Follow this once, top to bottom, on the Mac that will run your weekly planning. Total time: about 15 minutes of setup, then a ~20-minute interview with Claude.
A computer that's usually on— the weekly run executes locally in the Claude Code desktop app (Mac or Windows). These instructions are written for Mac;on Windows, install Python and the GitHub CLI (winget install Python.Python.3 GitHub.cli
) instead of the Homebrew steps below, and choose Todoist rather than Apple Notes when the setup interview asks about phone capture — everything else is identical.The Claude Code desktop app and a paid Claude plan (Pro or Max — a weekly run does real work). Download:https://claude.com/claude-codeA GitHub account(free) with access to this repo — the repo owner must add you as a collaborator before the clone step will work** Google Chrome + the Claude in Chrome extension**— only if you want Claude to load your supermarket cart each week; skip for list-only mode- Optional: Apple Notes(for adding recipes and notes from your phone) and** Gmail**(so order confirmations can update the pantry automatically) — both connect inside the Claude app later
Open Terminal (⌘-space, type "Terminal") and run these one at a time.
Install Homebrew (the Mac package manager) if you don't have it:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Install the GitHub CLI:
brew install gh
Sign in to GitHub (choose GitHub.com → HTTPS → Login with a web browser, then paste the one-time code it shows you):
gh auth login
git clone https://github.com/koolewong/meal-prep-starter.git ~/Meal-Prep
If this says "repository not found", you haven't been added as a collaborator yet — ask the person who sent you this.
- Open the
Claude Code desktop app and open the folder
Meal-Prep
(in your home folder). - If you want phone capture or automatic pantry updates, connect Apple Notes and/orGmail in the app's connectors settings now — the setup interview will use them. - If you want cart , install the Claude in Chrome extension and sign in to your supermarket's website in Chrome. - Type: "Run SETUP.md"
Claude interviews you — who eats which nights, allergies and no-go foods, your kitchen gear, budget, supermarket — then configures everything: your household file, the recipe library (26 starters, pruned to your tastes), phone-viewable pages, the weekly scheduled run, and a dry-run plan for your first week. Nothing touches a cart until you've seen a plan you like, and Claude never checks out, never handles your passwords or payment — the cart gets loaded, you review it and pay.
- The weekly run happens at the time you chose if the Claude Code app is open— leave it running or open it that morning. - Talk to it in plain language any time: "add shower gel to the list", "no more coconut curries", "favourite the teriyaki bowls", "process my notes", "our new normal is…".
- Recipes in: paste any recipe URL in chat, or drop it in your "Recipe Inbox" note from your phone.
Improvements land in this repo over time. To pick them up, say to Claude:
"pull the latest template updates" (or run git pull
in the folder). Your household data — preferences, pantry, plans, recipes you've added — is yours and never overwritten by updates.
Clone fails→ collaborator access missing (ask the sender)** Scheduled run didn't fire→ the app wasn't open; open it and the run catches up, or just say "run the weekly plan" Cart step skipped**→ you weren't signed in to the supermarket in Chrome; sign in and say "load the cart for this week's plan"- Anything else → ask Claude in the project folder; it knows this system inside out