer (WebDirect, Claris Studio) don’t actually solve the problems that made Runtimes useful in the first place.
We now do this commercially at N90 Labs, helping FM organisations either modernise what they have or move to web stacks. The AI tooling has genuinely changed the economics of migration. What used to be prohibitively expensive for smaller FM shops is now realistic.
Curious how the Swift conversion went in practice. Did you use the Data API to keep the FM backend initially, or did you move the data layer too?
My aim is to move away from FileMaker completely. The data is stored in a MySQL database.
The rewriting of the code has only just begun and, due to a lack of time, I’m unfortunately not making as much progress as I’d like. What’s more, working with Claude Code is still new territory for me. I’m sure there are ways to make things more efficient (e.g. with the right skills). But even so, it’s all looking very promising.
Whether I’ll actually make the switch completely in the end remains to be seen. On the one hand, I naturally have less control over the code with a Swift app (due to a lack of knowledge), and on the other hand, FM programming is, of course, fun too.
I’d say you won’t have less control over a Swift app. You’re looking at it like you won’t understand the code but once you really get into using Claude you wont see that as an issue. It used to put me off too, because I’d spend hours trying to learn how to do the simplest of things that I knew how to do in FileMaker instantly. But that barrier has truly gone. And now I get to play with the really advanced stuff that FileMaker is just not capable of. Claude Code IS for Citizen Developers in a way FileMaker could only dream of!
I’d love to chat to you about what you’re doing - see if I can help in anyway.. cant see a way to DM you on here though! If you want to get in touch just book in a meeting with me at www.n90.ai/book - and yes the entire site built with Claude Code in a coupe of days. No plugins. No Calendly integration. All the cool little features like company lookup and our briefing tool, syncing/availability with my icloud and google work calendar - all custom and done by claude in minutes!
@neilwjsimpson, all you need to do to start a private conversation is tap the avatar beside the user name. A dialog will pop up that looks similar to the image below. Use the "Message" button at top right.
