CookCLI vs Recipya
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted recipe managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
CookCLI
Plain-text recipe markup with a CLI and server
VS
Recipya
Clean self-hosted recipe manager in Go
| Feature | CookCLI | Recipya |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 62 · Good |
| Category | Recipe Managers | Recipe Managers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,390 | ★ 412 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Paprika, Crouton | Paprika, Whisk |
What are CookCLI and Recipya?
CookCLI
Cooklang is an open-source recipe markup language with a companion CLI and web server called Chef. Recipes are written in plain text and can be served, scaled, and turned into shopping lists.
- Plain-text recipe markup
- Built-in web server
- Shopping list generation
- Recipe scaling
Recipya
Recipya is a clean, easy, and powerful self-hosted recipe manager written in Go. It imports recipes from thousands of websites, organizes a cookbook, and offers meal planning.
- Import from many recipe sites
- Cookbook organization
- Meal planning
- Single-binary Go app
CookCLI vs Recipya: key differences
CookCLI is written in Rust, while Recipya is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for CookCLI versus GPL-3.0 for Recipya. CookCLI has the considerably larger community, at 1,390 GitHub stars versus 412. Recipya lists first-class Docker deployment; CookCLI does not.
Why pick each one
Choose CookCLI if…
- Version-controllable recipes
- No database needed
Watch out for
- Requires learning the syntax
- Minimal UI
Choose Recipya if…
- Fast and lightweight
- Strong website import support
Watch out for
- Single-user oriented
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is CookCLI or Recipya better?
Neither is universally better. CookCLI has the larger community, while Recipya is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CookCLI and Recipya free and open-source?
Yes. CookCLI is licensed under MIT and Recipya under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CookCLI and Recipya with Docker?
CookCLI: check the project docs for container support. Recipya: yes.