# How to Use the Anova Precision Cooker: App, Developer API, and Home Assistant > How to use the Anova Precision Cooker: Wi-Fi setup, cooking from your phone, the official Anova Developer API, and what works with Home Assistant and AI agents. - Canonical URL: https://webofmike.com/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/how-to-use-anova-precision-cooker/ - Author: Mike Moore (https://webofmike.com/about/) - Published: 2026-11-04 - Last modified: 2026-11-04 - Tags: AI Life, How-to - Cite as: Mike Moore, "How to Use the Anova Precision Cooker: App, Developer API, and Home Assistant", Web of Mike (webofmike.com), 2026-11-04. https://webofmike.com/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/how-to-use-anova-precision-cooker/ [AI Life](/ai-life/) / [Kitchen](/ai-life/kitchen/) / [Sous Vide](/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/) / [Guides](/ai-life/guides/) Read the full review first if you are still deciding: [Anova Precision Cooker Owner Review](/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/anova-precision-cooker-owner-review/). > **Mike's take:** I use the recent Anova Precision Cooker and rate it 5/5. In my words: "Super simple, just works." More in my [owner review](/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/anova-precision-cooker-owner-review/). ## Getting started 1. Clip the cooker to a pot, fill water between the min and max lines, and install the Anova app. 2. Create an Anova account with an email and password. If you sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple instead, Home Assistant can't log in later and you'll have to switch to a password ([Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/anova/)). 3. Add the cooker in the app and connect it to Wi-Fi. Then you can set the temperature and timer from your phone. 4. Bag the food, set the cook, and let it run. You can also set temperature and start on the cooker itself. ## How the AI works There is no chatbot in the cooker. The smart part is that it is a small connected computer with sensors, and Anova now opens it up to software you choose. - **Where it runs:** the cooker controls the water temperature itself. The app and remote control go through Anova's cloud over Wi-Fi. - **The Anova Developer API:** in July 2025 Anova released an official API that gives "authenticated access to the same cloud and local services that power our mobile apps." It reads state like setpoint, stage and time left, and sends start, stop and preheat commands, over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi ([Anova blog](https://anovaculinary.com/blogs/blog/introducing-the-anova-developer-api)). - **AI hookups are the maker's idea:** Anova's engineering lead lists "Voice, IFTTT, and AI Chatbot Integrations" as things to build on it, like asking to "start my sous vide at 135 degrees for two hours" ([Anova blog](https://anovaculinary.com/blogs/blog/introducing-the-anova-developer-api)). Anova does not ship that chatbot. You or a third party build it. - **Docs:** the portal is at [developer.anovaculinary.com](https://developer.anovaculinary.com), with Python samples. ## Safe ways to automate it - Read-only first. A dashboard that shows water temperature and time left can't ruin dinner. - If you let an agent send start commands, think about food safety. A script that preheats from a calendar event, like Anova's own example, means raw food can sit in an unheated bath if something fails. ## Anova Precision Cooker FAQ: what it can do and what it works with ### Does Anova have an API? Yes. Anova released the official Anova Developer API in July 2025 for reading device state and sending commands over the cloud and local Bluetooth. Source: [Anova blog](https://anovaculinary.com/blogs/blog/introducing-the-anova-developer-api). ### Does Anova work with Home Assistant? Yes for Wi-Fi models. Home Assistant's official Anova integration reports cook time, mode, state, target temperature and water temperature. It needs an email and password Anova login, and the nano versions are not supported. Source: [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/anova/). ### Does Anova work with ChatGPT, Claude or MCP? Not out of the box. Anova does not ship an MCP server, but its Developer API is built for this kind of hookup, and Anova itself suggests AI chatbot integrations. Through Home Assistant's MCP server, an agent can read the Anova sensors you expose. Source: [Anova blog](https://anovaculinary.com/blogs/blog/introducing-the-anova-developer-api), [Home Assistant MCP server docs](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mcp_server/). ### Does Anova work with Alexa or Google Assistant? Anova's blog has covered an Alexa skill, but we could not confirm a current first-party Alexa or Google listing, so check the Alexa skills store before you count on it. Source: [Anova blog](https://anovaculinary.com/blogs/blog/anova-voice-integration). ## Connecting AI agents safely If you hook a device or account up to an AI agent, the agent gets the same access you do. I write about doing that safely: - [What is an MCP gateway?](/what-is-an-mcp-gateway/) - [MCP agent identity: what shipped](/mcp-agent-identity-gap/) - [MCP tool poisoning: pin your definitions](/mcp-tool-poisoning-pin-definitions/) ## Related - [Anova Precision Cooker Owner Review](/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/anova-precision-cooker-owner-review/) - [How to use the MEATER Pro XL](/ai-life/kitchen/smart-thermometers/how-to-use-meater-pro-xl/) - [All how-to guides](/ai-life/guides/) - [Sous Vide hub](/ai-life/kitchen/sous-vide/) - [Black Friday deals](/ai-life/deals/black-friday/) Check today's price before you buy: {{< amzn anova-precision-cooker "See the Anova Precision Cooker on Amazon" />}}.