Everything you need to know to get the most out of recipeReader.
When you open recipeReader for the first time, you'll see a 4-page welcome walkthrough introducing the key features: importing, family sharing, and cooking mode. Swipe through and tap Get Started on the last page.
On iPhone, recipeReader has five tabs at the bottom of the screen:
Tap the + button in the top-right of the Recipes tab and choose Import from Photo/Text. You'll see four import modes:
After you select your source, tap Analyze Recipe. You'll see a progress bar:
If AI is unavailable (no API key or no internet), the app falls back to a local heuristic parser that works offline.
After analysis, you'll see the extracted recipe in a Review section. Check the title, ingredients, and steps. Edit anything that looks wrong. When you're happy, tap Save Recipe.
If the Share Extension is set up, you can share a recipe URL directly from Safari using the iOS share sheet. The URL will be waiting for you next time you open recipeReader.
If you copy a recipe URL in another app, recipeReader will detect it when you open the app and offer to import it.
Recipes are auto-tagged with categories like Breakfast, Dinner, Seafood, Dessert, etc. based on their ingredients and title. You can also add custom categories in Settings > Manage Categories.
On the Recipes tab, the category chips bar lets you filter by category. Each chip shows how many recipes match. Tap multiple chips to filter by several categories at once.
Collections are like playlists for recipes. Create collections like "Weeknight Dinners", "Holiday Favorites", or "Meal Prep" in Settings > Manage Collections. Each collection gets a custom icon.
Add recipes to collections from the recipe editor, or by long-pressing a recipe and choosing Add to Collection.
Filter by collection using the orange collection chips above the category bar.
The search bar at the top of the Recipes tab searches across recipe titles, ingredients, steps, notes, categories, and collections. It's a full-text search — type "chicken" to find any recipe that uses chicken.
Tap the sort icon (up/down arrows) in the toolbar to choose from 7 sort options:
Tap the heart icon in the toolbar to show only favorites. You can favorite a recipe by:
All filters work together. You can combine a collection + multiple categories + favorites + search. The toolbar shows an active filter count badge in orange. Tap it to clear all filters at once.
Long-press any recipe for quick actions: Start Cooking, Favorite, Add to Collection, Share, or Delete.
Open any recipe and tap the orange Start Cooking button. This opens a full-screen cooking view.
If a step mentions a time (like "bake for 25 minutes" or "simmer 10 min"), a timer button appears below the step text. Tap it to start a countdown timer.
Tap the checklist icon in the top-right to switch from steps to the ingredient checklist. Tap each ingredient as you prep it — it gets a green checkmark and strikethrough.
On the last step, a green Finish button appears. Tapping it:
The Planner tab shows a 7-day week. Today is highlighted in blue. Each day shows planned meals grouped by type (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack).
Use the left/right arrows to browse forward and backward by week.
If you're connected to a Household group, your meal plan is automatically shared with everyone in the household.
Tap the cart icon to generate a combined grocery list from all recipes in the current week — including meals added by household members.
You can generate a grocery list two ways:
Tap any item to uncheck it (exclude from the list). The footer shows how many items are selected.
recipeReader has two separate family groups, each with its own members and invite links:
For people living together. Shares recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists. Everyone sees each other's cooking activity.
For relatives outside your home. Share just your favorite recipes. They don't see your daily meal plans or grocery lists.
The Family tab shows shared recipes. Use the segmented picker at the top to switch between Household and Extended Family recipes. All the same filtering, sorting, and search tools are available.
Open any recipe and tap the stars in the "My Rating" section to rate it 1-5 stars. Tap the same star again to clear the rating. Rated recipes show stars on their card in the list.
Tap Add Cook Notes below the rating to write personal annotations — things like "double the garlic", "used almond milk instead", or "kids loved this one". These notes persist across sessions and are separate from the recipe's original notes.
Use the sort menu and choose Highest Rated to see your best recipes first.
In any recipe's detail view, tap the share icon in the top-right for options:
If a recipe has been edited, a clock icon appears in the toolbar. Tap it to see the previous version and optionally restore it. The current version becomes the new previous version, so you never lose anything.
Toggle Enable AI Assist to turn AI parsing on or off. If enabled, you can:
If AI is unavailable, the app falls back to a local parser that works offline.
Choose between Imperial (US) and Metric. This affects unit conversion throughout the app.
Add, delete, and reorder recipe categories. Categories are auto-suggested during import but you can customize the list.
Create and manage recipe collections. Each collection has a name and icon. Drag to reorder.
View your cooking stats: total recipes, times cooked, this month's activity, most-cooked recipes, average rating, and category breakdown. Get smart suggestions like "Try something new" and "Revisit a classic".
Export all your recipes to a JSON file for backup. Import from a previously exported file. See the Backup & Export section for details.
App version, feature summary, rate on the App Store, and tip jar.
Two built-in Siri commands:
Two widgets available (add via long-press home screen > "+" > search "recipeReader"):
Long-press the recipeReader app icon for quick actions:
The export includes all recipe data: title, ingredients, steps, ratings, cook notes, categories, collections, and cook counts.
Your recipes automatically sync via iCloud across all your devices. You don't need to export/import for multi-device use — that's handled by CloudKit. Export is for backup and for sharing the raw data with others.