PantryPilot: an Alexa+ MCP server that fights food waste

Track: Alexa+ (self-hosted MCP server, Streamable HTTP) | Mini challenge: AWS Builder (Amazon Bedrock)

"Alexa, add six eggs that expire in ten days."
"What's expiring soon?"
"What can I cook tonight?"
"Plan my dinners for the week."

PantryPilot gives Alexa+ a persistent household pantry plus Bedrock-powered recipes that use the soonest-expiring food first — reducing food waste one voice command at a time.

Tools (all voice-first: short, speakable, no markdown)

Related MCP server: mealplan-mcp

Quick start (local)

# 1. Clone and set up
git clone https://github.com/abhisuman2001/pantrypilot-alexa-mcp.git
cd pantrypilot-alexa-mcp

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate          # Windows
# source .venv/bin/activate     # macOS / Linux

pip install -r requirements.txt

# 2. Configure AWS credentials (needed for Bedrock)
cp .env.example .env            # then fill in your values
# AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
# AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
# AWS_REGION=us-east-1
# BEDROCK_MODEL_ID=amazon.nova-micro-v1:0   (enable in Bedrock console first)
# MCP_API_KEY=                              # optional: leave blank for local dev

# 3. Run
.venv\Scripts\python server.py    # http://localhost:8000/mcp

The server starts with CORS enabled so the web simulator works out of the box.

Web Simulator (demo asset)

Open simulator/index.html in a browser while the server is running:

file:///path/to/pantry-pilot/simulator/index.html

Features:

• Alexa-style voice chat UI (dark mode, animated ring)

• One-click quick actions for all 9 tools

• Forms for Add Item / Use Item / Add to Shopping List

• 🎤 Web Speech API voice input (Chrome/Edge)

• Natural language parsing: "add 6 eggs expire 10 days", "what can I cook?", etc.

• Settings panel: configure server URL + API key

MCP Inspector

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
# Connect with Streamable HTTP → http://localhost:8000/mcp

Run tests

.venv\Scripts\pytest tests/ -v
# 64 passed

Environment variables

Deploy (Docker → AWS App Runner)

# One-command deploy (builds, pushes to ECR, creates App Runner service):
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
.\deploy.ps1

Live deployment:

• Service URL: https://kykh233phz.us-east-1.awsapprunner.com

• MCP endpoint: https://kykh233phz.us-east-1.awsapprunner.com/mcp

• ECR image: 448049796441.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pantrypilot:latest

Alexa+ Registration

TODO(verify): registration steps pending — see track Resources page.
The MCP endpoint to register is: https://<your-domain>/mcp

Submission checklist

• All 9 tools callable via MCP Inspector and web simulator

• pytest passes (64 tests)

• Bedrock called in suggest_recipe and weekly_meal_plan (with offline fallback)

• Bearer-token auth (MCP_API_KEY), input validation, no stack traces exposed

• Deployed over HTTPS — https://kykh233phz.us-east-1.awsapprunner.com/mcp

• Demo video recorded (≤ 3 min, voice demo first) — record and link here

• Devpost description written — see SUBMISSION.md

• Friction log completed (+10% bonus) — see FRICTION_LOG.md (7 items, severity + workaround + suggestion each)