mcp_howtocook_getAllRecipes
Returns every recipe in the collection.
LABSCO SUMMARY
It produces the shopping list as part of the plan, which is the half people usually do by hand.
mcp_howtocook_recommendMeals takes headcount, allergies and the things you will not eat, and returns both the week's plan and the list you shop from. The rest of the surface answers the follow-up question: pick a category, then pull the full ingredients and steps for the dish you settled on.
What it is
A local server over the HowToCook recipe collection, five tools: list every recipe, filter by one of ten categories, fetch one recipe in full, get a dish combination for a headcount, and build a week's meal plan with a shopping list.
What you get
- Browse the whole recipe set (mcp_howtocook_getAllRecipes), or filter to one of ten categories — seafood, breakfast, seasonings, desserts, drinks, meat dishes, prepared foods, soups, staples and vegetable dishes (mcp_howtocook_getRecipesByCategory).
- Fetch one recipe in full, ingredients and steps, by name or ID (mcp_howtocook_getRecipeById).
- Get a dish combination sized to the number of people eating (mcp_howtocook_whatToEat).
- Build a week's meal plan and its shopping list, with allergens and disliked ingredients excluded (mcp_howtocook_recommendMeals).
Requirements
Node.js on the machine; no account and no key. MIT licensed. The collection is Chinese-language, category names included.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y howtocook-mcp
USE CASES
01
Planning a week of dinners for a household
Give the headcount and the exclusions once, and get the plan and shopping list together.
02
Deciding what to cook tonight
Get a combination that works for the number of people at the table, then read the recipe.
03
Cooking around an allergy
Exclude the ingredient at the planning stage rather than checking each recipe after.
04
Browsing when you only know the course
Narrow to soups, staples or desserts and read what is there.
5 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
mcp_howtocook_getRecipeById
Returns one recipe in full — ingredients and steps — by name or ID.
mcp_howtocook_getRecipesByCategory
Returns the recipes in one category: seafood, breakfast, seasonings, desserts, drinks, meat dishes, prepared foods, soups, staples or vegetable dishes.
mcp_howtocook_recommendMeals
Builds a week's meal plan and a rough shopping list from the number of people eating, their allergens and the ingredients they avoid.
mcp_howtocook_whatToEat
Recommends a combination of dishes for a given number of people.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
5 tools when we connected.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js 16.0.0+
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 5 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"howtocook-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"howtocook-mcp"
]
}
}
}npx
TERMINAL
npx -y howtocook-mcp
