Recipe MCP Server - .NET 8 Implementation

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation in .NET 8 that provides access to recipe data from TheMealDB API. This server offers a complete set of cooking-focused tools, resources, and prompts for culinary exploration and meal planning.

Features

🔧 Tools

• search_recipes: Search for recipes by dish name with customizable result limits
• get_recipe_details: Retrieve detailed information about specific recipes by ID
• create_meal_plan: Generate organized meal plans from selected recipes
• search_by_first_letter: Find recipes starting with a specific letter
• get_random_recipe: Discover random recipes for inspiration
• test_filesystem: Verify filesystem operations and permissions
• get_system_info: Display system and environment information

📚 Resources

• recipes://cuisines: Browse all available recipe collections
• recipes://meal-plans: Access saved meal plans
• recipes://stats: View comprehensive recipe statistics
• recipes://{cuisine}: Explore specific cuisine collections

💡 Prompts

• generate_recipe_search_prompt: Create cuisine exploration prompts
• generate_meal_planning_prompt: Generate comprehensive meal planning guides
• generate_cooking_lesson_prompt: Design structured cooking lessons
• generate_ingredient_exploration_prompt: Create ingredient-focused analysis prompts
• generate_cultural_cuisine_prompt: Generate cultural cuisine exploration prompts

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK or later
• Internet connection for TheMealDB API access

Installation & Setup

1. Clone or Download

# If cloning from a repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd mcp-recipe-final

# Or download and extract the source files

2. Restore Dependencies

dotnet restore

3. Build the Application

dotnet build

4. Configuration (Optional)

Edit appsettings.json to customize settings:

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information"
    }
  },
  "Server": {
    "Host": "0.0.0.0",
    "Port": 8000
  },
  "RecipeService": {
    "ApiBaseUrl": "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1",
    "RequestTimeoutSeconds": 10
  }
}

Usage

Command Line Options

dotnet run -- [options]

Options:
  --port <port>         Port to run the server on (default: 8000)
  --host <host>         Host to bind the server to (default: 0.0.0.0)
  --transport <method>  Transport method - stdio or http (default: stdio)
  --help               Show help information

Running the Server

📡 STDIO Mode (Local MCP Clients)

dotnet run -- --transport stdio

Default mode for VS Code and local MCP clients.

🌐 HTTP Mode (Web/Remote Clients)

dotnet run -- --transport http --port 8080 --host localhost

Enables HTTP API for remote access and web clients.

🚀 Render Cloud Deployment

1. Push code to GitHub
2. Connect repository to Render
3. Render auto-deploys using render.yaml and Dockerfile
4. Access at: https://your-app.onrender.com/mcp

🐳 Docker Deployment

docker build -t recipe-mcp-server .
docker run -p 8080:8080 recipe-mcp-server

HTTP Endpoints (when using --transport http)

• POST /mcp - Main MCP protocol endpoint
• GET /health - Health check
• GET / - Server information

Example Usage

Search for Recipes

# Search for Italian recipes
search_recipes("pasta", 5)

# Get specific recipe details
get_recipe_details("52771")

Create Meal Plans

create_meal_plan(["52771", "52772", "52773"], "Weekly Italian Menu")

Explore Resources

# View all available cuisines
recipes://cuisines

# Explore Italian recipes
recipes://italian

# Check meal plans
recipes://meal-plans

Project Structure

RecipeServer/
├── Models/
│   ├── 

... [View full README on GitHub](https://github.com/ajayindfw/mcp-recipe-server#readme)