FoodBlock

You can use the FoodBlock MCP Server to store, verify, and federate food data across actors, places, and actions. It provides a content-addressable data model with provenance, tamper evidence, and offline capabilities so you can share trustworthy information across the food ecosystem.

How to use

Connect your MCP client to a FoodBlock server to read, create, and update blocks, follow provenance chains, and participate in federation with other servers. Use the standard block types to model actors, products, transfers, inspections, and reviews, then rely on cryptographic signatures for authenticity and Merkle-like proofs for selective disclosure when needed.

How to install

Prerequisites: install Node.js (version 14+ recommended). You may also want npm for package management.

Step by step, your flow looks like this.

# 1) Clone the repository that contains the FoodBlock MCP server and the sandbox for local testing
git clone https://example.com/foodxdevelopment/foodblock.git
cd foodblock

# 2) Use the sandbox for a zero-setup test server
cd sandbox
node server.js

Notes on usage

• The sandbox ships with a complete bakery-like dataset and vocabularies you can reference when experimenting with blocks, templates, and federation.
• The MCP HTTP API is reachable at the local server in the sandbox examples. Use the provided endpoints to create blocks, fetch chains, or discover federated servers.

Troubleshooting and tips

• If the server won’t start, verify Node.js is installed and that you are in the correct directory when launching the sandbox server. Check that port 3111 is not in use by another process.

Available tools

create

Create a new FoodBlock with a specific type, initial state, and references to other blocks.

update

Create an updated version of a block, preserving history and linking to the original.

hash

Compute the deterministic SHA-256 hash for a block's canonical JSON representation.

chain

Follow the update chain backwards to reveal provenance history.

tree

Build the full provenance tree by resolving all refs recursively.

head

Identify the latest version in an update chain.

sign

Sign a block with an author key using Ed25519 for authenticity.

verify

Verify a signed block wrapper with the corresponding public key.

generateKeypair

Create a new Ed25519 key pair for signing blocks.

tombstone

Create a tombstone to erase content while preserving graph structure.

offlineQueue

Enable offline block creation with batch synchronization to a server.

registry

Alias-based human readable references for block lookup during creation.

parse

Parse a single line of FoodBlock Notation into structured data.

parseAll

Parse multiple lines of FoodBlock Notation into blocks.

explain

Generate a human-readable narrative from a block’s provenance.

toURI

Convert a block to a compact fb: URI for sharing.

fromURI

Parse an fb: URI back into block references.

createTemplate

Create a reusable workflow pattern as an observe.template block.

fromTemplate

Instantiate a template into real blocks with overrides.

discover

Fetch a server’s discovery document for federation.

federatedResolver

Resolve blocks across multiple servers in priority order.

createVocabulary

Define a vocabulary block for canonical field names and aliases.

mapFields

Extract field values from natural language text using a vocabulary.

VOCABULARIES

Built-in vocabularies for domains like bakery, farm, and restaurant.

quantity

Create validated quantity objects for weight, volume, or temperature.

transition

Validate workflow state transitions against a vocabulary map.

nextStatuses

Get valid next statuses for a given workflow state.

localize

Resolve locale-specific text from multilingual state fields.

forward

Find references to a given block hash grouped by role.

recall

Trace downstream references to explore contamination paths or lineage.

downstream

Identify all downstream substance blocks that use a given ingredient.

merkleize

Build a Merkle tree from a state for selective disclosure.

selectiveDisclose

Reveal specific fields with a Merkle proof.

verifyProof

Verify a selective disclosure proof against a Merkle root.

merge

Resolve forks between update chains by creating a merge block.

attest

Create an attestation block validating a claim with confidence levels.

dispute

Create a dispute block challenging a claim.

trustScore

Compute a net trust score from attestations and disputes.

createSnapshot

Summarize blocks into a snapshot with a Merkle root for archival verification.