Frequently asked questions
Everything people usually want to know about Chefra — saving recipes, organizing, meal planning, and sharing.
How do I import recipes from a website?
Paste the recipe URL into Chefra and we extract the title, ingredients, steps, and photo automatically. It works on most cooking blogs and recipe sites.
Can I add handwritten or family recipes?
Yes. You can type any recipe in manually and attach a photo of the original card. The handwritten card stays as the image; the typed-out version stays searchable.
How do I organize hundreds of recipes?
Use cookbooks for broad groupings like 'Weeknight dinners' or 'Holiday baking', and tags for cross-cutting labels like 'chicken', 'gluten-free', or 'under 30 min'. Most people start with 10–15 recipes they actually cook and let the categories emerge from there.
Can I search by ingredient?
Yes. The search looks across recipe titles and ingredients, so you can find every recipe that uses, say, ricotta — even if 'ricotta' isn't in the title.
Can I plan meals for the week?
Yes. Open the meal planner, pick recipes from your cookbooks, and assign them to days. Your plan turns into a grocery list automatically, organized by aisle.
Can I share a cookbook with my family?
Yes. Create a private Circle and invite family members. Everyone in the Circle can see and cook from the shared recipes, photos, and posts — and nobody outside the Circle can.
Is Chefra free?
Yes — the free plan lets you save recipes, build cookbooks, plan days, weeks, or months ahead, and join Kitchens and Circles. A paid plan unlocks the full meal planner and other extras.
Can I export my recipes?
You can download a JSON file of your Chefra data — including your recipes, posts, comments, grocery items, and profile — from Settings → Privacy. It's the same export you'd use for a personal backup or to take your data with you.
Does Chefra work on my phone?
Yes. Chefra runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet, or desktop, and can be installed as an app on your home screen.