A community-driven recipe sharing platform that makes cooking accessible, healthy, and budget-friendly for everyone—especially students.

Smart Cooking is an open-source web platform where anyone can share recipes, cooking tips, and practical advice—no specialized culinary knowledge required! Our mission is to help people achieve the perfect balance between health, taste, and budget, with a special focus on student needs.

🎯 Try our prototype: thesmartcooking.github.io/Prototype

Unlike traditional recipe websites, Smart Cooking is built by the community, for the community:

• User-Generated Content: Anyone can publish their own recipes and cooking discoveries
• Smart Curation: Featured recipes include admin picks, community favorites, and trending discoveries
• Student-Focused: Budget-friendly recipes and tips designed for student lifestyles
• Quality Control: Moderation system with reputation-based publishing (karma system)
• Progressive Web App: Seamless experience across desktop and mobile devices

• Database: PostgreSQL (migrating from MariaDB)
• Backend: FastAPI (migrating from Flask)
• Frontend: Nuxt.js (considering React for future mobile integration)
• Containerization: Docker with DevContainers
• Authentication: Custom authentication service

Our codebase is organized across multiple repositories:

• 🗄️ Database: Schema, migrations, and database configurations
• 🚀 API: FastAPI backend with business logic
• 🎨 Frontend: Nuxt.js web application and PWA
• 🔐 Authentication: Custom authentication service
• (More repositories as the project grows)

• Recipe Discovery: Browse pinned admin suggestions, latest recipes, and community favorites
• Smart Rankings: Recipes ranked by unique views-to-likes ratio (behind the scenes)
• User Profiles: Personal recipe collections and community presence
• Comments & Likes: Engage with the cooking community
• Draft System: Save and refine recipes before publishing

• Review System: New user recipes are moderated before going public
• Reputation Building: Trusted contributors can publish immediately
• Quality Assurance: Community-driven quality control

• Account-Based Sharing: Users create accounts but can use pseudonyms
• Karma System: Build reputation through quality contributions
• Community Feedback: Comments and likes drive recipe popularity

• Docker (only requirement - we use DevContainers!)

# Clone the repositories you want to work on
git clone https://github.com/TheSmartCooking/[repo-name]
cd [repo-name]

# Open in VS Code with Dev Containers extension
code .
# VS Code will prompt to reopen in container

Each repository contains detailed setup instructions in its own README.

We'd love your help! Smart Cooking is open source and welcomes contributors of all skill levels.

• UI/UX Designers: Help make cooking accessible through great design
• Frontend Developers: Enhance user experience and mobile responsiveness
• Backend Developers: Improve API performance and add new features
• Content Creators: Share amazing recipes and cooking tips!

1. Check out our repositories and find one that interests you
2. Read the contributing guidelines in each repo
3. Join the discussion through issues and pull requests
4. Start small - documentation improvements and bug fixes are always welcome!

• Fork the relevant repository
• Create a feature branch
• Make your changes with clear commit messages
• Submit a pull request with a detailed description
• Engage with the review process

• Build Community: Create a vibrant community of cooking enthusiasts and learners
• Educational Value: Serve as a real-world learning project for software engineering students
• MVP Enhancement: Improve the current MVP based on user feedback

• Mobile Excellence: Fully-featured Progressive Web App experience
• Global Community: Support for multiple languages and cuisines
• Smart Recommendations: AI-powered recipe suggestions based on preferences and dietary needs
• Sustainability Focus: Promote eco-friendly cooking practices and local ingredients

This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

We chose AGPL v3 to ensure that Smart Cooking remains open and community-driven, even when deployed as a web service.

• 🐛 Found a bug? Open an issue in the relevant repository
• 💡 Have an idea? Start a discussion or create a feature request
• ❓ Questions? Check repository discussions or reach out to maintainers

🍽️ Happy Cooking, Happy Coding!

Smart Cooking is more than just a recipe platform—it's a community learning experience where food lovers and developers come together to create something meaningful.