mealie-mcp-server

Name: mealie-mcp-server
Author: Timo Reymann

Manage recipes, meal plans, shopping lists and ingredient data in a self-hosted Mealie instance

By Timo Reymann (individual) TypeScript Local · stdio Productivity

GitHub npm Website

33 popularity score ★ 16 ↓ 202/wk

Connect your client

Local (npm)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio Add to Goose

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server. Then replace each <NAME> in its settings with your value.

Or add it by command or config

It needs MEALIE_BASE_URL, MEALIE_API_KEY. Replace each <NAME> with your value.

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add mealie -e MEALIE_BASE_URL=<MEALIE_BASE_URL> -e MEALIE_API_KEY=<MEALIE_API_KEY> -- npx -y mealie-mcp-server

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mealie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mealie-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mealie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mealie-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "mealie": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mealie-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.mealie]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "mealie-mcp-server"]

[mcp_servers.mealie.env]
MEALIE_BASE_URL = "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>"
MEALIE_API_KEY = "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user -e MEALIE_BASE_URL=<MEALIE_BASE_URL> -e MEALIE_API_KEY=<MEALIE_API_KEY> mealie npx -- -y mealie-mcp-server

Local (container)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio Add to Goose

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server. Then replace each <NAME> in its settings with your value.

Or add it by command or config

It needs MEALIE_BASE_URL, MEALIE_API_KEY. Replace each <NAME> with your value.

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add mealie -e MEALIE_BASE_URL=<MEALIE_BASE_URL> -e MEALIE_API_KEY=<MEALIE_API_KEY> -- docker run -i --rm -e MEALIE_BASE_URL -e MEALIE_API_KEY ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mealie": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mealie": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "mealie": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL",
        "-e",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEALIE_BASE_URL": "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>",
        "MEALIE_API_KEY": "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.mealie]
command = "docker"
args = ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "MEALIE_BASE_URL", "-e", "MEALIE_API_KEY", "ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main"]

[mcp_servers.mealie.env]
MEALIE_BASE_URL = "<MEALIE_BASE_URL>"
MEALIE_API_KEY = "<MEALIE_API_KEY>"

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user -e MEALIE_BASE_URL=<MEALIE_BASE_URL> -e MEALIE_API_KEY=<MEALIE_API_KEY> mealie docker -- run -i --rm -e MEALIE_BASE_URL -e MEALIE_API_KEY ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server:main

Settings 2

`MEALIE_BASE_URL`	Required: Address of your Mealie instance, e.g. https://mealie.example.com.
`MEALIE_API_KEY`	Required: API key generated in your Mealie account settings.

In a container, a setting goes in with -e NAME=value after docker run.

What it does

mealie-mcp-server connects an assistant to your own Mealie recipe manager through Mealie's REST API, using an API key you generate in Mealie. It runs on your machine over stdio and covers most of what Mealie keeps: recipes, meal plans, shopping lists and their items, categories, tags, kitchen tools, and the food and unit vocabularies that structured ingredients refer to.

Beyond plain create, read, update and delete calls, it has batch tools that fetch or update many recipes with bounded concurrency, a meal-plan tool that returns plans with the recipe details embedded, and read-only paginated queues for clean-up work: recipes that still need categories and tags, ingredients that are not yet parsed into foods and units, or recipes missing images, links or sections. Ingredient and instruction writes are checked against what Mealie stores afterwards and rolled back with a report if they did not stick. It also ships one prompt, `weekly-meal-plan`, and sends server-wide usage instructions to the client when it connects.

Version 2.0.0 registers 78 tools according to the generated list in its README and npm entry, although the README's opening line still says 71. The image-upload tool `set_recipe_image_from_file` does not read local files: it downloads a temporary URL that the client hands it, so it only works in clients that pass file references (its own description names ChatGPT).

What it needs

Runtime	Node.js 22+orDocker

Node.js 22 or later for the npx way, or Docker for the container. A running Mealie instance you can reach over the network, and a Mealie API key generated from your Mealie account settings. Both MEALIE_BASE_URL and MEALIE_API_KEY must be set: the server prints an error and exits at start if either is missing (src/config.ts).

Limits

Speaks stdio only; there is no HTTP mode or hosted endpoint. It works with one Mealie instance and one API key per process, so it acts with that user's Mealie permissions. `set_recipe_image_from_file` only works in clients that pass file references with a download URL. The README's Docker example uses `docker run -d`, which leaves no stdin for a client; the snippet here uses `-i --rm`. The image's documented tag is `:main`, built from the main branch rather than a release, so it may differ from npm version 2.0.0.

Who it suits

Suits people who self-host Mealie and want an assistant to plan meals, fill shopping lists or tidy up a large recipe collection: tagging, parsing ingredients into foods and units, merging duplicate foods. Its batch and queue tools are aimed at bulk clean-up of many recipes. It can delete recipes, lists, foods and units, so trying it on a test instance or a backed-up collection first is worth considering. It is a community server, not one from the Mealie project.

