Tools

All fifty-three are registered unless you say otherwise. MEALIE_ALLOW_TOOLS and MEALIE_DENY_TOOLS narrow the list to the ones you want, and essential selects a curated eight — see choosing the tools that load.

One section per tool: what it does, its parameters, and — for the guarded ones — what a person is asked.

53 tools in total. The 18 read tools are always registered; the 35 write and import tools are omitted when MEALIE_READ_ONLY=true.

Every tool declares an outputSchema and answers with structuredContent beside the text block, so a client can use a result without parsing prose. Most carry untrusted: true and source: "mealie" as fields of that object — recipes are routinely scraped from arbitrary websites. The eleven without the marker answer with an id this server was given, or with get_about’s version and permission flags.

Recipe references: slug or UUID

Wherever a parameter is described as a recipe slug or UUID, both work — Mealie splits its identifier space (recipe CRUD uses the slug, meal plans, ratings and timeline events use the UUID), and the tools resolve whichever they are given. Both are returned by search_recipes.

Tools that ask a person

Tools marked Asks a person first raise a dialog through MCP elicitation, which the model cannot answer on their behalf. Where the client cannot show one they fall back to a two-call flow: call once to receive a confirm_token together with a description of what is about to happen, then call again with the same arguments plus that token. Tokens are single-use, expire after a few minutes, and either way the approval is bound to the specific target. ELICITATION=false takes the fallback deliberately — see Asking a person.

Every tool declares all four MCP annotations — readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint. openWorldHint is true only where Mealie is made to talk to somebody outside itself: import_recipe_from_url, preview_recipe_url and import_recipe_from_image.

Recipes

search_recipes

essential

Searches the recipe collection. Returns summaries — name, slug, id, times, rating, tags and categories — without ingredients or steps; use get_recipe for those. All filters combine with AND; within one filter the entries are OR unless the matching require_all_* flag is set.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
search	string	no	Full-text search over names, descriptions and ingredients
tags	string[]	no	Restrict to recipes carrying these tags — names, slugs or UUIDs
categories	string[]	no	Restrict to recipes carrying these categories
tools	string[]	no	Restrict to recipes carrying these tools
foods	string[]	no	Restrict to recipes carrying these foods
cookbook	string	no	Restrict the result to a cookbook, by slug or UUID
require_all_tags	boolean	no	Require every listed tag instead of any of them
require_all_categories	boolean	no	Same, for categories
require_all_tools	boolean	no	Same, for tools
require_all_foods	boolean	no	Same, for foods
order_by	enum	no	name | rating | created_at | updated_at | last_made | random; default created_at
order_direction	enum	no	asc | desc, default desc
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 25, max 100

get_recipe

essential

Fetches one recipe with everything needed to cook it: ingredients, steps, times, yield, notes and nutrition. Accepts the slug or the UUID.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
detail	enum	no	default returns the cleaned-up recipe; raw returns Mealie's untouched object including settings, assets, extras and inline comments

suggest_recipes

Suggests recipes that can be cooked from the foods and tools marked as "on hand" in Mealie, ranked by how little is missing. This only produces anything on an instance that actually maintains structured foods, units and an on-hand pantry — on a collection of plain-text ingredients it returns nothing; use search_recipes there.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
foods	string[] (UUIDs)	no	Food UUIDs to treat as available, from list_foods
tools	string[] (UUIDs)	no	Tool UUIDs to treat as available, from list_organizers
max_missing_foods	number	no	How many ingredients a suggestion may be missing, default 5
max_missing_tools	number	no	Same, for tools
limit	number	no	Number of suggestions, default 10, max 50

create_recipe

essential

Creates a recipe from the given fields. To add one from a website use import_recipe_from_url instead — it fills in far more.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	Recipe name. Mealie derives the slug from it and rejects a duplicate
description	string	no	Recipe description
ingredients	string[]	no	Ingredient lines as free text, e.g. "500 g quark". They replace the existing list; use parse_ingredients first if structured food and unit references are wanted
instructions	string[] | { title?, text }[]	no	Preparation steps, in order. They replace the existing list. A step is either plain text or { title, text } when it carries its own heading
tags	string[]	no	Tag names. They replace the existing tags; unknown names are created
categories	string[]	no	Category names. They replace the existing categories
prep_time	string	no	Preparation time
cook_time	string	no	Cooking time
total_time	string	no	Total time
servings	number	no	Number of servings
recipe_yield	string	no	Yield as text
notes	{ title, text }[]	no	Notes attached to the recipe
source_url	string	no	Original source of the recipe, stored as orgURL

