How do I use What's for Dinner? MCP Server?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@What's for Dinner? MCP Server pick a random Italian dinner for me" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

What's for Dinner? MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the ChatGPT App Store that helps you decide what to eat! This server provides an interactive widget for choosing dinner either randomly from the app's database or from a custom list provided by the model.

Features

🎲 Random Dinner Picker: Randomly selects from the app's database of 100+ dinner options with optional cuisine filtering
📝 Custom Options Selector: Accepts a custom list of dinner options from the model and randomly selects one
🎨 Interactive UI Widget: Engaging spinning wheel animation to make the decision fun

Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
npm or yarn

Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/a2345sooted/whats-for-dinner.git cd whats-for-dinner

Install dependencies:

npm install

Copy the environment example file and configure:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your settings:
Build and start the server:

npm start

The server will be running at http://localhost:8787/mcp

Testing with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector is a great tool for testing your server locally:

npm run inspect

This opens a web interface where you can test tool calls and see responses.

Deployment

Using ngrok (Development/Testing)

Install ngrok: https://ngrok.com/download
Start your server locally
Expose it with ngrok:

ngrok http 8787

Update APP_URL in .env with the ngrok URL
Restart the server

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Follow the existing code style
Add tests for new features (when test suite is added)
Update documentation as needed
Keep commits atomic and well-described

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with the Model Context Protocol SDK
Inspired by the everyday struggle of "what's for dinner?"
Special thanks to Junie, Claude, and ChatGPT for their help building this project

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

Open an issue on GitHub at a2345sooted/whats-for-dinner
Check existing issues for solutions
Join the MCP community discussions

Roadmap

I don't have a formal roadmap yet. The plan is to first see how people like the project, gather feedback, and let those insights guide the future direction.

Made with ❤️ for indecisive dinner planners everywhere