KptnCook

A small command line client for downloading KptnCook recipes, including today's picks, discovery screens and lists, dailies, onboarding tags, and ingredient-based searches. It can also sync to Mealie and export recipes to Paprika, Tandoor, or Markdown.

Thanks to this blogpost for the url to get the json for today's recipes.

It's in pre alpha status and currently slightly unmaintained. If you want to step in, please let me know.

Maintenance disclosure

This repository is maintained with substantial assistance from coding agents. Most routine implementation, investigation, documentation, triage, and release-preparation work may be performed through agent-assisted workflows. Changes are still reviewed and accepted by the maintainer, and human contributors are welcome.

Dependencies

• Python >=3.10
• Mealie >=v1.0

Installation

$ uvx install kptncook

Docker

Build the image from this repository:

$ docker build -t kptncook .

The container sets KPTNCOOK_HOME=/data. Mount that directory and provide the required environment variables. Passing configuration with -e is the recommended approach for Docker: it avoids the need for an interactive setup and works the same on every run. For Mealie auth, set MEALIE_API_TOKEN or MEALIE_USERNAME/MEALIE_PASSWORD:

$ docker run --rm -v ~/.kptncook:/data \
    -e KPTNCOOK_API_KEY=6q7QNKy-oIgk-IMuWisJ-jfN7s6 \
    -e MEALIE_URL=https://mealie.example.com/api \
    -e MEALIE_USERNAME=user \
    -e MEALIE_PASSWORD=pass \
    kptncook sync

Alternatively, set MEALIE_API_TOKEN=... instead of MEALIE_USERNAME and MEALIE_PASSWORD.

To back up favorites, also set KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN:

$ docker run --rm -v ~/.kptncook:/data \
    -e KPTNCOOK_API_KEY=... \
    -e KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN=... \
    -e MEALIE_URL=https://mealie.example.com/api \
    -e MEALIE_USERNAME=user \
    -e MEALIE_PASSWORD=pass \
    kptncook backup-favorites

The guided setup is available as the kptncook setup subcommand, so it is reachable through the container's kptncook entrypoint. Because it prompts for your KptnCook account credentials, run it with an interactive TTY (-it). The .env it writes lives at $KPTNCOOK_HOME/.env (i.e. /data/.env), so the mounted volume persists it across runs:

$ docker run --rm -it -v ~/.kptncook:/data kptncook setup

To fetch only the access token after the API key is already configured, use docker run --rm -it -v ~/.kptncook:/data kptncook kptncook-access-token.

Usage

help

Usage: kptncook [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:
  --install-completion [bash|zsh|fish|powershell|pwsh]
                                  Install completion for the specified
                                  shell.
  --show-completion [bash|zsh|fish|powershell|pwsh]
                                  Show completion for the specified shell,
                                  to copy it or customize the installation.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.

Commands:
  backup-favorites          Store kptncook favorites in local repository.
  dailies                   List daily recipes from the kptncook site.
  delete-recipes            Delete recipes from the local repository.
  discovery-list            List recipes from a discovery list.
  discovery-screen          List discovery screen lists and quick search entries.
  ingredients-popular       List popular ingredients.
  kptncook-access-token     Fetch and save the KptnCook access token.
  kptncook-today            List all recipes for today from the kptncook...
  list-recipes              List all locally saved recipes.
  onboarding                List onboarding recipes by tags.
  recipes-with-ingredients  List recipes that match ingredient ids.
  save-todays-recipes       Save recipes for today from kptncook site.
  search-by-id              Search for a recipe by id in kptncook api, id...
  sync                      Fetch recipes for today from api, save them to...
  sync-with-mealie          Sync locally saved recipes with mealie.
  export-recipes-to-paprika  Export a recipe by id or all recipes to Paprika app
  export-recipes-to-tandoor  Export a recipe by id or all recipes to Tandoor
  export-recipes-to-markdown Export a recipe by id or all recipes to Markdown files

Quick examples

Short snippets for the new discovery/dailies/onboarding/ingredient commands (see the detailed sections below for flag descriptions):

$ kptncook discovery-screen
$ kptncook discovery-screen --no-quick-search
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type latest
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type recommended
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type curated --list-id 12345
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type automated --list-id 67890
$ kptncook dailies --recipe-filter veggie --save
$ kptncook onboarding --tag rt:diet_vegetarian
$ kptncook onboarding --tag "low-carb,high-protein" --save
$ kptncook ingredients-popular
$ kptncook recipes-with-ingredients --ingredient-id 123,456 --save

Export metadata

Exports to Mealie and Tandoor include KptnCook active tags as tags/keywords (verbatim).

