WeekPlan MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI assistants like Claude the ability to manage recipes and ingredients in your WeekPlan app via its REST API. See WeekPlan for the main app. See WeekPlan Watch for an Apple Watch companion app.

What It Does

Once connected, Claude can:

• List, add, and delete ingredients (name + unit)

• List, add, and delete recipes (name, ingredients with quantities, and step-by-step instructions)

• Automatically create missing ingredients when adding a recipe

Related MCP server: cookwith-mcp

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ — Download here

• A running WeekPlan API server (defaults to http://localhost:3000)

Installation

Option 1 — Clone and build (recommended for local development)

git clone <your-repo-url> weekplan-mcp-server
cd weekplan-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

The compiled server will be at dist/index.js.

Option 2 — Install globally from npm (once published)

npm install -g weekplan-mcp-server

This makes the weekplan-mcp-server command available system-wide.

Configuration

The server is configured via a single environment variable:

Adding to Claude Code

Run the following command to register the server with Claude Code:

claude mcp add weekplan-mcp-server -e WEEKPLAN_URL=http://localhost:3000 -- node /absolute/path/to/weekplan-mcp-server/dist/index.js

Replace /absolute/path/to/weekplan-mcp-server with the actual path where you cloned the repo.

Or edit ~/.claude.json to add it to a specific project.

Or edit claude_desktop_config.json directly (see the Claude Desktop section below — the format is the same).

Adding to Claude Desktop

Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/'Application Support'/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the server under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "weekplan": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/weekplan-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WEEKPLAN_URL": "http://localhost:3000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the file.

Adding to Cursor

Open Cursor settings and navigate to Features → MCP Servers, then add:

{
  "weekplan": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/absolute/path/to/weekplan-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
    "env": {
      "WEEKPLAN_URL": "http://localhost:3000"
    }
  }
}

Adding to VS Code (Copilot / MCP extension)

In your .vscode/mcp.json or user settings:

{
  "servers": {
    "weekplan": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/weekplan-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WEEKPLAN_URL": "http://localhost:3000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Ingredients

Recipes

The ingredients array in weekplan_add_recipe accepts objects with:

• ingredientName — name of the ingredient (created automatically if missing)

• quantity — numeric amount

• unit — unit of measurement (e.g. "g", "ml", "tbsp")

IDs are generated automatically from names (e.g. "Olive Oil" → "olive-oil"), so add operations are idempotent — running them twice won't create duplicates.

Example Prompts

Once the server is connected, try asking Claude:

Add a recipe for spaghetti bolognese with ingredients and steps.

List all my ingredients.

Add 500g of chicken breast as an ingredient.

Delete the recipe for lasagne.

Development

# Run directly from TypeScript (no build step needed)
npm run dev

# Build to dist/
npm run build

# Run the compiled server
npm start

The server communicates over stdio, so it has no open ports and is safe to run as a subprocess managed by your AI client.

Project Structure

src/
├── index.ts          # Entry point — connects stdio transport
├── server.ts         # Registers all tools with the MCP server
├── api-client.ts     # HTTP client for the WeekPlan REST API
├── slugify.ts        # Converts names to stable IDs
└── tools/
    ├── ingredients.ts # Ingredient tool handlers
    └── recipes.ts     # Recipe tool handlers

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect to WeekPlan API" Make sure your WeekPlan server is running and WEEKPLAN_URL points to the correct address.

"command not found: node" Node.js is not installed or not on your PATH. Install it from nodejs.org.

Tools don't appear in Claude

• Confirm the path in your config points to dist/index.js (not src/index.ts)

• Make sure you ran npm run build after cloning

• Restart your AI client after changing the config

Build errors Run npm install first to ensure all dependencies are present, then npm run build.