update_recipe 👤

Changes individual fields of a recipe. Only the fields given are touched; everything else keeps its value. Passing an empty array for ingredients, instructions, tags or categories clears that list. Uses PATCH — Mealie's PUT route, which replaces the whole 33-field object, is deliberately not exposed.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
name	string	no	New recipe name
…same optional fields as create_recipe			description, ingredients, instructions, tags, categories, prep_time, cook_time, total_time, servings, recipe_yield, notes, source_url

duplicate_recipe

Creates a copy of a recipe under a new name, leaving the original untouched. Useful as a starting point for a variation.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
name	string	no	Name of the copy; Mealie appends a counter when omitted

set_recipe_last_made

Records when a recipe was last cooked. Mealie shows this on the recipe and sorts by it.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
timestamp	string	yes	ISO 8601 date or date-time, e.g. 2026-08-18 or 2026-08-18T19:30:00Z

set_recipe_image

Replaces a recipe's cover image.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
image_base64	string	yes	The image, base64-encoded, without a data: URI prefix (max 8 MB)
format	string	yes	jpeg, jpg, png or webp — used for the upload filename, extension field and content type

delete_recipe 👤

Deletes a recipe permanently, together with its comments, timeline and images. Asks a person first. The token is keyed to the resolved UUID, so a token issued for a slug cannot be replayed against a different recipe that has since taken that slug.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

Import

preview_recipe_url

Fetches a URL and reports what Mealie would extract from it, without saving anything. Use this to check a page before importing it, or to find out why an import came out empty.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
url	string	yes	Address of the recipe page to test — public http/https only

import_recipe_from_url

essential

Has Mealie fetch a recipe page and save it as a new recipe. The fetch happens on the Mealie server, not here. Everything the page contains — name, description, ingredients, steps — ends up in the collection as written by whoever controls that site.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
url	string	yes	Address of the recipe to import — public http/https only
include_tags	boolean	no	Adopt the page's keywords as tags, default false
include_categories	boolean	no	Adopt the page's categories, default false

import_recipe_from_html_or_json

Creates a recipe from HTML or schema.org recipe JSON supplied directly, without Mealie fetching anything. Useful for a page that needs a login, or one that import_recipe_from_url could not parse.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
data	string	yes	The page HTML, or a schema.org Recipe JSON document (max 2 MB)

import_recipe_from_image

Creates a recipe from a photo of one — a cookbook page, a handwritten card — by having Mealie run it through its configured AI provider. Requires an AI provider set up in Mealie; without one the call fails, and the setting itself is only visible to a group manager or admin.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
image_base64	string	yes	The image, base64-encoded, without a data: URI prefix (max 8 MB)
format	enum	yes	jpeg | jpg | png | webp — used for the upload filename and content type
translate_language	string	no	Translate the extracted recipe into this language, e.g. "de" or "German"

Organizing

Tags, categories and recipe tools share one CRUD shape in Mealie, so each of these tools takes a kind parameter: tag (free-form labels), category (the primary classification, one recipe usually has few) or tool (equipment a recipe needs).

list_organizers

Lists the tags, categories or tools defined in the group, with their ids and slugs. These are the values search_recipes filters on.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
kind	enum	yes	tag | category | tool
search	string	no	Filter by name
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 100, max 100
order_direction	enum	no	asc | desc, default asc

create_organizer

Creates a tag, category or recipe tool. Assigning one to a recipe with update_recipe already creates it on the fly — this tool is for defining one up front.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
kind	enum	yes	tag | category | tool
name	string	yes	Name of the new organizer

update_organizer 👤

Renames a tag, category or tool. Mealie regenerates the slug from the new name, so anything referring to the old slug stops matching.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
kind	enum	yes	tag | category | tool
id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID from list_organizers
name	string	yes	The new name

delete_organizer 👤

Deletes a tag, category or tool. The recipes themselves are kept, but they lose the assignment. Asks a person first.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
kind	enum	yes	tag | category | tool
id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID from list_organizers
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

Ingredients

list_foods

Lists the structured foods of the group — the ingredient vocabulary Mealie matches ingredient lines against. Many instances leave this empty and keep ingredients as plain text; an empty result means exactly that, not a failure.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
search	string	no	Filter by name
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 100, max 100
order_direction	enum	no	asc | desc, default asc

create_food

Adds a food to the group vocabulary so ingredient lines can be matched against it.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	Name of the food
plural_name	string	no	Plural form
description	string	no	Description
label_id	string (UUID)	no	Shopping-list label to file this food under

merge_foods 👤

Points every ingredient that uses one food at another one and deletes the source food. Asks a person first. The token is bound to the ordered pair — swapping the two arguments would destroy the wrong record, so a token for one direction cannot confirm the other.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
from_id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID of the food to merge away — this one is deleted
to_id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID of the food to keep — references end up here
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