The Markdown export (export-recipes-to-markdown) writes one .md file per recipe into an export_md directory under the KptnCook home, with YAML front matter (servings, prep/cook time, link, image, tags) followed by ingredients and instructions. Section headings and image alt text follow KPTNCOOK_LANG (German, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese are recognized; other languages fall back to English), and <timer> placeholders in steps are replaced with their durations.

Repository warnings

Repository-backed commands now warn if kptncook.json contains stored entries that can no longer be parsed into full recipes. The command continues with the valid recipes instead of silently dropping the bad entries. If you need to recover, inspect ~/.kptncook/kptncook.json and the previous snapshot in ~/.kptncook/kptncook.json.backup.

Delete recipes

Use indices from kptncook list-recipes or pass one or more --oid values.

$ kptncook delete-recipes 0 2
$ kptncook delete-recipes --oid 635a68635100007500061cd7 --oid 635a68635100007500061cd8
$ kptncook delete-recipes 0 --force

Dailies

Filter dailies by API fields such as recipeFilter (for example veggie), zone (timezone offset like +02:00), and subscription status (--subscribed and --not-subscribed are mutually exclusive). Add --save to store the daily recipes in the local repository.

$ kptncook dailies
$ kptncook dailies --zone +02:00 --recipe-filter veggie --save
$ kptncook dailies --subscribed
$ kptncook dailies --not-subscribed --save

Discovery

Use discovery-screen to list discovery list ids and types. discovery-list requires --list-type (latest, recommended, curated, automated). List types are case-insensitive; short flags are -t for --list-type and -i for --list-id. For curated and automated, pass the list id from discovery-screen with --list-id. For latest and recommended, omit --list-id. Use --no-quick-search if you only want discovery list ids, and add --save to discovery-list to store the resolved recipes locally. Discovery screen entries are printed as id | title | type so you can copy the list id into discovery-list. Discovery list entries are recipe summaries; the CLI resolves them to full recipes before printing or saving.

$ kptncook discovery-screen
$ kptncook discovery-screen --no-quick-search
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type recommended
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type latest
# list ids for curated/automated lists come from discovery-screen output
$ kptncook discovery-list -t curated -i 12345 --save
$ kptncook discovery-list --list-type automated --list-id 67890

Ingredients

Ingredient discovery and ingredient-based recipes require KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN. Ingredient ids can be repeated or comma-separated; use the _id.$oid value from kptncook ingredients-popular (output is id | name for easy copy/paste). Use kptncook kptncook-access-token if you need to generate one. The --ingredient-id flag is required and repeatable for recipes-with-ingredients (-i is the short flag). Add --save to recipes-with-ingredients to store matched recipes locally. Recipes are resolved to full recipe payloads before printing or saving.

$ kptncook ingredients-popular
$ kptncook recipes-with-ingredients -i 123 -i 456 --save
$ kptncook recipes-with-ingredients --ingredient-id 123,456

Onboarding recipes

The --tag flag is required and repeatable; tags accept repeated values or comma-separated lists. Tags are KptnCook tag slugs (for example rt:diet_vegetarian). Recipes are resolved to full recipe payloads before printing or saving.

$ kptncook onboarding --tag rt:diet_vegetarian
$ kptncook onboarding --tag "low-carb,high-protein" --save

Environment

First, create the configuration directory and .env file:

$ mkdir -p ~/.kptncook
$ touch ~/.kptncook/.env

Alternatively, you can run the setup helper to create the .env file, prefill the default API key, and optionally fetch an access token. It is available both as a kptncook subcommand and as a standalone command:

$ kptncook setup
# or, equivalently:
$ kptncook-setup

The .env is written to $KPTNCOOK_HOME/.env when KPTNCOOK_HOME is set, otherwise to ~/.kptncook/.env.

