Guide

Install

Tastebase runs as one Docker container. The image works on linux/amd64 and linux/arm64, so a NAS, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, or any Linux server will do. You need Docker with Compose.

1. Get the Compose file and the settings template.

   mkdir tastebase && cd tastebase
   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReeceRose/tastebase/main/docker-compose.yml
   curl -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReeceRose/tastebase/main/.env.docker.example

2. Make two secrets. Run this twice and paste one result into BETTER_AUTH_SECRET and the other into ENCRYPTION_SECRET in .env. They must be different.

   openssl rand -base64 48

3. Set BETTER_AUTH_URL in .env to the address people will type, such as http://192.168.1.100:3000. It has to match what's in the browser, including the port, or sign-in won't work.

4. Start it.

   docker compose up -d

5. Open your BETTER_AUTH_URL and create the first account.

Recipes live in the tastebase-data volume and photos in tastebase-uploads, so both survive restarts and upgrades.

Using Unraid? There's a separate Unraid guide. For docker run and host folders, see the deployment guide.

Set up the house

Everyone else opens the same address and picks Create an account. There are no invitations to send.

Close sign-ups

Add this to .env, then apply it. Bring it back to true whenever someone new joins.

echo "ALLOW_SIGN_UPS=false" >> .env
docker compose up -d

Who sees what

Each recipe is either Shared with the house or Only you. Notes work the same way: leave one for everyone, or keep it to yourself.

Forgotten passwords

Tastebase doesn't send email. When someone asks for a password reset, the link is written to the server log, and whoever runs the server can pass it on.

docker compose logs tastebase | grep resetLink

Add recipes

Start from Add a recipe. Every import opens in the editor, so you can check it before saving.

Link, text or photo

• Link: reads the recipe data from most sites, then falls back to the page text. The recipe's photo becomes the main photo, and you can pick from the page's other photos.
• Text: paste a recipe and it's split into ingredients and steps.
• Photo: take a picture of a cookbook page. It's read on your server.

The browser extension

Save to Tastebase brings in the page you're looking at. It works on sites that block link imports, like Serious Eats and Allrecipes, and on subscriber sites you're signed in to, like NYT Cooking. It works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc, and sends nothing anywhere except your own Tastebase.

1. Download the Tastebase source and unzip it.

2. Open chrome://extensions and turn on Developer mode.

3. Click Load unpacked and choose the extensions/chrome folder.

4. On the setup page that opens, enter your Tastebase address and allow access when asked.

5. Pin the extension. On any recipe, click its icon or press Alt+Shift+T, then Save to Tastebase.

From your phone

The steps are in Tastebase under Settings, Saving recipes, with your address already filled in.

• Android: install Tastebase from Chrome's menu with Add to home screen, then share any recipe link to it. Android only installs from an https address, so you'll need one of the options below.
• iPhone and iPad: iOS doesn't let web apps join the share sheet, so you set up a Shortcut once.

On a phone, Tastebase reads the recipe from the link itself. A few sites block that. For those, copy the recipe text and paste it into Add a recipe.

Cook

Open a recipe and choose Start cooking. Cook mode shows one step at a time, full screen, with timers and ingredient tick-offs, and keeps the screen on.

On the recipe page, change the servings to scale the amounts, or switch between metric and imperial. Your default units are in Settings, Units.

Update and back up

Update

Database changes apply on their own when the new container starts. Back up first.

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

latest always points at the newest release. To choose when you upgrade, pin a version in docker-compose.yml, such as ghcr.io/reecerose/tastebase:0.1.1. What's changed is listed on the Releases page.

Back up

This stops Tastebase so the database is consistent, then writes one archive of your recipes and photos to the current folder.

docker compose stop
docker run --rm --volumes-from tastebase -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
  tar czf /backup/tastebase-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /app data uploads
docker compose start

Restore

This replaces what's there now. Change the filename to your backup's.

docker compose stop
docker run --rm --volumes-from tastebase -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
  sh -c "cd /app && tar xzf /backup/tastebase-20261107.tar.gz"
docker compose start

Reach it from outside

Don't expose port 3000 directly to the internet. To use Tastebase away from home, or to get the https address Android needs, pick one of these and set BETTER_AUTH_URL to the new address. If it can be reached from the internet, close sign-ups first.

• A private network: Tailscale gives you a secure address only your devices can reach.
• A Cloudflare Tunnel: needs no open ports.
• A reverse proxy: serves Tastebase on your own domain.

With Caddy, this is all it takes, and it handles the certificate for you:

recipes.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

With Nginx, set client_max_body_size 10m;, because photo uploads go up to 10 MB and Nginx stops at 1 MB by default. The deployment guide has full Nginx and Traefik examples.

Troubleshooting

Start with the log. It usually names the problem.

docker compose logs tastebase