chowapi-mcp

MCP server for ChowAPI — search 784K+ foods and get nutrition data directly from Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any MCP client.

34 nutrients per food, barcode lookup, allergen data, and 600+ restaurant chains.

Pricing

This MCP server is free to install. It connects to the ChowAPI REST API, which requires an API key. Credit packs start at $5 for 5,000 calls and never expire. Sign up here to get your key.

Setup

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chowapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "chowapi-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHOWAPI_API_KEY": "chow_live_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add chowapi -- env CHOWAPI_API_KEY=chow_live_YOUR_KEY npx -y chowapi-mcp

Get an API key at chowapi.dev/signup. Credit packs start at $5 for 5K calls.

Tools

search_foods

Search foods by name with fuzzy/typo-tolerant matching. Returns nutrition facts per serving and per 100g.

• query (string): Food name (e.g. "chicken breast", "quaker oatmeal")
• limit (number, 1-20, default 5): Number of results

lookup_barcode

Look up a food by UPC/EAN barcode. Returns full nutrition facts.

• barcode (string): 8-14 digit barcode

get_food

Get a food by its ChowAPI ID. Returns full nutrition data.

• id (string): Food UUID
• detailed (boolean): If true, includes per-nutrient confidence, units, RDI, %RDI

Environment Variables

• CHOWAPI_API_KEY — Your API key (required). Get one at chowapi.dev/signup.
• CHOWAPI_BASE_URL — Custom API URL (default: https://api.chowapi.dev)

Documentation

Full API docs at chowapi.dev/docs.