Configuration is validated lazily. If you run a command before configuring the API key, kptncook will scaffold the .env file when that command first needs settings and then exit; just re-run the command after updating the file. help and other non-config commands do not force .env validation up front.

Then set environment variables in the ~/.kptncook/.env file (or directly in your shell). You'll need to set at least the KPTNCOOK_API_KEY variable. If you want to sync the recipes with mealie, set MEALIE_API_TOKEN or MEALIE_USERNAME/MEALIE_PASSWORD.

When kptncook creates or updates ~/.kptncook/.env, it applies owner-only read/write permissions (0600) where the platform supports it, because the file may contain access tokens, passwords, or trusted shell commands.

Important: The .env file must be created in the ~/.kptncook/ directory, NOT in the installation directory or by editing the kptncook executable.

If you want to back up your favorite recipes from KptnCook, you have to set the KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN variable as well. You can obtain the access token by running kptncook kptncook-access-token; the command fetches the token and saves KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN into ~/.kptncook/.env instead of printing the raw token to stdout. But you need a kptncook account to do that. Beware: If you don't have a kptncook account, you'll lose all your favorites by creating a new one.

Optional API defaults for discovery/dailies/onboarding requests:

• KPTNCOOK_LANG (default de)
• KPTNCOOK_STORE (default de)
• KPTNCOOK_PREFERENCES (for example rt:diet_vegetarian,)

Password Manager Integration

You can retrieve KptnCook credentials from a password manager instead of typing them interactively. Set these environment variables:

• KPTNCOOK_USERNAME_COMMAND: Shell command to retrieve username
• KPTNCOOK_PASSWORD_COMMAND: Shell command to retrieve password

Example for 1Password CLI:

KPTNCOOK_USERNAME_COMMAND="op read op://Personal/KptnCook/username"
KPTNCOOK_PASSWORD_COMMAND="op read op://Personal/KptnCook/password"

Example for pass (password-store):

KPTNCOOK_USERNAME_COMMAND="pass show kptncook/username"
KPTNCOOK_PASSWORD_COMMAND="pass show kptncook/password"

These commands are executed through your local shell. Only configure commands you trust and fully control, and treat the .env file as sensitive because it can contain shell commands as well as tokens and passwords.

Ingredient Grouping (Optional)

To split ingredient lists by ingredient.typ (e.g., "regular" vs "basic") across all exporters, set the toggle below. You can also customize the section labels.

KPTNCOOK_GROUP_INGREDIENTS_BY_TYP=true
KPTNCOOK_INGREDIENT_GROUP_LABELS="regular:You need,basic:Pantry"

Full Configuration Example

KPTNCOOK_API_KEY=6q7QNKy-oIgk-IMuWisJ-jfN7s6
KPTNCOOK_ACCESS_TOKEN=9353xxxx-xxxx-4fe1-xxxx-xxx4a173805  # replace with correct token
MEALIE_URL=https://mealie.staging.django-cast.com/api
# Mealie auth (choose one)
MEALIE_API_TOKEN=mealie-api-token
# or:
MEALIE_USERNAME=jochen
MEALIE_PASSWORD=password  # replace with correct password

# Optional: API defaults
KPTNCOOK_LANG=de
KPTNCOOK_STORE=de
KPTNCOOK_PREFERENCES=rt:diet_vegetarian,

# Optional: Password manager integration
KPTNCOOK_USERNAME_COMMAND="op read op://Personal/KptnCook/username"
KPTNCOOK_PASSWORD_COMMAND="op read op://Personal/KptnCook/password"

# Optional: Ingredient grouping
KPTNCOOK_GROUP_INGREDIENTS_BY_TYP=true
KPTNCOOK_INGREDIENT_GROUP_LABELS="regular:You need,basic:Pantry"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"SyntaxError: invalid decimal literal" after defining API key

This error occurs if you accidentally edited the kptncook executable file instead of creating a .env file.

Solution: 1. Restore the original kptncook executable (reinstall if needed) 2. Create the configuration directory: mkdir -p ~/.kptncook 3. Create the .env file: touch ~/.kptncook/.env 4. Add your environment variables to ~/.kptncook/.env

"Field required" validation errors

This happens when the required environment variables are not set. Make sure you have created the .env file in the correct location (~/.kptncook/.env) and added at least the `KPTNCOOK_API_K