Getting Started
TheMealDB API is designed to be simple to test in a browser while still supporting production use with a supporter key. The free tier is ideal for development and educational use, while premium access expands the API with the beta V2 endpoints and additional limits.
Free access
The site and API remain free at point of access for testing and personal projects.
Developer key
Use API key 1 while developing or learning the API.
Supporter access
Premium users receive the beta V2 API, multi-ingredient filters, larger limits, and upload features.
Need premium help?
Email: thedatadb (at) gmail.com
AI Agents & OpenAPI
These public, machine-readable resources help people, AI agents, Swagger, and code generators understand and integrate TheMealDB. The OpenAPI files contain placeholders only and do not expose API keys; supply your own key when making requests.
/AGENTS.md
AI Skill
Reusable instructions for finding, checking, and presenting meal data accurately.
/SKILL.md
OpenAPI V1
Swagger-compatible specification for the stable V1 JSON endpoints.
/api/spec/openapi-v1.yaml
OpenAPI V2
Swagger-compatible specification for the V2 JSON endpoints and discovery methods.
/api/spec/openapi-v2.yaml
Authentication
V1 uses the API key directly in the URL path, which makes it easy to test in a browser. V2 uses the same format just with an updated v2 base URL. For premium access, replace the test key with your supporter key.
https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v2//1//YOUR_API_KEY/V1 API Reference
These are the core meal endpoints available in V1. The examples below use the free test key
1.
Search endpoints
Search meal by name
Search meals by their full name.
List meals by first letter
Return meals whose names begin with the given letter.
Lookup endpoints
Lookup full meal details by ID
Lookup the full recipe payload for a meal.
List and filter endpoints
List all Categories, Areas, Ingredients
Get browseable lists for categories, areas, and ingredients.
Filter by main ingredient
Filter meals that include a single ingredient.
Filter by multiple ingredients
Multi-ingredient filtering is available on the beta V2 API for supporters.
£10 lifetime upgradeFilter by area
Browse meals by Country or Region.
Images
TheMealDB includes meal and ingredient artwork. Meal images support preview variants, and ingredient artwork uses the ingredient name in the filename.
Meal thumbnail images
Add /small, /medium, or /large to the meal image URL.
Ingredient thumbnail images
Add /small, /medium, or /large to the ingredient image URL.
