Stop juggling recipes (websites, Pinterest, magazines), non-centralized grocery lists, and meal plans on paper. MealBrain is one place for everything, with an AI sous chef that actually knows your recipes, lists, plans, and dietary limitations. Helpful, never bossy.
I couldn't find what I needed in the App Store: a meal planning app with an AI sous chef that actually understood my preferences and could help me think through weekly meals.
Every app I tried either had no AI, or bolted on a generic chatbot that didn't know anything about my recipes, my dietary rules, or my family's preferences.
So I built MealBrain.
The core differentiator is an embedded AI assistant with full context about your household:
- Your recipes - ingredients, tags, ratings, notes
- Your meal plans - what's scheduled for the week
- Your grocery lists - what you need to buy
- Your dietary rules - allergies, preferences, restrictions
Ask it anything:
- "What can I make with the chicken in my fridge?"
- "Plan dinners for this week - we're busy Tuesday and Thursday"
- "Add ingredients for Tacos to my grocery list"
- "What's a quick breakfast I haven't made recently?"
The AI suggests but never surprises. All write operations (adding meals, modifying lists) require your approval first. You stay in control.
- Recipes - Create, import from URLs, import with camera pictures,tag, rate, and organize
- Meal Planner - Calendar-style week view, drag meals around
- Grocery Lists - Auto-categorized by aisle (leverage Claude for undefined mappings), tracks which recipe needs what
- Mobile-First - Cloud deployed, PWA installable on any device, optimized for one-handed use
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js 14, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS |
| Database | Supabase (PostgreSQL + Row Level Security) |
| Auth | Supabase Auth (magic link + password) |
| AI | Anthropic Claude API (Haiku for categorization, Sonnet for chat) |
| Hosting | Vercel (frontend) + Supabase Cloud (database) |
- Node.js 18+
- Docker (for local Supabase)
- Anthropic API key
# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/jtloudon/meal-brain.git
cd meal-brain
npm install
# Copy environment template
cp .env.local.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your API keys
# Start local Supabase
npx supabase start
# Run migrations
npx supabase db reset
# Start dev server
npm run devCopy .env.local.example and fill in:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL |
Your Supabase project URL |
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY |
Supabase anonymous key |
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY |
Supabase service role key (server-side only) |
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
Your Claude API key from Anthropic Console |
The SQL migrations in supabase/migrations/ reflect iterative development - learning and evolving the schema through real-world usage rather than upfront design.
They tell the story of how the app evolved: starting simple, adding features, refactoring as patterns emerged. This is intentional.
For cloud deployment (Vercel + Supabase Cloud), see docs/cloud-setup-and-deployment.md.
Estimated cost: ~$2-5/month for a 2-person household
- Supabase: Free tier
- Vercel: Free tier
- Claude API: Pay-per-use (~$2-5/month typical usage)
Architecture and design decisions live in /docs:
- Architecture - System design and tech choices
- Data Models - Database schema
- AI Behavior Contract - How the AI operates
- Cloud Setup - Deployment guide
Issues and feature ideas welcome. PRs considered - please open an issue first to discuss.
Jesse Loudon - AI, Analytics & Business Insights
Spec-driven development — I defined behavior, constraints, and product decisions; implemented with Claude Code.
MIT - see LICENSE