shopping-list-sync

name	shopping-list-sync
description	Generate the final active shopping list by filtering out plain water and non-low staples from weekly ingredients, cleaning names, aggregating quantities, and merging with the active Mealie shopping list.

Shopping List Sync Skill

This skill takes the raw ingredient strings from dinner recipes, a list of household staples, manually identified low staples, and the current active shopping list, and generates the final structured shopping list ready for database import.

Inputs

• payload: A JSON object containing:
  • ingredients: A list of raw recipe ingredient strings (e.g. ["2 cloves garlic, minced", "1 lb chicken breast"]).
  • staples: A list of staple names already in the house (e.g. ["salt", "pepper"]).
  • inventory_items: A list of specific items the user wants to "use up" from their freezer/pantry/fridge (e.g. ["1 lb chicken thighs", "pesto sauce"]).
  • low_staples: A list of staple names that are currently running low and MUST be added (e.g. ["garlic"]).
  • manual_items: A list of manually added item names that must be preserved and categorized (e.g. ["toilet paper", "toothpaste"]).
  • available_labels: A list of actual category labels from the user's Mealie instance (e.g. ["1. Produce: Vegetables & Greens", "2. Bakery & Bread"]).
  • active_shopping_list: A list of objects representing the current active shopping list:
    • index: Integer, the array index of the item.
    • note: String, the item note/description.
    • checked: Boolean, the active checked state in Mealie.
• family_dietary_rules: The family-specific dietary rules and preferences (which includes the "Dirty Dozen" list).

Workflow

1. Exclude Plain Water:

   • Detect any ingredients representing plain tap water (e.g., "water", "cold water", "hot water", "tap water", "water to cover"). Exclude them entirely.
   • Keep specialty waters that must be purchased (e.g., "coconut water", "rose water", "sparkling water").

2. Filter Staples and Inventory (Rigorous Semantic Matching):

   • Compare every recipe ingredient against staples and inventory_items.
   • Deep Semantic Filtering: Do not just look for exact name matches. Use culinary knowledge to identify if an ingredient is a form of a staple.
     • Example: If "Olive Oil" is a staple, filter out "Extra Virgin Olive Oil", "2 tbsp Olive Oil", "Olive oil for frying", etc.
     • Example: If "Garlic" is a staple, filter out "3 cloves Garlic", "Minced Garlic", etc.
     • Reverse Variant Matching: If the recipe calls for a generic ingredient (e.g., "Olive Oil" or "Vinegar") and a specific variety is listed in the staples list (e.g., "Extra virgin olive oil" or "Red wine vinegar"), treat it as a match and filter it out.
   • Exception Rule: If the matched staple is explicitly listed in low_staples or is already on active_shopping_list, you MUST include it.
   • Inventory Rule: If an ingredient matches an inventory_item, filter it out.
   • Rule of Thumb: If Nathan and Kristin already have it (Staple) or want to use it up (Inventory), and it's NOT low (Low Staples), do not put it on the shopping list.

3. Clean Ingredient Names & Organic Tagging:

   • For each ingredient, extract the core name by removing quantities, units, and preparation instructions.
   • Organic Tagging (Dirty Dozen): If the cleaned ingredient name matches any item from the "Dirty Dozen" list found in the family_dietary_rules, automatically append (Buy Organic) to the name.
   • Format and capitalize the resulting ingredient name in Title Case (e.g. "1 lb spinach" -> "Spinach (Buy Organic)", "3 cloves garlic" -> "Garlic").

4. Extract Unit and Aggregate Quantities:

   • For each ingredient, extract the unit of measure (e.g., "lb", "oz", "cup", "can", "clove", "tsp", "tbsp").
   • If the ingredient matches a staple, the should be .

Output

Return a JSON array of objects, where each object has these exact fields:

• active_item_index: The matched active item's index integer, or null if it's a new item.
• name: Cleaned, Title Cased name (e.g. "Chicken Breast").
• quantity: Aggregated numeric quantity as a float.
• unit: The extracted unit of measure (e.g. "lb", "cup", "can"), or null for staples.
• checked: The matched checked state (boolean).
• category: The EXACT zone name from available_labels.
• Do not include any other text or conversational response.