Pantrist MCP

Pantrist MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server that wraps the Pantrist REST API, so an LLM client (Claude Desktop, the Claude web/mobile connector, Cursor, …) can manage shopping lists, the pantry, recipes and the week plan in natural language.

It's a thin wrapper — no business logic. Every tool maps to an existing REST endpoint and forwards the caller's Bearer token. The HTTP client is generated from the public OpenAPI spec (src/generated/pantrist-api.ts), so request/response types track the API automatically; only the curated tool layer (src/tools.ts) is hand-written.

Documentation

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md — components, the token context, request flow, transports, regeneration.
• docs/AUTHENTICATION.md — OAuth flow, token-type ↔ tool compatibility, multi-user isolation, the consent-page dependency.
• docs/DEPLOYMENT.md — full env var reference, remote/ingress setup, scaling, security checklist.
• docs/TOOLS.md — every tool's args, REST mapping, and the item shape.
• docs/LIMITATIONS.md — known rough edges (read before relying on it in production).

Two transports

Connecting Claude to the hosted server

If you just want to use Pantrist with Claude (not self-host), the public endpoint is https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp. Pick whichever Claude surface you're on; in every case the first tool call walks you through an OAuth login to your Pantrist account, no token to copy by hand.

Claude.ai (web or desktop app)

1. claude.ai → profile menu → Settings → Connectors
2. Click Add custom connector
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Pantrist
   • URL: https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp
4. Save → click Connect. A popup opens the Pantrist consent page.
5. Sign in → authorize → the popup closes.
6. Start a new chat — the Pantrist tools (shopping list, pantry, week plan, recipes) show up in the tool selector. Try "What's on my shopping list?"

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add pantrist --transport http https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp

In the session, run /mcp to confirm it's listed. The first tool call triggers the OAuth flow in your browser.

Claude Desktop (manual config)

For Claude Desktop versions that support remote MCP, in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or the equivalent on Windows/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pantrist": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. First tool use kicks off OAuth.

Sanity-checks if it doesn't work

# 200 OK + {"status":"ok"}
curl -fsS https://mcp.pantrist.app/healthz

# 401 + a WWW-Authenticate header pointing at /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
curl -i -X POST https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{}'

# JSON listing api.pantrist.app as the authorization server
curl -fsS https://mcp.pantrist.app/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource

If all three succeed but the connector flow still fails, the API's OAUTH_AUTHORIZE_URL probably isn't set to a browser-facing consent page — see the warning in the OAuth dependency note.

Quick start (stdio — fastest path)

You can validate the whole tool set in a couple of minutes without touching OAuth, using an API key you generate in the Pantrist web app.

git clone https://github.com/NLueg/pantrist-mcp.git
cd pantrist-mcp
npm install
npm run build

# Generate an API key at
# https://www.pantrist.com/documentation/api-docs — it never expires,
# which is what you want for a server that stays running.
export PANTRIST_BASE_URL=https://api.pantrist.app
export PANTRIST_TOKEN=<uuid>_<secret>
export PANTRIST_LIST_ID=<a-list-uuid>   # optional; or call list_lists

npm run dev:stdio   # or: node dist/stdio.js

Claude Desktop config

claude_desktop_config.json (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pantrist": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/ABSOLUTE/PATH/pantrist-mcp/dist/stdio.js"],
      "env": {
        "PANTRIST_BASE_URL": "https://api.pantrist.app",
        "PANTRIST_TOKEN": "<uuid>_<secret>",
        "PANTRIST_LIST_ID": "<list-uuid>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop, then try: "What's on my shopping list?" or "Add milk and eggs."

Remote (Streamable HTTP + OAuth)

export PANTRIST_BASE_URL=https://api.pantrist.app
export MCP_PUBLIC_URL=https://mcp.pantrist.app   # public URL of THIS server
export MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS=mcp.pantrist.app        # optional DNS-rebinding guard
export PORT=8787
npm run dev:http   # or: node dist/http.js

Then add it in Claude as a Custom Connector with URL https://mcp.pantrist.app/mcp. The server also exposes GET /healthz for probes. Full env reference, ingress, and scaling notes are in docs/DEPLOYMENT.md.

How the OAuth handshake flows

Claude ──POST /mcp (no token)──▶ MCP server
        ◀── 401 + WWW-Authenticate: resource_metadata=".../oauth-protected-resource"
Claude ──GET  /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource ──▶ MCP server
        ◀── { authorization_servers: ["https://api.pantrist.app"] }
Claude ──GET  /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server ─▶ pantrist-api   (RFC 8414)
Claude ──POST /access-token/register ─────────────────▶ pantrist-api   (RFC 7591 DCR)
Claude ──(browser) authorization_endpoint ────────────▶ consent page   (see below)
Claude ──POST /access-token/token (code + PKCE) ──────▶ pantrist-api   → access_token
Claude ──POST /mcp (Bearer access_token) ─────────────▶ MCP server ──▶ REST API

The MCP server is the Resource Server; the Authorization Server is the Pantrist API. The token Claude receives is the API Bearer, so this server just forwards it.

⚠️ Dependency — the consent page. The API's authorization_endpoint must be a browser-navigable login/consent page (the API's /access-token/authorize is a guarded JSON endpoint and can't be navigated to directly). Host one on the app (e.g. https://pantrist.app/oauth/authorize) and set the API's OAUTH_AUTHORIZE_URL env to point at it. Until that page exists, use the stdio path above with a manually-supplied token.

Tools

Most tools accept an optional listId; if omitted they use PANTRIST_LIST_ID in stdio mode only (HTTP mode requires it explicitly — see multi-user isolation). Full argument and item-shape details are in docs/TOOLS.md.

All of these are public API endpoints (present in /swagger-ui-json), so this wrapper needs only the published spec — never the private API source. That keeps the door open to open-sourcing this directory as its own repo.

Tests

npm test     # Node's built-in test runner (via tsx) — wiring + multi-user gating

Regenerating the API client

Two steps, run when the API contract changes:

# 1. In the pantrist-api repo: emit the public OpenAPI spec
#    (Nest preview mode — no DB). Writes the snapshot directly into
#    ../pantrist-mcp/openapi/pantrist-openapi.json.
cd ../pantrist-api && pnpm generate:openapi

# 2. Back here: regenerate the typed client from that spec.
cd ../pantrist-mcp && npm run generate:client

Both the spec snapshot (openapi/pantrist-openapi.json) and the generated client (src/generated/pantrist-api.ts) are committed so the project builds without network access. The tool layer in src/tools.ts is hand-authored and not regenerated.

Environment

See .env.example.