Better Mealie MCP

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Create Foods

create_foods

Add a new food to Mealie with its name, aliases, description, substitutions, and label. Define household ingredient associations to keep your food database organized and reusable across recipes.

Instructions

Create One

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`id`	No
`name`	Yes
`extras`	No
`aliases`	No
`labelId`	No
`pluralName`	No
`description`	No
`substitutions`	No
`accept-language`	No
`householdsWithIngredientFood`	No

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
No arguments

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedv3.26.0Sep 15, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / substitutions

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "properties": {
+      "note": {
+        "anyOf": [
+          {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "null"
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "substituteFoodId": {
+        "anyOf": [
+          {
+            "format": "uuid",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "null"
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    },
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

First observedv3.20.1Jul 10, 2026

TDQS

D1.5/5.0

Behavior1/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

No annotations are present, so the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure. 'Create One' says nothing about side effects, whether an id is generated, how extras or substitutions are handled, or what permissions are needed. This is completely inadequate for a creation endpoint.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness2/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Being two words is under-specification rather than conciseness. The description front-loads nothing useful and does not earn its place because it only restates the name/title.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness1/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Despite having a complex 10-parameter input schema and an output schema, the description provides no context about what creating a food entails, what is required, or what the response contains. The tool is effectively undocumented.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters1/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 0%, so the description must compensate for 10 parameters, but it adds no meaning at all. The agent gets no explanation of required 'name' or the purpose of optional fields like id, labelId, pluralName, or substitutions.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose2/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description 'Create One' provides a verb and quantity but does not state what is being created; the agent must infer 'food' from the tool name/title. It also fails to distinguish this from other create tools, such as create_households_invitations or create_groups_seeders_foods.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines2/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

There is no guidance on when to use create_foods versus related food operations like list_foods, update_foods_by_item, delete_foods_by_item, or update_foods_merge. No context, exclusions, or alternative recommendations are provided.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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