SparkyFitness supports multiple food data sources so you can find accurate nutritional information regardless of where you live or what you eat. You can enable as many providers as you want, and the food search will query all of them simultaneously and merge the results. Providers that require API keys (FatSecret, Nutritionix, Yazio) are fully optional — free providers like USDA and OpenFoodFacts are available out of the box.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/CodeWithCJ/SparkyFitness/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Available Food Databases
USDA Food Data Central
The official U.S. government food composition database. Covers branded and generic foods with detailed macro and micro nutrient profiles. Free, no API key required.
OpenFoodFacts
A community-driven, open-source food database with millions of products from around the world, including barcode data. Free, no API key required.
FatSecret
A large commercial food database with extensive international coverage and a rich branded food catalog. Requires a free FatSecret API key.
Nutritionix
Natural language food lookup with support for restaurant menu items and packaged foods. Requires a Nutritionix App ID and API key.
Mealie
Self-hosted recipe manager integration. Pull recipes directly from your own Mealie instance, complete with per-serving nutrition. Requires your Mealie URL and API key.
Tandoor
Self-hosted recipe manager integration for Tandoor Recipes. Import recipes from your Tandoor instance into the SparkyFitness diary. Requires your Tandoor URL and API key.
Swiss Food Database
The official Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) food composition database. Free, no API key required.
Norish
An additional food database providing nutritional data for a wide variety of foods. Free, no API key required.
Yazio
Access to Yazio food data via an unofficial API. Requires a Yazio account credential. Use is subject to Yazio’s terms of service.
Configuring Food Providers
All food providers are managed in Settings → External Data Sources → Food tab.Open External Data Sources
Go to Settings in the sidebar, then navigate to the External Data Sources page.
Select the Food tab
The page is organized by category. Select the Food tab to see the available food database providers.
Add a provider
Click Add or the + button next to a provider. A form will appear with the fields required for that provider.
Enter credentials
Fill in the required fields (API keys, URLs, etc.) for the provider. See the sections below for provider-specific requirements.
API Key Requirements
| Provider | API Key Required | Where to Get It |
|---|---|---|
| USDA Food Data Central | No | — |
| OpenFoodFacts | No | — |
| Swiss Food Database | No | — |
| Norish | No | — |
| FatSecret | Yes (Client ID + Secret) | platform.fatsecret.com |
| Nutritionix | Yes (App ID + API Key) | developer.nutritionix.com |
| Yazio | Yes (account credentials) | Your Yazio account |
| Mealie | Yes (API token + instance URL) | Your Mealie instance → Settings → API Tokens |
| Tandoor | Yes (API token + instance URL) | Your Tandoor instance → Settings → API Tokens |
Self-Hosted Recipe Managers
SparkyFitness has native support for both Mealie and Tandoor, the two most popular self-hosted recipe managers. When configured, their recipes appear as searchable food items so you can log a recipe serving directly to your diary, with the correct per-serving nutrition automatically applied.Mealie
Get your Mealie API token
In your Mealie instance, go to Settings → API Tokens and create a new token with read access.
Add Mealie in SparkyFitness
In SparkyFitness, go to Settings → External Data Sources → Food, add Mealie, and enter:
- Instance URL — e.g.
https://mealie.yourdomain.com - API Token — the token you just created
Tandoor
Get your Tandoor API token
In your Tandoor instance, go to Settings → API Tokens and generate a new token.
Add Tandoor in SparkyFitness
In SparkyFitness, go to Settings → External Data Sources → Food, add Tandoor, and enter:
- Instance URL — e.g.
https://tandoor.yourdomain.com - API Token — your Tandoor API token
Food Search
When you click Add Food in your diary, SparkyFitness queries all your enabled food providers simultaneously and merges the results into a single ranked list. You can also:- Search recent foods — foods you have logged before appear at the top for quick re-selection.
- Search by barcode — tap the barcode icon to scan a product using your device camera. Providers that support barcode lookup (OpenFoodFacts, FatSecret, Nutritionix) are queried automatically.
- Search all providers at once — type a food name and results from every active provider are merged and deduplicated in real time.
Family Sharing of Providers
SparkyFitness supports family accounts where a parent or administrator can share their configured food providers with family members. Shared providers appear in the family member’s food search without them needing to configure their own API keys. Provider sharing is controlled by theshare_external_providers family permission. An administrator can grant or revoke this permission per family member in Settings → Family.
Providers marked as strictly private (such as those that store personal credentials like Yazio) are never shared, even when
share_external_providers is enabled, to protect account security.