Quick answers to the most common questions from the family.
Tap the + button on the Recipes tab, choose Import from Photo/Text, switch to the URL tab, paste the website address, and tap Analyze Recipe. The app will extract the recipe automatically.
You can also copy a recipe URL in Safari — when you open recipeReader, it may detect the URL and offer to import it.
Yes! Tap +, choose Import, stay on the Photo tab, and select photos of the recipe pages. You can select up to 20 pages. The app uses OCR (text recognition) to read the text, then AI to structure it into ingredients and steps.
No. Without an API key, the app uses a built-in local parser. It works well for clearly formatted recipes. An AI key (OpenAI or Claude) gives better results with messy text, handwriting, or unusual layouts.
If someone in your household has a key configured, they can share it with you via Settings > Sync to Family.
The app prevents saving a recipe with the same title or source URL as an existing one. If you want to save it anyway, change the title slightly (e.g., add "v2" or "Mom's version") before saving.
Open any recipe and tap the orange Start Cooking button. Swipe left/right to move between steps. Your screen will stay on while cooking.
If a step mentions a time (like "bake for 25 minutes"), a timer button appears below the step. Tap it to start a countdown. You can run multiple timers at once — they show as pills at the top of the screen. If you leave the app, you'll get a notification when the timer is done.
It records that you cooked the recipe — updating your cook count, last-cooked date, and activity feed. You might also see a celebration if it's a milestone (like your 10th cook!).
Yes, two ways: (1) In cooking mode, tap the checklist icon in the top-right to switch to the ingredient view. (2) In the regular recipe detail view, tap any ingredient to check it off.
Go to the Planner tab, tap the + on any day (or the + in the toolbar), choose the meal type (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack), and pick a recipe.
Yes! If you're both in the same Household group, the meal plan syncs automatically. Each entry shows who added it. Pull down to refresh and see the latest from your household.
On the Planner tab, tap the cart icon in the toolbar. It generates a combined grocery list from all recipes planned for the current week — including meals added by household members.
Household is for people living together (like you and your spouse). It shares recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists. Extended Family is for relatives outside your home (like parents or siblings). It only shares recipes — not your daily meal plans.
Open the invite link they sent you. If that doesn't work, go to the Family tab, scroll down, and paste the invite link in the "Join" field.
Yes! They're completely separate groups with independent member lists. You might be in a Household group with your spouse and an Extended Family group with your parents and siblings.
Yes. Family sharing uses Apple's CloudKit service, which requires an iCloud account. Make sure you're signed in to iCloud in your device Settings.
Go to Settings > Manage Collections. Type a name, pick an icon, and tap Add. Then add recipes to it from the recipe editor or by long-pressing a recipe and choosing "Add to Collection".
Yes! Tap multiple category chips to select them. The list shows recipes matching ANY of the selected categories. The orange filter badge in the toolbar shows how many filters are active. Tap it to clear all filters.
Use the sort menu and choose Recently Cooked. Recipes you've cooked most recently appear first. You can also choose Most Cooked to see your all-time favorites.
Open the recipe and tap the share icon (square with arrow). Choose Share as Text for a simple text version, or Share as Image Card for a beautiful visual card with the recipe photo and details.
Yes! Tap the share icon and choose Print Recipe. It creates a clean, formatted printout via AirPrint with the title, ingredients, steps, notes, and your personal cook notes.
Go to Settings > Export & Import and tap Export All Recipes. This creates a JSON file you can save to Files, email to yourself, or share. To restore, use Import from File.
Your recipes also sync automatically via iCloud, so they're backed up in the cloud as long as you're signed in to iCloud.
Yes. Your recipes are stored on your device and in your private iCloud account. Shared recipes are only visible to the specific family group members you've invited. API keys are stored in the iOS Keychain (encrypted hardware storage), never in plain text.
If you've edited a recipe, a clock icon appears in the toolbar of the recipe detail view. Tap it to see the previous version and optionally restore it.
The app works fine offline for browsing, cooking, and editing recipes. The orange banner just means features that need internet (like family sync, AI parsing, and web import) are temporarily unavailable. It will disappear when you reconnect.
This happens the first time. The CloudKit schema needs to be initialized by running the app from Xcode on a Simulator, then deploying the schema to production in the CloudKit Dashboard.
Go to Settings > Preferences > Measurement System and choose Imperial or Metric.