Firebird · InterBase · legacy ERP
Your Firebird database, exposed as a secure REST API — in two weeks
No migration. No rewrite. No downtime. Your ERP keeps running while your website, mobile app, and integrations finally get live data.
Works with Firebird 1.5 → 5.0 and InterBase · Windows Server is fine · Read-only by default
Sound familiar?
The data that runs your business is locked in a .FDB file
The developer who built our system retired.
The ERP still works — but nobody dares to touch it, and every integration request gets a shrug.
We want a web shop and live order status, but our data is stuck.
Customers call to ask about orders your database already knows the answer to. Excel exports by hand, every morning.
Everyone says: migrate everything.
Twelve months, six figures, and real risk to daily operations. There is a smaller, safer step — an API layer on top.
How it works
Fixed scope, fixed price, three steps
The sequence is deliberate: you commit to a small paid assessment first, see exactly what an API on your database looks like, then decide about the build.
STEP 1 · 3 DAYS
Assessment
$490 · credited toward the build
- Read-only analysis of your schema
- What data is accessible, and how
- Charset, locking & backup risks
- Written API plan + fixed-price quote
Needs from you: Firebird version, rough table count, a backup copy or a screen-share session. NDA signed first if you need one.
STEP 2 · 2–3 WEEKS
API build
typically $4,000–8,000 fixed
- Go service running next to your DB
- Read-only by default · token auth
- Rate limiting + OpenAPI docs
- Windows service (NSSM) + secure tunnel
- Safe writes to agreed fields only
Deployed on your server — Windows Server 2008 R2+ or Linux. Nothing in your ERP changes.
STEP 3 · ONGOING
Care plan
$250–500 / month · optional
- Uptime & health monitoring
- Backup impact audits
- Endpoint changes & small features
- Priority support
For teams with nobody left who knows Firebird. Cancel any month.
Proven in production
The API we sell is the one our own factory runs on
matamata.dev grew out of a real manufacturing company that runs its order flow on a Firebird 2.5 ERP from the 2000s. We built this API layer for ourselves first — it has been serving orders, statuses, and inventory in production ever since.
- daily loadOrder status for customers, staff lookups in chat tools, admin panel reads and writes
- legacy depthWIN1251 charset writes, Delphi-era schema, pessimistic locks from the desktop CRM — handled
- footprintOne small Go binary as a Windows service, next to the database. No changes to the ERP itself
Questions owners ask
Frequently asked questions
Will you change our database or ERP?
No. The API is read-only by default and runs as a separate service next to your database. Write operations are added only for explicitly agreed fields, tested on a copy of your database first. Your ERP software is never modified.
Our server is an old Windows machine. Is that a problem?
That is the normal case. The API service is a single executable that runs as a Windows service on Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer, alongside your existing Firebird installation. Linux works too.
Which Firebird and InterBase versions do you support?
Firebird 1.5, 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0, plus legacy Borland InterBase databases. Old dialects, WIN1251 and other legacy charsets, and Delphi-era schemas are all familiar territory.
Do we need to give you remote access?
There are options: a screen-share session where you stay in control, a temporary VPN account, or a fully guided setup where your own staff runs every step. An NDA is signed first whenever you need one.
Why not just migrate to a modern database?
A full migration means rewriting the software that runs your business — often 6–12 months and a six-figure budget, with real operational risk. An API layer costs a fraction of that, ships in weeks, and removes the main pain: your data being locked inside the legacy system.
Get started
Book a free 30-minute database assessment call
Tell us what you want to connect to your Firebird or InterBase database — we'll tell you honestly whether an API makes sense, what it would cost, and where the risks are.
Email pavlo@matamata.devNot sure yet? Just email your Firebird version and table count — you'll get a plain-language answer on whether an API layer fits your case. Free, no call required.