list_units

Lists the measurement units of the group, with their abbreviations. Like foods, this is empty on an instance that never seeded them.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
search	string	no	Filter by name
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 100, max 100
order_direction	enum	no	asc | desc, default asc

create_unit

Adds a measurement unit to the group vocabulary.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	Name of the unit
plural_name	string	no	Plural form
abbreviation	string	no	Abbreviation, e.g. tbsp
use_abbreviation	boolean	no	Render the abbreviation instead of the name
fraction	boolean	no	Show quantities as fractions (½ cup) rather than decimals
description	string	no	Description

merge_units 👤

Points every ingredient that uses one unit at another one and deletes the source unit. Asks a person first. As with merge_foods, the token is bound to the merge direction.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
from_id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID of the unit to merge away — this one is deleted
to_id	string (UUID)	yes	UUID of the unit to keep — references end up here
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

parse_ingredients

Splits free-text ingredient lines into quantity, unit, food and note, and reports how confident Mealie is about each part. Nothing is saved. Use it to check how a line will be understood before writing it to a recipe or a shopping list.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
ingredients	string[]	yes	Ingredient lines, e.g. "2 tbsp olive oil" (1–100 lines)
parser	enum	no	nlp (default) uses the trained model, brute a rule-based split. Mealie's openai parser is not exposed — it sends every line to an external provider

Meal plans

list_mealplans

Lists the meal plan of the household in a date range. Each entry is either a recipe reference or a free-text note.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
start_date	string	no	First day to include, YYYY-MM-DD
end_date	string	no	Last day to include, YYYY-MM-DD
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 50, max 100

get_todays_meals

essential

Returns the recipes planned for today, as Mealie computes "today" for the household. Answers with a bare list, not a paginated envelope. Takes no parameters.

create_mealplan_entry

essential

Puts a recipe or a free-text note on the meal plan for one day. Give either a recipe or a title, not both — Mealie stores a plan entry as one or the other.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
date	string	yes	Day of the meal, YYYY-MM-DD
entry_type	enum	yes	breakfast | lunch | dinner | side | snack | drink | dessert
recipe	string	no*	Recipe slug or UUID to plan
title	string	no*	Free-text entry, for a meal that is not a stored recipe
text	string	no	Additional note shown under the title

* exactly one of recipe or title must be given.

create_random_meal

Lets Mealie pick a recipe for a day and slot, honouring the meal plan rules configured in the household.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
date	string	yes	Day of the meal, YYYY-MM-DD
entry_type	enum	yes	breakfast | lunch | dinner | side | snack | drink | dessert

update_mealplan_entry 👤

Moves an entry to another day or slot, or replaces the recipe behind it. The current entry is read first and the changes merged onto it, because Mealie's route is a full-object PUT.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
entry_id	number	yes	Plan entry id from list_mealplans — an integer, not a UUID
date	string	no	New day, YYYY-MM-DD
entry_type	enum	no	New slot
recipe	string	no	Recipe slug or UUID
title	string	no	New title
text	string	no	New note

delete_mealplan_entry 👤

Removes one entry from the meal plan. The recipe itself is not touched. Asks a person first.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
entry_id	number	yes	Plan entry id from list_mealplans — an integer, not a UUID
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

Shopping

list_shopping_lists

essential

Lists the shopping lists of the household, without their items.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 50, max 100

get_shopping_list

Fetches one shopping list with all of its items, checked and unchecked.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID, from list_shopping_lists
include_checked	boolean	no	Include items already ticked off, default true

create_shopping_list

Creates an empty shopping list in the household.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	Name of the new list

delete_shopping_list 👤

Deletes a shopping list and everything on it. Asks a person first.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID, from list_shopping_lists
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

add_shopping_list_items

Adds items to a shopping list as free text ("2 tbsp olive oil"). Mealie does not split these into food and unit automatically — run parse_ingredients first if that matters.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID, from list_shopping_lists
items	string[]	yes	The lines to add, one item each (1–100)

update_shopping_list_items 👤

Changes items on a shopping list — most often ticking them off. Only the given fields are changed; the rest of each item is preserved (the server reads the list first, because Mealie's bulk update replaces every field it does not receive). At least one of checked, quantity or note must be given.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID
item_ids	string[] (UUIDs)	yes	Item UUIDs from get_shopping_list (1–100)
checked	boolean	no	Tick the items off (true) or put them back (false)
quantity	number	no	Set the quantity of every listed item
note	string	no	Replace the text of every listed item

