generated: '2026-08-27'
method: searched
source: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/api-usage/
docs: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/api-usage/
spec_source: openapi/mealie-openapi.json
summary:
  types:
  - oauth2
  - http-bearer
  oauth2_flows:
  - password
  primary_model: long-lived bearer API token minted in the Mealie UI
  note: >-
    Mealie is self-hosted, so every instance is its own authorization server. The
    OpenAPI document declares a single OAuth2 password-bearer scheme applied to 230
    of 264 operations; in practice the documented way to call the API from a script
    or a third-party integration is a long-lived API token created by the user at
    /user/profile/api-tokens and sent as `Authorization: Bearer <token>`.
schemes:
- name: OAuth2PasswordBearer
  type: oauth2
  flows:
  - flow: password
    tokenUrl: /api/auth/token
    scopes: 0
  applied_to_operations: 230
  sources:
  - openapi/mealie-openapi.json
  note: >-
    FastAPI's OAuth2 password flow. POST /api/auth/token with form-encoded
    username/password returns an access token; POST /api/auth/refresh refreshes it
    and POST /api/auth/logout ends the session.
- name: API Token (bearer)
  type: http
  scheme: bearer
  in: header
  header: Authorization
  format: 'Bearer <token>'
  minted_at: /user/profile/api-tokens
  operations:
  - create_api_token_api_users_api_tokens_post
  - delete_api_token_api_users_api_tokens__token_id__delete
  expiry: long-lived (no stated expiry; revoked by deleting the token)
  docs: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/api-usage/
  note: >-
    Not declared as a separate securityScheme in the OpenAPI document — it is
    accepted by the same bearer handler as the password-flow token. This is the
    model the docs tell integrators to use.
user_login_methods:
- method: local credentials
  description: Username/password stored in the Mealie instance.
- method: OpenID Connect
  description: >-
    Mealie acts as an OIDC relying party against an external IdP (Authentik,
    Authelia, Keycloak, Okta, Google, Entra ID). Requires the Authorization Code
    flow with PKCE and a confidential client. Since v3.21.0 the IdP must assert
    `email_verified` unless OIDC_REQUIRES_EMAIL_VERIFICATION=false.
  docs: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/authentication/oidc-v2/
  operations:
  - oauth_login_api_auth_oauth_get
  - oauth_callback_api_auth_oauth_callback_get
  - oauth_native_config_api_auth_oauth_native_config_get
  - oauth_native_token_api_auth_oauth_native_token_post
- method: LDAP
  description: Directory-backed login for self-hosted deployments.
  docs: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/authentication/ldap/
authorization_model:
  scheme: per-user permission flags plus group/household visibility
  permissions:
  - name: Administrator
    allows: Access to administrator tools
  - name: Invite
    allows: Generating invitation links for other users
  - name: Manage group
    allows: Access to group management areas and settings
  - name: Organize group data
    allows: Creating, updating, deleting and merging foods, tags and categories
  public_access: >-
    Unauthenticated reads are possible through the /api/explore/groups/{group_slug}/*
    surface only when the group is not private, the household is not private and
    allows outside viewing, and the recipe itself is public. Private share links
    bypass those checks.
  docs: https://docs.mealie.io/documentation/getting-started/usage/permissions-and-public-access/