# Marcel More Fm Lab Install Claris Docs > Claris Online Help Installation Skill - Skill: `tomevault-io/marcel-more-fm-lab-install-claris-docs` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/marcel-more-fm-lab-install-claris-docs` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/marcel-more-fm-lab-install-claris-docs/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/marcel-more-fm-lab-install-claris-docs --- # Claris Online Help Installation Skill ## When to use this skill Use this skill when: - The Claris Online Help is needed locally as a reference (for `filemaker-function-reference`, `fm-summarize`, `fm-analyze`, REST API reference endpoints, etc.) - A new language should be added to an existing installation - An update to a newer version of the Claris help should be installed - The docs need to be reinstalled after corruption or accidental deletion - The reference index DB (`fm_reference.duckdb`) should be refreshed so that slug lookups (function / ScriptStep → HTML file) work locally via DuckDB queries The skill automates: - Crawling the Claris Online Help (`https://help.claris.com//pro-help/content/index.html`) - Multilingual downloads (10 available languages plus English as reference) - Mirroring including CSS, JS, images for offline-capable rendering - Version tracking via HTTP `Last-Modified` (per language) - Manifest maintenance in `docs/claris-help/manifest.json` - User confirmation when replacing existing language sets - **Copying the reference index DB** from `rest-api/db/fm_reference.duckdb` to `docs/claris-help/fm_reference.duckdb` (default step, can be disabled via `--skip-reference-db`) ## Important: language selection **English (`en`) is ALWAYS downloaded** — regardless of user input. This ensures a consistent reference language is available (slugs, canonical names, fallback when translations are missing). Three selection modes: - **a) English only** — minimal set for CI / non-localized development - **b) English + one language** — default for localized development - **c) All languages** — full mirror (~10× the data volume) ### Available languages | Code | Language | Available | Note | |------|------------------------|-----------|------------------------------------------| | `en` | English | always | Reference, always included | | `de` | German | ✓ | | | `es` | Spanish | ✓ | | | `fr` | French | ✓ | | | `it` | Italian | ✓ | | | `nl` | Dutch | ✓ | | | `pt` | Portuguese | ✓ | | | `sv` | Swedish | ✓ | | | `ja` | Japanese | ✓ | | | `ko` | Korean | ✓ | | | `zh` | Chinese (Simplified) | ✓ | URL segment is `zh` (not `zh-Hans`) | ## Workflow When the skill is invoked: 1. **Determine language preference** — Ask the user (via `AskUserQuestion`) for the desired language unless explicitly specified. Available options: - "English only (en)" - "English + my primary language" → ask which language (de recommended) - "All languages" 2. **Check existing docs** — Read `docs/claris-help/manifest.json` (if present) to determine the current state. 3. **Version check** — Per language, compare the stored date with the `Last-Modified` of `content/index.html`. On update: ask the user (unless `--force`). 4. **Crawl & download** — Start the crawler per language; recursively fetch all `.html` files plus referenced assets (CSS, JS, images). 5. **Update manifest** — Per language: count of downloaded files, timestamp, source URL. 6. **Reporting** — Summary with number of languages, total files, size. ## Skill invocation by the assistant The skill uses **AskUserQuestion** for interactive language selection. If the user names the language explicitly (e.g. "install claris docs in German"), the question can be skipped. ### Step 1: Clarify language preference Use `AskUserQuestion` with the following structure (unless already specified): ``` Question: "Which Claris Online Help languages should be installed? (English is always included)" Header: "Language selection" Options: - "English + German" (Recommended) - "English only" - "All languages (10 + EN)" ``` ### Step 2: Run the script ```bash # Nur Englisch bash .claude/skills/install-claris-docs/scripts/install_claris_docs.sh # Englisch + Deutsch bash .claude/skills/install-claris-docs/scripts/install_claris_docs.sh --lang=de # Alle Sprachen bash .claude/skills/install-claris-docs/scripts/install_claris_docs.sh --all # Force (Versions-Check überspringen) bash .claude/skills/install-claris-docs/scripts/install_claris_docs.sh --lang=de --force # List available languages without installing bash .claude/skills/install-claris-docs/scripts/install_claris_docs.sh --list-languages ``` ### Step 3: Communicate the result The script produces structured logging. Report: - Which languages were installed / updated / skipped - Number of downloaded pages and size - Location: `docs/claris-help//` ## Script parameters | Flag | Effect | |-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `--lang=` | An additional language to English (e.g. `--lang=de`) | | `--lang=all` | All 10 available languages plus English (synonym for `--all`) | | `--all` | All 10 available languages plus English | | `--force` | Skip version check and prompt — replace existing language sets | | `--list-languages` | Print list of available languages (with availability check via HTTP) | | `--max-workers=` | Number of parallel downloads per language (default: 8) | | `--dry-run` | Only run crawling/discovery, do not write any files | | `--skip-reference-db` | Skip the reference DB copy (default: always copy) | | `--restart-server` | Force stop/restart of the API server when copying the ref DB (for edge cases) | Without parameters, **only English** is installed (plus always the reference DB, if present). ## Directory structure After installation: ``` docs/claris-help/ ├── manifest.json # Global manifest ├── fm_reference.duckdb # Reference index DB (copy from rest-api/db/) ├── en/ # English (reference, always included) │ ├── .version # JSON: Last-Modified + file counts │ ├── content/ # All HTML pages │ │ ├── index.html │ │ ├── functions-reference.html │ │ ├── set-variable.html │ │ └── ... (~1000 files) │ ├── Resources/ # Scripts, templates from ../Resources/ │ ├── Skins/ # CSS, themes from ../Skins/ │ └── assets/ # Global assets from /assets/ ├── de/ # German (analogous) ├── es/ └── ... ``` ## Reference index DB In addition to the HTML mirror, the skill by default copies the reference index database from the REST API into the docs directory: ``` rest-api/db/fm_reference.duckdb → docs/claris-help/fm_reference.duckdb ``` **Purpose:** Quickly identify relevant HTML documents via DuckDB queries — e.g. "Which HTML file documents the function `PatternCount`?" Instead of full-text searching the mirror, a slug lookup against the index DB is enough. Used by `filemaker-function-reference`, `fm-summarize`, `fm-analyze` and other skills whenever they need to resolve a function or ScriptStep to an HTML file. ### Copy strategy The REST API server attaches the reference DB in **READ\_ONLY mode** (`rest-api/src/config/database.js`), so DuckDB does not create a WAL file and does not hold a write lock. A direct `cp` operation while the server is running is therefore safe — the server keeps reading from the existing file, and the target directory (`docs/claris-help/`) is independent. **Script flow:** 1. **Check:** Does `rest-api/db/fm_reference.duckdb` exist? - No → step is skipped with a warning (not an error). 2. **Direct copy** (default): atomic via `*.tmp` + `mv`, without touching the server. 3. **Fallback on error:** If the direct copy fails and a server is running on port 3003, automatically execute `tools/stop-servers.sh` → copy → `tools/start-servers.sh`. 4. **`--restart-server` flag:** Force the stop/start cycle even when the direct copy would work (for edge cases or when an explicit server reload is desired). 