delete_shopping_list_items 👤

Removes items from a shopping list for good. To merely tick something off, use update_shopping_list_items with checked=true. Asks a person first. The approval is bound to a fingerprint of the whole sorted id set, so one for three items cannot delete a fourth appended between the two calls.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
item_ids	string[] (UUIDs)	yes	Item UUIDs from get_shopping_list (1–100)
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

add_recipe_to_shopping_list

essential

Adds a recipe's ingredients to a shopping list, merging them with what is already there. Mealie remembers the recipe on the list, so remove_recipe_from_shopping_list can take exactly these ingredients back off again.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
servings_multiplier	number	no	Scale the ingredient quantities, default 1

remove_recipe_from_shopping_list

Takes a recipe's ingredients back off a shopping list. Items that were also needed by another recipe on the list stay, with their quantity reduced.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
list_id	string (UUID)	yes	Shopping list UUID
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
servings_multiplier	number	no	How much of the recipe to remove, default 1

Cookbooks

list_cookbooks

Lists the cookbooks of the household. A cookbook is a saved filter over the recipe collection, not a fixed set of recipes.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 50, max 100

get_cookbook

Fetches a cookbook and the recipes it currently matches. Accepts the slug or the UUID.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
cookbook	string	yes	Cookbook slug or UUID, from list_cookbooks
per_page	number	no	Recipes to return, default 50, max 100

create_cookbook 👤

Creates a cookbook — a named, saved view of the recipe collection. Without a filter it matches every recipe; the filter itself is written in Mealie's own query language and is easiest to build in the web UI.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	Name of the cookbook
description	string	no	Description
query_filter	string	no	Mealie query filter, e.g. tags.name IN ["Dessert"]. Passed through verbatim; an invalid expression is rejected by Mealie with a 422
is_public	boolean	no	Make the cookbook readable without a login, default false

delete_cookbook 👤

Deletes a cookbook. The recipes it matched are not touched — a cookbook is only a saved filter. Asks a person first.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
cookbook_id	string (UUID)	yes	Cookbook UUID, from list_cookbooks
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

Notes & sharing

set_recipe_rating

Sets the personal rating of a recipe and/or marks it as a favourite. Ratings in Mealie are per user, not per recipe. At least one of rating or is_favorite must be given.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
rating	number	no	Stars from 0 to 5; 0 clears the rating
is_favorite	boolean	no	Mark or unmark as a favourite

add_recipe_comment

Adds a comment to a recipe. Comments are visible to everyone in the group and are attributed to the user the API token belongs to.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
text	string	yes	The comment text

delete_recipe_comment 👤

Deletes a comment. Asks a person first.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
comment_id	string (UUID)	yes	Comment UUID, from list_recipe_comments
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

list_recipe_comments

Lists the comments other users of the instance left on a recipe.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID

list_recipe_timeline

Lists the timeline of a recipe: when it was created, updated and each time it was cooked, with the notes attached to those events.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
page	number	no	1-based page number, default 1
per_page	number	no	Entries to return, default 50, max 100

create_timeline_event

Adds an entry to a recipe's timeline — typically a note about having cooked it and how it turned out. Pair it with set_recipe_last_made, which is what the recipe view sorts on.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
subject	string	yes	Short headline, e.g. "Cooked it"
message	string	no	The note itself
timestamp	string	no	ISO 8601 date or date-time; defaults to now

list_share_tokens

Lists the public share links that currently exist, with the recipe each one exposes and when it expires. Anyone holding such a link can read the recipe without an account.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	no	Restrict the result to one recipe (slug or UUID)

create_share_token 👤

Creates a link that lets anyone read one recipe without logging in. Requires a confirmation token: call once to receive one, call again with it — guarded like a destructive operation even though it destroys nothing, because it is the one tool that widens who can see the data.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
recipe	string	yes	Recipe slug or UUID
expires_at	string	no	ISO 8601 date or date-time when the link stops working. Omitted, it never expires — prefer setting a date
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

delete_share_token 👤

Revokes a share link, so the recipe is no longer readable through it. Asks a person first.

It used to say it needed no confirmation, on the grounds that revoking narrows access rather than widening it. The direction is the safe one; what is not is that the link cannot be reissued — a new share token is a different URL, so whoever was sent the old one finds a dead link, and this server cannot tell whom that was.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
token_id	string (UUID)	yes	Share token UUID, from list_share_tokens
confirm_token	string	no	Only on the fallback path, where the client cannot show a dialog

Instance

get_about

Reports the Mealie version and the identity the API token acts as: user, group, household and the permission flags that decide which write tools will actually succeed. Start here when a call fails with a 403. Takes no parameters.