Top pick · highest health
Tandoor Recipes
Django application to manage, tag and search recipes using either built-in models or external storage providers hosting PDFs, Images or other files.
★ 8.7k 202 commits / 90d ⟳ 3 days ago MIT Docker
Category
Open source recipe management
Software and tools for managing recipes. 11 self-hosted recipe management tools are listed here, ordered purely by a repository health score that Repoly recomputes nightly. Tandoor Recipes leads at 96/100 with 202 commits in the last 90 days and 8.7k stars, followed by Bar Assistant (92) and Tamari (89). 7 of the 11 score 70 or above, 8 publish a Docker image, and the median health is 83. MIT is the most common licence, carried by 4 of them. Between them they stand in for Mealime. The score weighs commits in the last 90 days, release recency, stars, archive status and Docker support; a low number means low measurable activity, not low quality, so a finished, stable tool can legitimately sit lower down.
updated Oct 2026 11 tools ★ 27k stars 8 with Docker median 83
Best for…
-
Most starred
13,731 stars on GitHub, the largest community in the category.
-
Most active
1,159 commits in the last 90 days, the fastest-moving codebase here.
-
Most permissive
MIT licence with health 92/100: the strongest option if you need to embed or fork commercially.
Ranked by health
Table view
-
-
Bar Assistant
Manage your home bar while adding your ingredients, searching for cocktails and creating custom cocktail recipes.
★ 1.1k 113 commits / 90d ⟳ yesterday MIT Docker
-
Tamari
Recipe manager web app with a built-in collection of recipes. Organize by favorites and categories, create shopping lists, and plan meals.
★ 145 33 commits / 90d ⟳ 1 month ago GPL-3.0 Docker
-
Vanilla Cookbook
Recipe manager designed with complexity under the hood, keeping the user experience as uncluttered, simply vanilla as possible.
★ 158 67 commits / 90d ⟳ 2 days ago GPL-3.0 Docker
-
Mealie
Material design inspired recipe manager with category and tag management, shopping-lists, meal-planner, and site customizations. Mealie is focused on simple user interactions to keep the whole family using the app.
★ 14k 602 commits / 90d ⟳ today MIT
-
CookCLI
Command-line tool for automating meal planning and shopping with Cooklang recipes, scriptable for UNIX workflows, includes web server.
★ 1.4k 472 commits / 90d ⟳ 2 days ago MIT
-
RecipeSage
A recipe keeper, meal plan organizer, and shopping list manager that can import recipes directly from any URL.
★ 985 1159 commits / 90d ⟳ 4 days ago AGPL-3.0
-
ManageMeals
Manage recipes, import recipes by URL and organize them without any ads or unnecessary text.
★ 63 5 commits / 90d ⟳ 1 month ago GPL-3.0 Docker
-
What To Cook?
Get a recipe to cook today, based on the ingredients you have at home.
★ 72 5 commits / 90d ⟳ 3 months ago AGPL-3.0 Docker
-
Recipya
Clean, simple and powerful recipe manager your whole family will enjoy.
★ 412 9 commits / 90d ⟳ today GPL-3.0 Docker
-
Fork Recipes
Manage your food recipes with simplicity.
★ 69 2 commits / 90d ⟳ 2 months ago BSD-3-Clause Docker
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tandoor Recipes Docker | 8.7k | 202 | MIT | 3 days ago | |
| 2 | Bar Assistant Docker | 1.1k | 113 | MIT | yesterday | |
| 3 | Tamari Docker | 145 | 33 | GPL-3.0 | 1 month ago | |
| 4 | Vanilla Cookbook Docker | 158 | 67 | GPL-3.0 | 2 days ago | |
| 5 | Mealie | 14k | 602 | MIT | today | |
| 6 | CookCLI | 1.4k | 472 | MIT | 2 days ago | |
| 7 | RecipeSage | 985 | 1159 | AGPL-3.0 | 4 days ago | |
| 8 | ManageMeals Docker | 63 | 5 | GPL-3.0 | 1 month ago | |
| 9 | What To Cook? Docker | 72 | 5 | AGPL-3.0 | 3 months ago | |
| 10 | Recipya Docker | 412 | 9 | GPL-3.0 | today | |
| 11 | Fork Recipes Docker | 69 | 2 | BSD-3-Clause | 2 months ago |
How the recipe management tools compare
Tandoor Recipes edges Bar Assistant 96 to 92, and most of the difference is stars: 8.7k stars against 1.1k stars. Mealie has the largest following at 14k stars, yet ranks #5 of 11, held back mostly by Docker support (no Docker image).
The most recent release is Bar Assistant v6.10.1, published yesterday. Fork Recipes scores under 40, so check recent activity before adopting it. By stack, Python (3), Nodejs (2) and Go (1) are the most common. Bar Assistant, Mealie, CookCLI and 1 more are permissively licensed; Tamari, Vanilla Cookbook, RecipeSage and 3 more are copyleft. Tandoor Recipes is source-available rather than open source, which limits commercial reuse.
Recipe Management: common questions
What is the best open source recipe management tool?
By Repoly's GitHub health score, Tandoor Recipes at 96/100 (202 commits in 90 days, 2.7.2 from 3 days ago). Bar Assistant is next at 92; Tandoor Recipes's lead comes mostly from stars. The score measures maintenance, not features, so shortlist the top few and try them.
Which recipe management tools are the most actively developed?
RecipeSage (1,159 commits in 90 days), Mealie (602 commits in 90 days) and CookCLI (472 commits in 90 days). Commit activity is 35 of the 100 health points, the largest single term.
Which recipe management tools can I run in Docker?
8 of 11 publish a Docker image or Compose file, led by Tandoor Recipes, Bar Assistant, Tamari, Vanilla Cookbook, ManageMeals and 3 more.
Which recipe management tools have a permissive licence?
4 of 11: Bar Assistant (MIT), Mealie (MIT), CookCLI (MIT), Fork Recipes (BSD-3-Clause). 6 are copyleft.
Which paid products can open source recipe management tools replace?
Mealime (Tandoor Recipes ranks highest here).
