Help

Questions, bugs, wishes: an e-mail is all it takes.

hello@getricotta.app
It helps to know your iPhone model, the iOS version and what you did last. For a recipe that did not import, the link or the photo is best.

Getting started

Which iPhone do I need?: An iPhone with iOS 26 or later.
Do I need an account?: Yes, you sign in with Apple. Your recipe book is stored in your personal Ricotta account and stays available offline on your device. Ricotta asks for neither your name nor your e-mail address. There is no sign-in other than Sign in with Apple.
What does Ricotta cost?: Nothing. There is no subscription and no advertising.
Is Ricotta available for Android or the web?: No, Ricotta is an iPhone app. In the browser there is only the connection portal, where you manage approvals for ChatGPT and Claude.

Importing recipes

Where can I import recipes from?: From websites (paste a link or send it to Ricotta with Share), from photos and screenshots, and from cookbooks whose pages you photograph with the camera. You always see a recipe as a draft first, check it, and then save it.
How does Ricotta read a recipe?: Ricotta sends the source, that is the photos or the ingredient lines of a web page, through the Ricotta server to OpenAI. Before the first time, the app asks for your permission once. You can have up to 10 recipes read per day. Without internet or after the daily limit, you enter recipes by hand. You do not need your own API key. Rarely, reading is busy for everyone for the rest of the day; then it works again the next day.
10 recipes a day is not enough for me.: Add your own OpenAI key in the settings. Then there is no daily limit, and OpenAI bills you directly. The key is stored only on your iPhone.
A recipe was imported wrongly or not at all.: Correct the draft before saving. If a website blocks the download, a screenshot of the page helps. Send me the link or the photo and I will look into it.

Recipe book

How do I organise my recipes?: With folders and favourites. You put a recipe's ingredients on the shopping list with one tap and tick them off in the shop.
How do I change a recipe's picture?: Open the recipe for editing and add or replace the photo there. You can remove it the same way.
My recipes do not show up on my second device.: Sign in to Ricotta with the same Apple Account on both devices. Open the app with an internet connection; it syncs by itself. If the settings show sync as pending or offline, start a sync there by hand. Recipes, folders, favourites and the shopping list are synced.
Can I share my recipe book with others?: There is no shared recipe book. Your recipe book is personal.

ChatGPT and Claude (beta)

What is the connection for?: You ask ChatGPT or Claude about your own recipes, for example: “What can I cook from my recipe book with lentils?” or “Save this recipe in my recipe book.” Ricotta itself has no chat.
How do I connect ChatGPT or Claude?: The connection is still being tested and cannot yet be set up by everyone. Write to me if you would like to try it. This is how it works: you sign in to Ricotta with Apple. When connecting, the assistant opens the connection portal. There you sign in with the same Apple Account and explicitly approve the connection.
What may the assistant do?: With your approval it may search and read your recipes. Saving new recipes and editing existing ones are each allowed with a separate checkbox. It cannot delete anything. It does not see the shopping list, folders, favourites or recipe images. When it saves or edits a recipe, it can supply an image.
What does MCP mean?: MCP stands for “Model Context Protocol”, an open standard through which AI assistants access data you have shared. Ricotta provides its own access to your recipe book for this. It also works when your iPhone is switched off.
How do I revoke an approval?: Open the ChatGPT and Claude section in the settings and manage your connections there, or open the connection portal directly. Revoking takes effect immediately. Whatever the assistant has read until then is with its provider and may have to be deleted there.

Data and account

Where is my data?: On your device and with the service Supabase, which Ricotta uses for your recipe book: recipes, folders, favourites and shopping list. To read a recipe, its source is sent to OpenAI. Details are in the privacy policy.
How do I delete my account?: Choose to delete your account in the settings. This permanently deletes the account, your recipe book with photos, folders, favourites and shopping list, and all AI approvals, on your device too. Sign in with Apple for Ricotta is revoked at the same time. Export your recipe book first if you want to keep it.