# fatsecret Platform API

> fatsecret is a global nutrition and wellness platform. Its Platform API exposes a verified food
> database of more than 1.9 million items across 56+ countries, plus recipes, exercises, barcode
> lookup, AI image recognition and natural-language food parsing, and profile-scoped food diary,
> exercise diary and weight tracking. The provider states the API serves 35,000+ developers and more
> than 700 million calls per month.

Generated by API Evangelist from apis.yml and the artifacts in this repo on 2026-08-12.
fatsecret does not publish an llms.txt of its own — https://platform.fatsecret.com/llms.txt returns
the portal's single-page-app HTML shell (a soft 200, not a document).

## Key facts an agent needs first

- Base URL: https://platform.fatsecret.com/rest
- The default response format is **XML**. Pass `format=json` on every call or you will get XML.
- Versions travel with the METHOD, not the API: `/foods/search/v5`, `/food/v4`, `/recipes/search/v3`,
  `/food-brands/v2`, `/food/barcode/find-by-id/v1` all coexist.
- Errors come back in the BODY as `{"error":{"code":N,"message":"..."}}` — the HTTP status is not the
  signal. Code 11 = application quota exhausted; code 14 = token is missing a required scope.
- There is **no idempotency key**. Retrying a diary write can double-post it.
- There are **no rate-limit response headers**. Basic edition is 5,000 calls/day; you learn you are
  over only from error code 11.

## Authentication

- OAuth 2.0 client_credentials for catalog data: https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/authentication/oauth2
- 3-legged OAuth 1.0a for member/profile data: https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/authentication/oauth1/three-legged
- Token endpoint: https://oauth.fatsecret.com/connect/token
- OIDC discovery: https://oauth.fatsecret.com/.well-known/openid-configuration
- Scopes: basic, premier, barcode, localization, nlp, image-recognition, feedback

## APIs

- [Foods API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): search, autocomplete, barcode lookup, food detail
- [Recipes API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): recipe search, recipe detail, recipe types
- [Reference API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): brands, categories, sub-categories, exercises
- [Profile Foods API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): favorite foods
- [Profile Meals API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): saved meals
- [Food Diary API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): daily entries and monthly summaries
- [Exercise Diary API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): daily exercise entries
- [Weight Tracking API](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api): weight history

## Specs

- [Foods OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-foods-api-openapi.yml)
- [Recipes OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-recipes-api-openapi.yml)
- [Reference OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-reference-api-openapi.yml)
- [Profile Foods OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-profile-foods-api-openapi.yml)
- [Profile Meals OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-profile-meals-api-openapi.yml)
- [Food Diary OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-food-diary-api-openapi.yml)
- [Exercise Diary OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-exercise-diary-api-openapi.yml)
- [Weight Tracking OpenAPI](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/openapi/fatsecret-weight-tracking-api-openapi.yml)
- [Postman collection](https://www.postman.com/fatsecret/workspace/fatsecret-public-apis/collection/25958240-f307c228-34ed-42bb-8866-79dae97523a6)

## Docs

- [Platform API overview](https://platform.fatsecret.com/platform-api)
- [REST guides](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides)
- [Parameters](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/parameters)
- [Data types](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/data-types)
- [Storable data](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/storable-data)
- [Error codes](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/error-codes)
- [Localization](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/localization)
- [Client libraries](https://platform.fatsecret.com/docs/guides/libraries)
- [Image recognition and NLP](https://platform.fatsecret.com/features/image-recognition-and-nlp)
- [API demo (no signup)](https://platform.fatsecret.com/api-demo)
- [Editions and pricing](https://platform.fatsecret.com/api-editions)
- [Developer forum](https://groups.google.com/g/fatsecret-platform-api)

## Derived artifacts (API Evangelist)

- [Error catalog](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/errors/fatsecret-error-codes.yml)
- [API conventions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/conventions/fatsecret-conventions.yml)
- [Authentication profile](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/authentication/fatsecret-authentication.yml)
- [OAuth scopes](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/scopes/fatsecret-scopes.yml)
- [Plans and pricing](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/plans/fatsecret-plans-pricing.yml)
- [Rate limits](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/fatsecret-rate-limits.yml)
- [Lifecycle](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/lifecycle/fatsecret-lifecycle.yml)
- [Data model](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/data-model/fatsecret-data-model.yml)
- [Agent skills](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/fatsecret/refs/heads/main/skills/_index.yml)

## Not published by fatsecret

- No first-party SDK in any package registry (community wrappers only, several abandoned)
- No first-party MCP server (community stdio servers only)
- No A2A agent card, no security.txt, no api-catalog
- No webhooks and no AsyncAPI — this API is request/response only
- No status page, no deprecation policy, no dated API changelog
- No trust center and no published certifications