Goodbook

Goodbook MCP Server lets you interact with a PDF containing food service standards. You can query cooking guidelines, safety information, recipe methods, and more through MCP clients, receiving structured, validated responses that support reliable AI-assisted workflows.

How to use

You connect to the Goodbook MCP Server with an MCP-compatible client. Start by launching the server in your environment, then issue queries to search for food standards, request cooking guidelines, or fetch safety and hygiene information. The server validates all inputs, handles errors gracefully, and returns structured results that your assistant can present to users.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Node.js 18 or newer installed on your system.

Steps to set up the server from scratch:

# 1) Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed
node -v
npm -v

# 2) Clone or download the project
git clone https://example.com/goodbook-mcp.git
cd goodbook-mcp

# 3) Install dependencies
npm install

# 4) Place your source PDF in the root directory
# Ensure the file is named exactly as required by the server
# e.g., menu.pdf

Final start command to run the server in normal mode:

npm start

Development mode with auto-reload on changes:

npm run dev

Notes and configuration

The server is designed to work exclusively with a PDF document named menu.pdf placed in the root directory. It provides several tools to search and retrieve standards, guidelines, and safety information. You can configure clients to run local MCP commands or to connect via an MCP-compatible HTTP endpoint if a remote instance is provided in the future.

If you are using a desktop client for MCP, you can specify a local node command that points to the MCP entry file. Example configurations are shown for common clients.

# Claude Desktop configuration example
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "goodbook": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["c:/указываем-полный-путь-к-файлу/mcp/src/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

For other MCP clients, you can run the server with a local node command as well, for example:

node src/index.js

Security and troubleshooting

The server includes input validation, robust error handling, and detailed error messages to help you diagnose issues quickly. Common problems include missing PDF file, invalid search queries, or tool execution errors. Ensure the required menu.pdf is present and that your queries are well-formed.

Available tools

search_food_standards

Search for specific food preparation standards, recipes, or cooking guidelines

get_cooking_guidelines

Retrieve cooking guidelines and standards for particular dishes or cooking methods

list_sections

List all sections available in the food service standards document

get_section_content

Fetch content from a specific section of the document

get_food_safety_info

Obtain food safety information and hygiene standards

find_recipe_standards

Find standardized recipes and preparation methods for specific dishes