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Update Recipes By Slug

update_recipes_by_slug

Updates an existing recipe using its slug and new data fields. Modify recipe details, ingredients, or metadata by targeting the slug to keep your Mealie recipe collection accurate.

Instructions

Updates a recipe by existing slug and data.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`id`	No
`name`	No
`slug`	No
`tags`	No
`image`	No
`notes`	No
`tools`	No
`assets`	No
`extras`	No
`orgURL`	No
`rating`	No
`userId`	No
`groupId`	No
`comments`	No
`cookTime`	No
`prepTime`	No
`settings`	No
`createdAt`	No
`dateAdded`	No
`nutrition`	No
`totalTime`	No
`update_at`	No
`slug__path`	Yes	(Path parameter)
`dateUpdated`	No
`description`	No
`householdId`	No
`performTime`	No
`recipeYield`	No
`recipeCategory`	No
`recipeServings`	No
`accept-language`	No
`prepTimeSeconds`	No
`recipeIngredient`	No
`totalTimeSeconds`	No
`performTimeSeconds`	No
`recipeInstructions`	No
`recipeYieldQuantity`	No

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedv3.30.0Nov 4, 2026

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeStep / properties / durationSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

Changed15 schema fields changedv3.29.0Oct 22, 2026

addedInput schema / $defs / IngredientFood-Input / properties / recipeCount
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "integer"
+}
```

removedInput schema / $defs / Recipe-Input / properties / lastMade

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "format": "date-time",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "null"
-    }
-  ]
-}

addedInput schema / $defs / Recipe-Input / properties / performTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / Recipe-Input / properties / prepTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / Recipe-Input / properties / totalTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeCategoryIn

Added value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "groupId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "id": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "name": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "recipeCount": {
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "slug": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "name"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeTagIn

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Lenient variant of RecipeTag accepted only on the recipe write path (JSON import/edit),\nwhere a client may omit id/slug and expect them to be resolved or generated server-side.\nNever used for responses -- RecipeTag itself stays strictly required there.\n\nDeliberately does not subclass RecipeTag: narrowing id/slug from required to optional in a\nsubclass would be an unsound field override (mypy correctly rejects it), so this is built as\nan independent sibling with the same fields instead, matching how RecipeToolCreate/Save/Out\nare already kept as separate classes elsewhere in this module rather than narrowing each other.",
+  "properties": {
+    "groupId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "id": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "name": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "recipeCount": {
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "slug": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "name"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeToolIn

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Lenient variant of RecipeTool accepted only on the recipe write path. See RecipeTagIn.",
+  "properties": {
+    "groupId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "householdsWithTool": {
+      "items": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "id": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "name": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "recipeCount": {
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "slug": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "name"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / lastMade

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "format": "date-time",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "null"
-    }
-  ]
-}

addedInput schema / properties / performTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

addedInput schema / properties / prepTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

changedInput schema / properties / recipeCategory / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "items": {
-      "$ref": "#/$defs/RecipeCategory"
-    },
-    "type": "array"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "items": {
+      "$ref": "#/$defs/RecipeCategoryIn"
+    },
+    "type": "array"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

changedInput schema / properties / tags / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "items": {
-      "$ref": "#/$defs/RecipeTag"
-    },
-    "type": "array"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "items": {
+      "$ref": "#/$defs/RecipeTagIn"
+    },
+    "type": "array"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

changedInput schema / properties / tools / items / $ref

Previous value: -"#/$defs/RecipeTool"New value: +"#/$defs/RecipeToolIn"

addedInput schema / properties / totalTimeSeconds

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maximum": 2147483647,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

Changed1 schema field changedv3.28.0Sep 27, 2026

changedInput schema / $defs / RecipeCommentOut-Input / required

Previous value: -[
-  "recipeId",
-  "text",
-  "id",
-  "createdAt",
-  "update_at",
-  "userId",
-  "user"
-]New value: +[
+  "id",
+  "recipeId",
+  "text",
+  "createdAt",
+  "update_at",
+  "userId",
+  "user"
+]

Changed10 schema fields changedv3.26.0Sep 15, 2026

addedInput schema / $defs / CreateIngredientFood / properties / substitutions

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "$ref": "#/$defs/CreateIngredientFoodSubstitution"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / CreateIngredientFoodSubstitution

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

addedInput schema / $defs / IngredientFood-Input / properties / substitutions

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "$ref": "#/$defs/IngredientFoodSubstitution"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / IngredientFoodSubstitution

Added value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "note": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "substituteFood": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "$ref": "#/$defs/IngredientFoodSummary"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "substituteFoodId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / IngredientFoodSummary

Added value: +{
+  "description": "A trimmed projection of a food, with nothing on it that can recurse.\n\nSubstitutions reference this rather than the full IngredientFood, which would make\nPydantic walk food -> substitutions -> food forever and generate an equally circular\nTypeScript type.",
+  "properties": {
+    "id": {
+      "format": "uuid",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "name": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "pluralName": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "id",
+    "name"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / NoteReference

Added value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "referenceId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeIngredient-Input / properties / substitutions

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "$ref": "#/$defs/RecipeIngredientSubstitution"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeIngredientSubstitution

Added value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "note": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "substituteFood": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "$ref": "#/$defs/IngredientFoodSummary"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "substituteFoodId": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "format": "uuid",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeNote / properties / referenceId
```
Added value: +{
+  "format": "uuid",
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeStep / properties / noteReferences

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "$ref": "#/$defs/NoteReference"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

Changed3 schema fields changedv3.25.1Sep 8, 2026
- addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeCategory / properties / recipeCount
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "integer"
+}
```
- addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeTag / properties / recipeCount
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "integer"
+}
```
- addedInput schema / $defs / RecipeTool / properties / recipeCount
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "integer"
+}
```
First observedv3.20.1Jul 10, 2026

TDQS

C2.4/5.0

Behavior2/5

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

No annotations are supplied, so the description carries the full burden, and it discloses almost nothing: not whether this is a full replacement (nulling omitted fields) or a merge, not whether the slug can change, not permission or ownership requirements, not reversibility. Only the implication that the target recipe must already exist is conveyed.

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

Conciseness3/5

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

A single front-loaded sentence with no filler, but its brevity reflects under-specification rather than discipline. There is no wasted wording, yet nothing is structured to guide an agent through a 37-parameter mutation.

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?

For a mutation tool with 37 parameters, deeply nested input models, no annotations, and no output schema, one sentence is grossly inadequate. An agent has no basis to construct a valid body or predict the effect of the call.

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 3% across 37 parameters, so the description must compensate and it adds nothing — no explanation of the slug vs slug__path duplication, the lenient RecipeTagIn/RecipeToolIn write-path variants, required userId/groupId/householdId, or the accept-language header.

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

Purpose4/5

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

States a specific verb (Updates) and resource (a recipe) keyed by an existing slug, which separates it from update_recipes (id-based) and patch_recipes_by_slug. It stops short of stating replacement semantics, so an agent cannot tell how this differs behaviorally from the patch sibling.

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?

No when-to-use guidance and no mention of the obvious alternatives (patch_recipes_by_slug for partial edits, update_recipes for id-based edits). The word 'existing' weakly implies the recipe must already exist, but nothing is stated about prerequisites or when this is the wrong choice.

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

Deploy Server

Update Recipes By Slug

Instructions

Input Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

Other Tools