Tools 60 of 78

create_recipe: Create a new recipe
delete_recipe: Delete a recipe
duplicate_recipe: Copy an existing recipe
find_recipes_for_ingredients: Find recipes that use given ingredient names
get_recipe_concise: Get a short summary of one recipe
get_recipe_detailed: Get one recipe in full
get_recipes: Search and list recipes
get_recipes_batch: Fetch several recipes at once
get_recipes_detailed_batch: Fetch full details for several recipes
get_recipes_for_classification: Paginated feed of recipes for category and tag assignment
get_recipes_for_data_enrichment: Paginated queue of recipes matching clean-up filters
get_recipes_for_ingredient_parsing: Paginated queue of recipes with unparsed ingredients
mark_recipe_last_made: Record when a recipe was last cooked
patch_recipe: Change selected fields of a recipe
set_recipe_image: Upload base64 image data (up to 10 MB) as a recipe's image, or remove it
set_recipe_image_from_file: Set a recipe image from a client-supplied file link
set_recipe_image_from_url: Set a recipe image from a web address
set_recipe_rating: Rate a recipe
update_recipe_ingredients: Replace or edit a recipe's structured ingredients
update_recipe_ingredients_batch: Update ingredients across many recipes
update_recipe_instructions: Edit a recipe's instruction steps
update_recipe_instructions_batch: Edit instructions across many recipes
update_recipe_taxonomy: Assign categories and tags to a recipe
update_recipe_taxonomy_batch: Assign categories and tags to many recipes
update_recipe_tools: Set the kitchen tools a recipe needs
update_recipe_tools_batch: Set kitchen tools on many recipes
create_mealplan: Add a meal plan entry
create_mealplan_bulk: Add many meal plan entries
get_all_mealplans: List meal plan entries
get_mealplan_with_recipes: Get meal plans with recipe details included
get_todays_mealplan: Get today's planned meals
patch_mealplan: Change a meal plan entry
add_recipe_to_shopping_list: Add a recipe's ingredients to a shopping list
create_shopping_list: Create a shopping list
create_shopping_list_item: Add an item to a list
create_shopping_list_items_bulk: Add many items to a list
delete_shopping_list: Delete a shopping list
delete_shopping_list_item: Remove an item from a list
delete_shopping_list_items_bulk: Remove many items from a list
get_shopping_list: Get one shopping list
get_shopping_list_items: List items on shopping lists
get_shopping_lists: List shopping lists
remove_recipe_from_shopping_list: Take a recipe's ingredients off a list
update_shopping_list: Change a shopping list
update_shopping_list_item: Change a list item, e.g. tick it off
create_category: Create a category
delete_category: Delete a category
get_categories: List categories
get_empty_categories: List categories with no recipes
update_category: Rename or change a category
create_tag: Create a tag
delete_tag: Delete a tag
get_tags: List tags
get_empty_tags: List tags with no recipes
get_foods: Search the food vocabulary
get_food_matches: Match many food names to existing foods
create_food: Add a food
merge_foods: Merge one food into another
get_units: Search the unit vocabulary
get_unit_matches: Match many unit names to existing units

Popularity

33 popularity score

★ 16 ↓ 202/wk

GitHub stars	16	14.8 points
npm downloads, last week	202	18.5 points

Measured 2026-11-07. How the score works.

Where it is published

Code	timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server ★ 16
npm	mealie-mcp-server 2.1.0, 2026-10-25, the one the command runs
Container	ghcr.io/timo-reymann/mealie-mcp-server

What it can reach

Runs	On your machine
Reaches	The internet, Your account at a service
Changes things	Yes: it can write, send, create or delete
Sign-in	An API key or token
Licence	MIT (npm)
Last code change	2026-10-25

Runs locally as a Node.js process over stdio and makes HTTP calls to the Mealie address set in MEALIE_BASE_URL, signing every request with MEALIE_API_KEY; that key carries the Mealie user's full permissions. Many tools write: they create, patch, merge and delete recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, categories, tags, foods, units and tools. `set_recipe_image_from_url` passes an image URL to Mealie, and `set_recipe_image_from_file` makes the server itself download a URL the client supplies (src/tools/recipes.ts). It reads no local files and runs no shell commands.

Over time

GitHub stars 16 +4 (+33 %)

1612

13 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

npm downloads a week 202 +165 (+446 %)

1.7k37

29 Jun 20267 Nov 2026

Before the site measured it, read from npm's daily download counts.

Popularity score 33 −5 (−13 %)

4014

13 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

What is rising across the directory

Sources

Page checked 2026-10-14.

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Connect your client

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Settings 2

What it does

What it needs

Limits

Who it suits

Tools 60 of 78

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