5. **`--skip-reference-db` flag:** Skip the step entirely (e.g. when only the HTML docs should be mirrored). ### Source of the reference DB The reference DB is **not** produced by this skill — it is part of the `rest-api/` setup and is typically distributed alongside the REST API server. If `rest-api/db/fm_reference.duckdb` is missing, that is not an error: the script continues with the HTML downloads and reports `Ref-DB: source not found — skipped` in the summary. ### `manifest.json` schema ```jsonc { "$schema_version": 1, "source": "Claris FileMaker Pro Online Help", "source_url": "https://help.claris.com", "fetched_at": "2026-05-12T10:15:30Z", "fallback_language": "en", "languages": [ { "code": "en", "url_lang_segment": "en", "url_root": "https://help.claris.com/en/pro-help/", "html_pages": 1019, "asset_files": 84, "total_size_bytes": 41527890, "last_modified": "Mon, 13 Jan 2026 10:15:30 GMT", "fetched_at": "2026-05-12T10:15:30Z", "incomplete": false }, { "code": "de", ... } ] } ``` ## Prerequisites - **Python 3** (for the crawler, usually pre-installed on macOS) - **curl** (for version checks, pre-installed) - **Internet connection** to `help.claris.com` - Write permissions on `docs/claris-help/` ## Disk space & duration | Set | Files | Size (estimated) | Download duration | |------------------------|---------|-------------------|-------------------| | English only | ~1100 | ~50 MB | 2-3 minutes | | English + 1 language | ~2200 | ~100 MB | 4-6 minutes | | All 11 languages | ~12000 | ~550 MB | 20-30 minutes | With an existing cache (same version), re-downloading is skipped. ## Error handling ### Network errors - Curl/Python urllib reports detailed errors when `help.claris.com` is unreachable - Each file is retried up to 3× (with backoff) - On a persistent error for a file: the script continues and marks the language as `incomplete: true` in the manifest ### Disk space - Before downloading, `df` is checked for at least twice the expected volume free - On insufficient space: abort with a clear error message ### HTTP errors (404, 5xx) - 404: individual missing slugs are logged but do not abort - 5xx: retry; after 3 failed attempts the language is marked `incomplete: true` ### Corrupted/incomplete downloads - Files are first downloaded to `*.tmp` and then renamed atomically - On abort, only complete files remain ## Output format **Successful installation:** ``` Installing Claris Online Help... Languages: en (always), de Target: docs/claris-help/ [en] Discovering pages from index.html... [en] Found 1078 HTML pages, 84 assets [en] Downloading (8 workers)... ████████████████████ 100% (1162/1162) [en] Done: 47.3 MB, 12.4 s [de] Discovering pages from index.html... [de] Found 1071 HTML pages, 84 assets [de] Downloading (8 workers)... ████████████████████ 100% (1155/1155) [de] Done: 49.1 MB, 13.1 s SUCCESS: Claris documentation installed Languages: en, de Total: 2317 files, 96.4 MB Location: docs/claris-help/ Manifest: docs/claris-help/manifest.json ``` **Already up to date:** ``` Checking for updates... [en] Up to date (last-modified: Mon, 13 Jan 2026 10:15:30 GMT) [de] Up to date (last-modified: Mon, 13 Jan 2026 10:15:30 GMT) No action needed. ``` **With update prompt:** ``` Checking for updates... [en] Newer version available. Current: Sun, 12 Jan 2026 16:47:42 GMT Remote: Mon, 20 Jan 2026 10:15:30 GMT Replace existing 'en' docs? (y/n): y [en] Downloading... ``` **Error:** ``` ERROR: [specific error message] [suggestion for resolution] ``` ## Notes - The downloaded files come from a publicly accessible source (Claris Online Help). Local use is typically covered by Claris's documentation license; public re-publishing is NOT permitted. - This documentation is used by the `fm_reference.duckdb` setup and the `/api/reference/...` endpoints as the HTML source for full-text extraction (see `project/plan_reference_data_architecture.md` in the fm-lab-vscode repo). - The script is idempotent — running it multiple times is safe. - If only individual slugs are missing or outdated, a full reinstall is not necessary — the crawler uses Last-Modified headers per file (HEAD request) to update only changed files. - After a successful install/update the script registers this source in `.fmlab/docs.json` via `tools/register_docs.py`, so the web home dashboard's Docs card can list it. --- > Source: [marcel-more/fm-lab](https://github.com/marcel-more/fm-lab) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).