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MCP Ingredient Converter in Claude Desktop

Convert cups, tablespoons and grams per ingredient, with a real density table and friendly fractions. convert_ingredient turns an amount of a named ingredient between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, milliliters, fluid ounces, grams and ounces using a per-ingredient density table; scale_recipe doubles or halves a list of recipe lines into friendly fractions; convert_bulk converts many amounts at once and reports unknown ingredients per item; decimal_to_fraction and fraction_to_decimal handle the 1 1/2 cup style; common_conversions lists the most-googled conversions; list_ingredients dumps the table with sources.

Halfway through a recipe you hit “1 cup of honey” and a scale; here the grams come back in one line with the density assumption visible, so swapping ingredients means editing one word.

What you get in Claude Desktop

You say	Tool
How many grams is 1 cup of all-purpose flour?	`convert_ingredient`
Double this recipe: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 100 g butter.	`scale_recipe`
Convert 250 g butter and 120 ml honey to cups.	`convert_bulk`

The contract suite walks a real stdio case through the density table: 1 cup of all-purpose flour comes back as 125 grams with cups, tablespoons and ounces alongside, unknown ingredients are refused with a reason, and nothing hangs.

Install it in Claude Desktop

The file is claude_desktop_config.json, and the key inside it is mcpServers.

Scope	Path
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`

One click, with no JSON. Download ingredient-convert.mcpb from the bundle catalog and open it. Claude Desktop installs it as an extension and runs it on the Node runtime it ships with, so neither your PATH nor your node version comes into it, and there is no file to edit. Everything below is the manual route, for when you want the entry in the config file itself.

The config block, which needs both strings absolute:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ingredient-convert": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/ingredient-convert/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

If node came from nvm, asdf or homebrew, use the absolute path that which node prints rather than the bare word, because a stdio server started by this app inherits a limited PATH:

"command": "/Users/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.14.0/bin/node"

The node command above wants a built file. From a clone, once:

git clone https://github.com/theluckystrike/mcp-servers.git
cd mcp-servers && npm install
npm run build -w packages/mcp-license -w servers/ingredient-convert

That writes servers/ingredient-convert/dist/index.js, and its absolute path is the one argument the config needs.

The npm packages are not published yet, so the form below returns a 404 today. It is here because it is what the entry becomes the day the publish lands, with nothing else changed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ingredient-convert": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-ingredient-convert"]
    }
  }
}

Save, then completely quit Claude Desktop and start it again. A window reload is not enough.

Nothing is published to npm yet, so the working install paths are the ones above: the .mcpb bundle from the bundle catalog, a clone and build, or the hosted URL.

No install: the hosted endpoint

The same server runs at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/ingredient-convert over MCP streamable HTTP, no install. Mint a free token with curl https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/token, or use a Pro key. It has no filesystem, so a file comes back as a one-hour download link.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ingredient-convert": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/ingredient-convert",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop notes worth knowing first

Two documented facts decide whether the entry works: every path in claude_desktop_config.json must be absolute, and a stdio server started here inherits only a limited, platform-dependent subset of environment variables. If node came from nvm or homebrew, paste what `which node` prints instead of the bare word. The .mcpb route avoids both: Claude Desktop ships a built-in Node.js environment.

Free: Everything: seven tools, the full density table, no metering, no key. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Where is claude_desktop_config.json?

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. There is no published Linux path. Settings, Developer, Edit Config opens the right copy and creates it if it does not exist.

I added it and MCP Ingredient Converter does not appear.

In order: did you fully quit and restart, not just close the window? Is every path absolute? And is the command resolvable, given the limited environment a stdio server inherits here? If node came from nvm, paste what which node prints.

Can I install it without editing JSON?

Yes. An .mcpb bundle, the format renamed from .dxt, opens with Claude and shows an installation dialog. One you built yourself goes in through Settings, Extensions, Advanced settings, Install Extension.

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