# Add a recipe

Source: https://docs.gdc-world.net/recipe-book/import/

## Ways to add a recipe

There are four ways to get a recipe into your book. For a link, photo or PDF, the app reads the recipe for you (with AI) and fills in the form; you then check it and save.

Open the screen with **Add recipe** in the header (on a phone, the round + button), or go to [Add a recipe](https://mealplanner.gdc-world.net/import).

*[Image: The Add a recipe screen with its four ways to bring in a recipe.]*

**1** **Website URL** reads a recipe from a web page.

**2** **Photo or PDF** reads a photo of a cookbook page or a recipe PDF.

**3** **Instagram** reads the caption of an Instagram post.

**4** **Manually** opens an empty form for typing a recipe in yourself.

## From a link

Use this for a recipe you found on a website or on Instagram.

1. Choose **Website URL** or **Instagram**.
2. Copy the address of the page or post from your browser or the Instagram app, and paste it into **Recipe URL** (or **Instagram post URL**).
3. Tap **Import recipe**, or press Enter.

The app picks up the recipe's picture too, and suggests categories and tags from your own lists in [Settings](https://mealplanner.gdc-world.net/settings).

Good to know:

- Some websites protect themselves against automatic reading. They can take up to a minute; now and then one cannot be read at all.
- If the page holds no recipe, or sits behind a cookie or login wall, you get a message instead of a form.
- An Instagram post must be public. If a post cannot be read, try the recipe's website instead, if it has one.

## From a photo or PDF

Use this for a cookbook page, a handwritten card or a recipe saved as a PDF.

*[Image: The Photo or PDF tab with its area for dropping a file.]*

1. Choose **Photo or PDF**.
2. Tap **Choose file** and pick a photo or PDF. On a computer you can also drag the file onto the area. On a phone or iPad, choosing a file usually also offers the camera.
3. A **PDF** is read straight away.
4. A **photo** is shown first. If it lies sideways, turn it with **Rotate left** or **Rotate right**, then tap **Import this photo**. **Choose another** picks a different file.

The photo is saved with the recipe exactly as shown in the preview, so turn it upright first. The recipe itself can be read even from a sideways photo.

Good to know:

- Photos in JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF work. If a photo is refused as an unsupported format, save it as JPG and try again.
- A PDF needs real text in it. A scanned PDF is only a picture: take a photo of the page instead.
- Keep the page flat, well lit and sharp. If the text cannot be read clearly, you get a message rather than a guessed recipe.

## By hand

For family recipes and anything that is not online, type the recipe in yourself.

1. Choose **Manually**.
2. Tap **Start a blank recipe**.
3. Fill in the form (see [Recipe form](https://docs.gdc-world.net/recipe-book/recipe-form/#fields)) and tap **Save recipe**.

## While it reads

Reading a recipe takes a few seconds, sometimes longer. The screen **Reading your recipe…** shows what is happening, so you can see that it is still working.

*[Image: The reading screen with its list of steps and the seconds elapsed.]*

- The line under the heading says in plain words what is being done right now.
- The step list ticks off **Fetching source**, **Reading the content**, **Extracting ingredients** and **Structuring the recipe**.
- The seconds counter keeps running. After 15 seconds a hint reminds you that protected sites can take up to a minute.

*[Image: From a link, photo or PDF through the four reading steps to the review form.]*

When it is done, the form opens for you to check. If something goes wrong, you are back on the first screen with a message saying why; try again, or choose another way.

## Check and save

The AI is good but not perfect, so the recipe is never saved on its own. It opens in **Review recipe**, with the note "We extracted this recipe. Review the details and save."

*[Image: The Review recipe form, filled in from a link.]*

1. Look over the title, amounts and steps, and correct what is wrong. The fields are explained in [Recipe form](https://docs.gdc-world.net/recipe-book/recipe-form/#fields).
2. Tap **Save recipe**.

The new recipe opens straight away. It starts in the **Testing** phase until you have cooked it (see [Phases](https://docs.gdc-world.net/recipe-book/recipes/#phases)). **Cancel** leaves without saving; the read recipe is then discarded.